REIGATE HUNDRED 



GATTON 



not apparently applied to Gallon lill 1450, when it 

 returned two burgesses.* The returning officer was the 

 constable,* who was at first appointed in the sheriff's 

 tourn at Tandridge and afterwards in the quarter 

 sessions. 5 



From 1450 unlil ihe Reform Act of 1832 Gallon 

 returned iwo burgesses to Parliament. The first 

 extant return, that of 1452-3,' was made by the 

 constable ' with ihe assenl of ihe whole borough.' 7 

 From ihe firsi it must have been a ' pocket ' borough. 

 In 1536 the Duke of Norfolk, then lord of the 

 neighbouring borough of Reigate, noted Gatton, 

 'where Sir Roger Copley dwelleth,' among the 

 towns for ' which in times past he could have made 

 burgesses.' 8 In 1539 Sir Roger Copley found the 

 privilege burdensome, for there was only one house to 

 be any help in paying the members' wages. 9 In 1547 

 Sir Roger, as ' burgess and only inhabitant of the 

 borough and town,' elected Richard Shelley and 

 John Tyngelden, 10 and after his death his widow 

 nominated the burgesses, one of them in 1558, her 

 own son, then under age." After the death of Sir 

 Thomas Copley in 1584 his widow was not allowed 

 to elect burgesses, since she was a recusant, but 

 members were nominated in 1584 by Lord Burghley 

 as chief officer of the Court of Wards." In 1586 

 the lords of the Council recommended two members 

 to the deputy-lieulenanls of ihe counly, but two 

 others of similar loyal opinions were in fact returned." 

 The Copleys, who were always notorious recusants, 

 never regained their right of nomination, though their 

 influence must have been considerable, for in a dispule 

 concerning ihe election of 1620 it was stated that 

 six out of the seven houses in the ' town ' were 

 occupied by tenants of William Copley, although the 

 right of election was decided in favour of the free- 

 holders, 14 and in 1696 it was agreed that the franchise 

 was in the freeholders of the borough not receiving 

 alms and occupying their own freeholds." In 1832 

 the borough was disfranchised as having, with its 

 twenty-lhree houses, ihe unenviable posilion of fourlh 

 from ihe bollom of ihe list of ' rotlen boroughs.* 



There is no evidence of a charier of incorporalion. 



One hide al Gallon was bequealhed by 



MANOR Alfred the Ealdorman to Ethelwald his 



son belween ihe years 871 and 889." 



