GODALMING, a market-town and parish in the first division of the hundred of GODALMING, county of SURREY, 4 miles (S.S.W.) from Guildford, and 34 (S.W.) from London, containing 4098 inhabitants. This place is supposed by Aubrey to have been called Goda's Aiming, from Goda, Countess of Mercia, to whom it be- longed, and from the circumstance of her having bestowed it in alms upon a neighbouring monastery. With greater probability, perhaps, Manning derives the name from its Saxon possessor, Godhelm, and from its situation at the extremity of an ing, or meadow, which latter supposition is in some degree strengthened by the designation Godelminge applied to it in several ancient documents. The lordship was given by King Alfred to his nephew Ethelbald, upon whose rebellion against Edward the Elder it was confiscated to the crown, and was subsequently bestowed by Henry II. upon the see of Salisbury, from which, with the exception of the advowson of the living, still retained by the Dean, it reverted to the crown in the reign of Elizabeth. Godalming is not distinguished by any event of historical importance. The town is pleasantly situated in a richlywooded vale on the banks of the river Wey, over which. a handsome bridge was erected in 1782, at the expense of the county, on the site of a former belonging to the lord of the manor. It consists principally of one spacious street, from which several smaller streets diverge, indifferently paved, and lighted with oil; the houses are in general small, though there are some respectable re- sidences of modern erection, and the inhabitants are amply supplied with excellent water. The principal articles of manufacture are stockings, worsted and cotton shirts, and drawers, silk, paper, parchment, with tanned and oiled leather, and a considerable trade is carried on in timber, bark, and hoops, of which great quantities are shipped for London. The river Wey, at an expense of £ 8000, subscribed in shares was in 1780 made navigable to the town, where a convenient wharf has been constructed; and the Wey and Arun canal passes through the parish. " The market is on Wednesday, for corn, and onSaturday also forpoultry and vegetables j the fairs are on February 13th and July 10th, at the former a great quantity of hoops is sold. The inhabitants received a charter of incorporation, in lS75, from Queen Elizabeth, by which the government is vested in a warden, bailiff, and eight assistants. The warden is annually elected on Michaelmas-day, from three assistants, nominated for that purpose by the inhabitants; the bailiff is elected at the- same time by the warden, and, both having filled the office, they are exempt from serving again for three years; the assistants hold their office for life; The corporation do not exercise magisterial authority, the town being within the jurisdiction of the county magistrates. Courts leet and baron are held annually, at the former of which, constables, tythingmen, and other officers, are appointed. The town-hall is a rieat edifice, erected in 1814, by public subscription, and is commodiously arranged for the transaction of public business. The living is a vicarage, in the archdeaconry of Surrey, and diocese of Winchester, rated in the king's books at £23. 17. 11., and in the patronage of the Dean of Salisbury. The church, dedicated to St.Peter and St. Paul, is an ancient cruciform structure in the early style of English architecture, with later insertions, and having a tower surmounted by a spire. There are places of worship for General Baptists, the Society of Friends, Independents, and Wesleyan Methodists. Almshouses for ten aged persons were founded in 1618, by Mr. RichardWyatt, who bequeathed £500 for their erection, and lands producing; with subsequent benefactions, more than £150 per annum, for their endowment; they are under the control of the Master and Wardens of the Carpenters Company, who nominate the brethren: the premises- comprise ten tenements under one roof, each containing a lower and an upper room; in the centre is a commodious chapel, and behind are two acres and a half of garden ground in allotments. There are a National and a Lancasterian school supported by subscription, in which four hundred children of both sexes are instructed, and part of an estate, producing nearly £300 per annum, left by Mr. Henry Smith, for the relief of the poor, is appropriated to the clothing and apprenticing of poor children. Near Busbridge is Old Minster field, the site of an ancient chapel mentioned in Domesday-book. The Rev. Owen Manning, F. R. S. and F. S.A., anthor of the History and Antiquities of the county of Surrey, and thirty-seven years vicar of this parish, was buried here in. 1801.