Ch. III. 



SURREY. 



6i 



There were formerly two parks at Farn- 

 ham ; the Old Park contained about i,ooo 

 acres ; it was disparked and divided into 

 farms in the reign of Charles II. The 

 Little Park, adjoining to the eastern side 

 of the castle, occupies 300 acres, and con- 

 tains a herd of about 320 fallow-deer. In 

 ancient times there were various officers 

 in connection with Farnham Castle, ap- 

 pointed by the bishop,' as Keeper of the 

 Castle, Keepers of the Parks, Keepers of 

 the North and South Chase, and of Fren- 

 sham Ponds, with the swans in them ; and 

 these offices were frequently held, singly 

 and collectively, by persons of distinction 

 in the county.'' 



Esher Park contained about 180 acres 

 of land, and was annexed by Henry VIII. 

 to the Honor of Hampton Court in 1540 ; 

 here William Waynflete, Bishop of Win- 

 chester, erected a palace within the park 

 from 1447 to i486.' 



There were many other ancient parks 

 in Surrey: brief notes of those which I 

 have met with are here subjoined. 



West Horsley. — The park is not marked 

 in the maps of Saxton or Speed, but the 

 park is very ancient ; in the seventh of 

 Edward I. (1279) Sir Ralph Berners 

 claimed from the grant of Henry III. to 

 Hugh de Windsor the right to have two 



' In the 14th of Edward III. the Bishop of 

 Winchester granted to William ' Parker, ' in 

 fee, the custody of the Hundreds of Farnham 

 and Crundall, and all the fallen and dead 

 wood in his park of Farnham, with liberty to 

 keep there two heifers, six oxen, three cows, 

 and three steers, during the whole year, and 

 pannage of fourteen pigs, with other ample 

 fees, for an annual rent of eighty hens. — Cal. 

 of Patent Rolls, p. 88. 



In 1609 (Dec. z), John Norden (the sur- 

 veyor?), wrote to Lord SaUsbury, in whose 



parks here, which claim was admitted be- 

 fore the king's judges at Guilford.* I 

 find the park again recognised in a grant 

 to Richard, son of Sir James Berners, 

 knight, in the first of Henry IV.' 



Alfcld Park, neai- Ridgewick in Sussex, 

 once the park of William Longesp^e, 

 whose father was a natural son of Henry 

 11. ; it contained about 300 acres, but has 

 been long disparked.' 



Iwood or Ewood Park. — Here was a 

 mansion and park of about 600 acres in 

 the parish of Newdigate, which had be- 

 longed to the Earls of Warren and Surrey, 

 and afterwards descended to the Fitzallens, 

 Earls of Arundel, and afterwards again 

 divided and went to coheirs.'' 



Merton. — In the 20th of Edward I. 

 the prior of Merton had a license to assart 

 and impark forty acres of woodland ad- 

 joining to his park of Merton, Northwood, 

 and le Frith.^ 



Gatton Park was imparked by John 

 Tymperley in the 27th of Henry VI. (1449) 

 by the king's license, ' for his good and 

 faithful services, and in consideration of 

 40 shillings.' The license comprehended 

 ' 360 acres of land, 80 acres of wood, 20 

 acres of marsh, 80 acres of pasture, and 

 40 acres of meadow at Gatton ; and 40 

 acres of wood, 100 acres of land, 80 acres 



keeping it seems to have been, about the re- 

 paration of the pales, lodges, &c. , in Farnham 

 Park, and the negligence of the keepers in 

 punishing robbers of the same. — Cal. of Do- 

 mestic Papers, James I. 



' Brayley's Surrey, vol. v. p. 267. 



' lb. vol. ii. p. 426. 



' lb. vol. ii. p. 72. 



» Cal. Patent Rolls, p. 237. 



" Brayley's Surrey, vol. v. p. 115. 



' lb. vol. iv. p. 289. 



» Cal. Patent Rolls, p. 55. 