In the time of Edward the Confessor Gallon was 



assessed al 10 hides. It was held by Earl Leofwine, 



brother of Earl Harold, who held ihe earldom of ihe 



counly." He fell at Hastings, and Gallon became ihe 



land of Bishop Odo of Bayeux, of whom il was held 



by a cerlain Herfrey. 18 



The bishop forfeited the overlordship of Gatton 



wilh his olher English possessions ihrough his compli- 

 cily in ihe Norman rebellion of 1088. Probably it 

 was then held of his manor of Ospringe, co. Kenl, lo 

 which ihe lord of Gallon was said lo owe suit of 

 courl from ihe I3lhcenlury onwards. 19 Bolh Ospringe 

 and Gallon were members of ihe honour of Peverel 

 in Dover. 10 



The aciual tenant in 1086 was Herfrey. His son 

 or grandson Hamon gave a moiety of the manor 

 to Ralph de Dene in marriage wilh his elder daughler 

 Joan, reserving to himself ihe. olher moiely for life, 

 wilh remainder to Ralph. The agreement was 

 confirmed by Henry II,* 1 but Hamon's heir male, 

 Robert de Gallon," evidenlly look possession of his 

 moiely, but was ousted c. 1 190, by Geoffrey de Beau- 

 vale in right of his wife Idonea. She was mother of 

 Robert de Dene," and probably connected with Ralph 

 de Dene, for in 1220 the heirs of Ralph de Dene, 

 Geoffrey Sackville, Richard de Cumberland, his wife 

 Sibyl, and Parnel de Beauvale, granddaughter of 

 Geoffrey de Beauvale, impleaded Hamon son of 

 Robert de Gallon for his failure to keep an agreement 

 concerning a moiety of ihe manor wilh Roberl de 

 Dene." The plea was postponed on account of the 

 minority of Parnel, whose mother Margery had 

 recovered seisin of one carucate at Gallon against 

 Hamon before 1223." In lhat year he recovered 

 ihis carucale from Parnel, since her father Ralph 

 son of Geoffrey de Beauvale, a spendlhrifl who haled 

 his heirs, had restored it lo Roberl de Gatton for 

 28 in the lime of Kingjohn. 16 In 1227 she joined 

 with the other heirs of Ralph de Dene in a release of 

 the whole manor lo Hamon de Gallon." He was 

 appointed escheator of ihe Crown for Surrey in 

 1232," bul died in or before 1235, when his lands, 

 saving ihe dower of his widow Bealrice, were given 

 inlo ihe custody of William of York during the 

 minority of his heir. 19 This heir was probably Robert 

 de Gallon,* who died seised of ihe manor in or before 

 1264." His son and heir Hamon, Sheriff of Kent 

 in 1285," was holding the manor at his death shortly 

 before I February 1291-2." He was succeeded 

 by a son of the same name, whose infant son Edmund 

 inheriled Gallon upon his dealh, c. 1299." The 

 cuslody of all Hamon's lands wilh ihe excepiion of 

 Gallon Park was granled in 1301 lo ihe execulors of 

 Edmund Earl of Cornwall in pan paymenl of ihe 

 king's debl lo him." They conveyed il lo Sir Wil- 

 liam Milksop, kl., who sold il lo John Norlhwood.** 

 Edmund de Gallon did nol live lo enjoy his inheri- 

 tance, which was divided between his two sisters and 

 co-heirs, Elizabeth wife of William de Dene, and 

 Margarel wife of Simon Norlhwood, brother or son of 



Original Parl. Returns, 29 Hen. IV. 



4 Ibid. 31 Hen. VI 5 31 Chas. II j 

 Carew, Hist. Acct. of Rights of Election, 

 244. 



5 Manning and Bray, Hist, of Surr. ii, 

 227. 



6 No separate return exists for 1450, 

 although the names of the two members, 

 Thomas Bentham and Hugh Huls, are 

 recorded with those of the other Surrey 

 burgesses on a membrane attached to the 

 writ to the sheriff. 



7 Parl. Returns, 31 Hen. VI. 



* L. and P. Hen. VIII, r, 816. 



9 Ibid, xiv (i), 645. 



10 Ret. ofMemb. of Parl. i, 376. 



11 Ibid. 394 ; in 1552 she had presided 

 over a jury to inquire respecting the state 



of Gatton Church (Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. 

 vii, App. 60811). 



Add. MS. (B.M.), 5702, fol. 86-7. 



Hist. MSS. Com. Ref. vii, 642*. 



14 Carew, Hist. Acct. of Rights of Elections, 

 244. 



15 Wm. Bohun, Debates touching Rights 

 of Electing, 7. 



" Kemble, Cod. Dipl. 317. 



*' Freeman, Norm. Conj. ii, 568. 



18 V.C.H. Surr. i, 3030. 



19 Chan. Inq. p.m. 29 Edw. I, no. 58 ; 

 ibid. (Ser. 2), ccccv, 159. 



"0 Red Bk. of Excb. ii, 617, 709 ; Testa 

 de Nevill (Rec. Com.), 220, 226. 



11 Curia Regis R. 78 (Mich. 4 & 5 

 Hen. Ill), m. 10. 



"Ibid. 83 (Mich. 7&8Hen.IiI),m.7d. 



I 97 



28 Pipe R. 2 Ric. I, m. 1 3 d. Her name 

 occurs in Curia Regis R. 83, m. 7 d. 



34 Curia Regis R. 78, m. 10. 



* Feet of F. Surr. 8 Hen. Ill, 28. 



86 Curia Regis R. 83, m. 7d. and Feet 

 of F. Surr. 8 Hen. Ill, 28. Hamon, how- 

 ever, paid her 30 marks for the quitclaim. 



*" Feet of F. Surr. n Hen. Ill, 38. 



88 Col. Close, 1231-4, p. 130. 



* Cat. Pat. 1232-47, p. 130 ; Excerfta e 

 Rot. Fin. \, 292. 



"8 Cf. Feet of F. Surr. 32 Hen. Ill, 4. 



81 Chan. Inq. p.m. 48 Hen. Ill, no. 20, 



List of Sheriff (P.R.O.), 67. 



88 Chan. Inq. p.m. 20 Edw. I, no. 25. 



84 Ibid. 29 Edw. I, no. 58. 



85 Cal. Pat. 1292-1301, p. 603. 



86 Ibid. 1301-7, p. 338. 



