A HISTORY OF SURREY 



of Godalming in 1 22 1, 7 nearly eighty years before the 

 lords of Salisbury had a weekly market in Godalming 

 itself. In point of population it does not seem to have 

 even approached the neighbouring " parishes of Witley 

 and Chiddingfold. Although it was not expressly 

 called a borough in the return of 1315,' it is called 

 'burgus' in 1377.' In 1394 John Waltham, Bishop 

 of Salisbury, had licence to grant a charter to Hasle- 

 mere, giving the town a market on Wednesdays and 

 an annual fair on the eve and day of the Holy Cross, 

 and three succeeding days." 



In an account of rents received in Godalming 

 Manor, dated 1543, the 'burgesses' of the 'borough' 

 of Haslemere are said to owe MS. zd. rent for certain 

 lands there," which rent is evidently identical with 

 izs. id. called ' le Burgage Rent' paid to the lord of 

 Godalming by the tenants called the .burgage holders 

 in Haslemere." The inhabitants held by burgage 

 tenure in the 1 4th century when the Court Rolls of 

 Godalming Manor and Hundred begin. 



The tenants of the tithing owed suit to the Hun- 

 dred Court of Godalming, but a view of frankpledge 

 was held at Hocktide at Haslemere, and a court leet 

 with it, in the 1 7th century, for the borough." The 

 town was considered a separate manor from Godal- 

 ming, after the charter of 1596 at least.' 5 Separate 

 Court Rolls exist for it. 



The burgage-rent was collected annually by the 

 bailiff of the borough, who seems to have been the 

 only officer, for in 1 596, at the time when the Crown 

 was still holding Godalming Manor, Queen Elizabeth 

 addressed a re-grant of the market and fairs to the 

 bailiff and inhabitants of the borough." In the pre- 

 amble to this grant she asserted that the town had 

 sent two burgesses to Parliament from time imme- 

 morial, and confirmed their right to do so in the 

 future. She further recited the charter of Richard II, 

 and as the markets and fair had fallen into disuse, 

 restored to them the market on Tuesdays, the fair, 

 now twice a year on St. Philip and St. James's and 

 Holy Cross Day. Tolls were to be levied, a court of 

 pie powder held, and the tolls to be applied by the 

 bailiffand others to the relief of the poor inhabitants." 

 The original grantees having all died, John Billing- 

 hurst of Coldwaltham, co. Sussex, claimed the right 

 to gather the tolls as heir of John Steede, the last sur- 

 viving grantee. He was accused of misemploying the 

 profits of the fair and market, which seem at that time 

 to have amounted to about j yearly, and a decree 

 was issued in 1662 vesting the trust in the lords of 

 the manor of Godalming for the relief of the poor of 

 Haslemere, an account being given at the court leet 

 of the borough. 18 According to the inscription on 



the almshouses on the common near Lythe Hill, 

 James Gresham, who represented Haslemere in the 

 Parliament of 1678-9, by his 'care and oversight' 

 caused the almshouses, then called the Toll House, to 

 be built in 1676, for the habitation of decayed inhabi- 

 tants of the borough, out of the profits of the market. 19 

 However, after the death of Sir William More, lord 

 of Godalming, John Billinghurst again tried to make 

 good his claim to the tolls, and obtained a reversal of 

 the former decree, 10 but in 1691 the grant was found 

 to be in favour of the poor of the borough. 11 Thomas 

 Molyneux, then lord of Haslemere Manor, the minis- 

 ter of Haslemere, and others, were appointed trustees," 

 and John Billinghurst ordered to restore 42 I is. 

 which he had collected." The market produced 

 little, being in the centre of a poor country. The 

 view of frankpledge and court baron, held together 

 in this case as at Godalming, give a few interesting 

 glimpses of town management. So anxious were the 

 burgesses to keep down the poor-rate that they decreed 

 at the court of 4 May 1627 that no one in this leet 

 shall let, devise, grant, &c., any messuage, &c., or 

 room, to any ' forriner,' unless he and they can satisfy 

 the bailiff and overseers that he can maintain himself 

 and family penalty 10. This was repeated 7 May 

 1628. Under Charles I the records of the court were 

 kept in Latin. One result of the Commonwealth is 

 that English was used, as was also the case in Guildford. 

