A HISTORY OF SURREY 



Kingston gaol was abolished at the same time. 11 

 Debtors used to be confined under the town hall, 

 and in the building across the street where the judges 

 sat in circuit. An old print is extant of a man being 

 hanged on a scaffold in the street there ; but the 

 more usual place of execution was at Henley Grove 

 on the slope of the Hog's Back, opposite the present 

 hospital. The judges sat in this house or in a hall 

 which had been part of the old Red Lion Inn in 

 Market Street, bought and altered for this purpose 

 by Lord Onslow and Lord Grantley in 1789.'* On 

 the site of part of the same old inn was the Cock 

 Pit, and the theatre was close by. A bill of sale of 

 17^4. records that the Cock Pit was let for 15 

 guineas for the race week. Opposite the town hall 

 now is the Tuscan fagade of the old Corn Market 

 erected in 1818. It is not now used as the market 

 (vide infra). Next to this is the old Three Tuns 

 Inn, a fine house with three gables. Among modern 

 buildings is the Royal Surrey County Hospital on 

 the west side of the river. It was built in 1866 as a 

 memorial to the late Prince Consort. Adjoining the 

 hospital are Hilliers' Almshouses, originally founded 

 in 1 800 by Elizabeth Hillier in Shoreditch for seven 

 women, and enlarged by Nathaniel Hillier of Stoke 

 Park, Guildford, in 1812, for eight women. The 

 almshouses were removed from Curtain Road, Shore- 

 ditch, to Guildford in 1879. The Isolation Hospital 

 between the South Eastern and South Western Railway 

 lines, in Woodbridge, was founded in 1886. The 

 County and Borough Hall in North Street, where 

 the Assizes are held, was built in 1845. The public 

 baths in Castle Street were opened in 1889. 



The cemetery, on the end of the Hog's Back, was 

 consecrated in 1856. Close by it is Booker's Tower ; 

 a tower built for the view from the top of it by one 

 Charles Booker. It is the property of the corporation. 



The old bridge, of five arches, was of stone and very 

 narrow. A ford crossed the river by the south side 

 of it. It was repaired with brickwork, and the 

 central arch was rebuilt to admit the passage of 

 barges on the [making of the Godalming Navigation 

 in 1760. In 1825 the bridge was widened by iron 

 arches and balustrades, which probably weakened the 

 original structure from which they projected. In 

 1900 a great flood washed large quantities of timber 

 out of Messrs. Moons' timber yard above the bridge. 

 This blocked the narrow arches and the bridge col- 

 lapsed entirely. A new iron bridge was built about 

 two years later. Fortunately in 1882 an iron bridge 

 had been built lower down near the railway station. 

 The foot-bridge at the foot of Quarry Hill, built by 

 subscription, was opened 25 August 1909. 



The King's Mills must from their description as 

 ' in the parishes of St. Mary and St. Nicholas ' have 

 stood across the river very near the present mills. 

 Before 1256-7 they were removed to a place below 

 the bridge, next Guildford Park, to the great injury 

 of the joint-holders of the manor of Arlington, and of 

 Richard Testard who had mills near St. Nicholas's 

 Church and in St. Mary's parish opposite, respectively. 

 The result of the complaints made was that ulti- 



mately the mills were removed back to their previous 

 site. 15 The Arlington Mill has disappeared, leaving its 

 name in Mill Mead. The other mills were employed 

 for fulling besides grinding corn, and the fulling mill 

 was in St. Mary's parish, as appears from the parish 

 registers. In 1701 waterworks were set up in the 

 fulling mill for the supply of the town from the 

 river. 1 ' The waterworks are still employed to pump 

 the water of the Guildford Waterworks. The mills 

 were rebuilt in 1766. 



Among buildings which have disappeared from 

 Guildford was the Spital, or St. Thomas's Hospital. 

 It stood in the angle between the Epsom and 

 London roads, and a small ancient building was in 

 existence when Manning wrote, but a sketch by 

 John Russell, R.A., in 1791, exhibits no architectural 

 features. A prior or master appears in the Court 

 Rolls of Stoke Manor, to the lord of which he paid 

 6d. a year, but in 1491 it belonged to the manor of 

 Poyle (q.v.). It does not appear to have been 

 suppressed under Edward VI. A single cripple, 

 dignified by the title of prior, was nominated to it 

 by the magistrates up to the i8th century." 



The Dominican Friary has been treated under the 

 section of Religious Houses. It has left its name in 

 Friary Steet and in Friary Ward. The precincts of 

 the Friars are still strictly extra-parochial. The 

 house of the Friars, after being leased by the Crown 

 to various holders, was partly pulled down in 1606 

 by Sir George More, who carried away the materials 

 by leave of George Austen, to whom he had sold his 

 rights." This was possibly to build the wing which Sir 

 George added to Loseley. The site was granted in fee- 

 simple to the Earl of Annandale in i63O. 19 He had a 

 new house built by Inigo Jones. After various altera- 

 tions this was changed into barracks in 1794 and 

 pulled down in 1 8 1 8. 



The Trinity and St. Mary's National Schools 

 were founded in 1814 and enlarged at various dates 

 down to 1905. The St. Nicholas Boys' and Girls' 

 Schools (National) in the Portsmouth Road were 

 built in 1851, the Infants' School in 1860, and the 

 Ludlow Road School (mixed) in 1890. 



The Congregational and the Wesleyan Methodist 

 chapels are in North Street, and there is an old 

 Baptist chapel in Castle Street. The Friends' Meeting 

 House and Unitarian chapel are in Ward Street on 

 the borders of Guildford and the parish of Stoke. 

 Land was bought for a Friends' Meeting House as 

 far back as 1673. The Nonconformists were strong 

 in Guildford from 1662, and there is a well-attested 

 tradition*" of Bunyan preaching just outside the , 

 borough. An Independent chapel was built of wood 

 in Black Horse Lane soon after the Toleration Act of 

 1689, but had no settled minister till I7O4. 21 The 

 old Baptist chapel was called Charcoal Barn Chape!, 

 for it was on the site of a town storehouse of charcoal 

 where the congregation formerly met. 



Guildford Castle is of the mount 



THE CASTLE and bailey type of castle, belonging 



perhaps to the era of the Conquest. 



The whole area covered by the castle works is about 



18 Information from the son of the last 

 gaoler. 



14 Manning and Bray, Hist, of Surr. 



15 Inq. p.m. 7 Edw. I, no. 73. 



" Manning and Bray, op. cit. i, 33. 



at Guildford, sometimes connected with 

 this hospital, is not supported by other 

 evidence. 



w Loseley MSS. iii, foL 44. 



Pat. 6 Chas. I pt. viii, m. z. 



In the family of Mr. Williamson, an 



17 Speed's mention of Crutched Friars old Nonconformist family, a member of 



554 



which was arrested under the Conventicle 

 Act in 1683. The late Mr. David Wil- 

 liamson kindly supplied the editor with 

 most of the information upon the Non- 

 conformist bodies, and other valuable 

 facts. 



* Church BU 