 On 30 April 1652 Puritan opinion forbade any person 

 to set up a game called 'nine holes' in this borough 

 penalty 5*. But cleanliness was some way off godli- 

 ness, for on 10 April 1654 it was ordered that no one 

 was to keep a dunghill standing in the borough above 

 a month penalty izd. On 22 April 1658 the 

 Market House, the Fish Cross, and the Butter Cross, 

 were reported to be very ruinous. Robert Cobden 

 and William Shudd were bound to repair them, under 

 penalty of I o, to be done before the feast of St. Mi- 

 chael the Archangel. This feast survives in all its 

 full sanctity as a date in spite of the opinions then 

 prevailing. After the Restoration Mr. Richard 

 Symmes, the steward of Godalming, had the record of 

 the court kept again in Latin. It is interesting to 

 find that in 1678 among the 'foreign' tradesmen 

 who set up stalls at the market, but who were fined 

 I it. for doing so without the bailiff's leave, was 

 Robert Smyth of Farnham, bookseller. The old 

 Crosses and Town Hall, ruinous in 1658, were pulled 

 down, the two former after 1735. The Town Hall 

 was not pulled down till 1814, when the present 

 hall was built by the two members. For this date 

 there is a plan of the town, a copy of which is pre- 

 served in the present Town Hall. 



7 Rot. Lit. Clam. (Rec. Com.), i, 455. 



8 In the earlier Subsidy Rolls Haslemere 

 is not even mentioned. Probably it was 

 included in Godalming at that time. In 

 the returns for the poll tax of 1380, 62 

 names are given under Haslemere, whereas 

 238 were returned under Godalming, 133 

 under Witley, and 176 under Chiddingfold 

 (Lay Subs. R. bdle. 184, no. 29). Nor 

 does it ever seem to have been very exten- 

 sive, for the hearth-tax return of 1674 

 only accounts for 61 households (ibid. bdle. 

 1 88, no. 496). 



9 Par!. Writs (Rec. Com.), ii (3), 338. 

 The vill of Haslemere is there set down 

 as a possession of the Bishop of Salis- 

 bury. 



10 Mins. Accts. bdle. 1010, no. 7. An 

 account of the manor of Ashurst, wherein 

 one item is given as 301. rent in the hamlet 

 of Chiddingfold and 'in turgode Haselmere.' 



11 Chart. R. 15-17 Ric. II, no. 6. 



11 Exch. Mins. Accts. 34-5 Hen. VIII, 

 Div. Co. R. 64, m. 20. 



u Godalming R. fassim and Misc. Bks. 

 (Land Rev.), cxc, 235. 



11 Godalming R. Loseley MSS. 



" Fide infra. 



" Petty Bag Char. Inq. xxvi, 18. 



V Writs of Privy Seal, May, 38 Eliz. 



18 Petty Bag Char. Inq. xxvi, 18 ; 

 Hitt. MSS. Com. Ref. vii, App. 679. 



" See Char. Cam. Rep. ii; Par!. Papers, 

 1824, xiv, 635. It was this James Gresham 



46 



who persuaded the bailiff to substitute his 

 name for that of Denzil Onslow in the 

 return of burgesses for 1679. See also 

 Loseley MSS. i, 132. 



20 Proc. as to Charitable Uses, Confir- 

 mations, &c. 2 Jas. II, 25. On the ground 

 that Elizabeth had intended the profits of 

 the market and fair for the public 

 benefit of the borough and not for the poor 

 only, so that the matter did not come 

 within the cognizance of the Charity Com- 

 missioners who had issued the decree. 



81 Chan. Decrees and Orders, Mich. 

 1691, A 425. 



aa Ibid. Hil. !692, A 232. 



88 Chan. Rep. 1693, A-D, Chan. Orders 

 and Decrees, Hil. 1693-4, A. 365*. 



