SURREY, a county (inland), bounded on the north
by the river Thames, which separates it from Middlesex
and the south-eastern extremity of Buckinghamshire
on the north-west by Berkshire; on the west by Hampshire
on the south by Sussex; and on the east by
Kent: it extends from 51° 5' to 51° 31' (N. Lat.), and
from 3'(E. Lon.) to 51'(W. Lon.); comprising art
area of seven hundred and fifty-eight square miles, or
about four hundred and eighty-five thousand one
hundred and twenty statute acres. The popxilation, in
1821, was 398,658. The most ancient British inha-
bitants of this district, of whom we have authentic
information, were the Segontiaci, or, as they are called
by Ptolemy, the Regni, a people who had been expelled
from Hampshire by the invading Belgae. Caesar, in
his exploratory invasion of Britain, crossed the northeastern
part of Surrey, from the county of Kent to the
Thames, which he is supposed to have passed at a place
now called Cowey Stakes, at Walton on Thames, into
the territory of Cassivellaunus, though the Britons endeavoured
to prevent, his passage by driving stakes into
the bed of the river. Under the Roman dominion Surrey
was included in the division called Britannia Prima.
On the complete establishment of the Saxon kingdom
of Wessex, it appears to have included the greater
part of this county. In 568, Ethelbert, in defence of
his own kingdom, having invaded the territories of
Ceawlin, King of Wessex, a great battle was fought between
them at Wimbledon, in which the former was
signally defeated: this was the first battle fought
between the Saxon kings. This county suffered severely
from the ravages of the Danes, who entered it in
852, after sacking London, but were defeated with
great slaughter at Ockley, near its southern border,
by EthelwuJph and his son Ethelbald. In 893, Wada,
or Huda, the only Saxon recorded to have borne the
title of Earl of Surrey, was slain in battle against the
Danes, in the Isle of Thanet, whither he had marched
with the men of Surrey to the assistance of the Earl
of Kent; and in the same year the invaders made great
devastations in this county, particularly in the vicinity
of Godalming. When Canute besieged London, in
1016, finding that the citizens had taken possession of
London bridge, so as to prevent the passage of his vessels
under it, he proceeded to construct a canal through the
marshes on the south side of the Thames, with which
river it communicated at Rotherhithe and at Chelseareach,
thus enabling the Danish monarch to attack the
city from that part of the river which is above the bridge.
William the Conqueror, advancing toward London after
the battle of Hastings, in 1066, in order to terrify the
inhabitants into submission, reduced Southwark to
ashes. The first who enjoyed the dignity of Earl of
Surrey, after the Conquest, was William de Warren,
Earl of Warren in Normandy, who had distinguished
himself in the battle of Hastings, and was united in'
marriage to a daughter of the Conqueror. In 1215., at
Runymede, near Egham, the armed barons compelled
King John to grant the famous Magna Charta: this
monarch having afterwards broken faith with his
people, and desolated England with bands of armed
mercenaries, Louis the Dauphin, who had been invited
by the barons to assume the crown, possessed himself,
in 1216, of the castles of Guildford and Farnham,
which, however, were shortly retaken, on the death of
John, by the forces of his son and successor, Henry III.
In the sixteenth, year of the reign of this monarch,
Hubert de Burgh, Chief Justice of England, having
incurred the displeasure of his sovereign, took refuge
in the convent of Merton, whither Henry ordered the
citizens of London to proceed and seize him; they
marched towards that place, to the number of twenty
thousand, but the king's anger having in the meantime
been appeased, their march was countermanded. In
1264, immediately after the battle of Lewes, in which
Henry III. was defeated and taken prisoner by the
disaffected barons, a party of the king's forces then
lying in garrison at Tonbridge castle, marched into this
county, destroyed Blechingley castle, and advanced upon
Croydon, where they surprised the men of London,
who had espoused the cause of the barons, and had
been driven out of the field at Lewes, slew many
of them, and gained a considerable booty. During
Wat Tyler's rebellion, in 1381, the men of Essex attacked
the archiepiscopal palace at Lambeth, and de-.
stroyed all the furniture, books, registers, and public
papers. In 1472, the bastard Falconbridge, with an
army of seventeen thousand men, came to Kingston,
intending to cross the Thames; but finding, the bridge
broken down, he marched to St. George's Fields near
London, and, in an attack upon that city, was repulsed
by its inhabitants. Sir Thomas Wyatt, in his military
operations to prevent the marriage of Queen Mary
with Philip of Spain, marched with a force of about
two thousand men to Southwark, where he arrived on
February 3d, 1554: after staying there three days,
his entrance into London being vigorously opposed, he
marched to Kingston, with the design of crossing the
Thames into Middlesex: there he found the bridge
broken, and the opposite bank of the river defended
by two hundred men, who, however, soon retired, on
two pieces of ordnance being pointed against them,
and Sir Thomas, having repaired the bridge, passed over.
During the contest between Charles I. and the
parliament, a great majority of the inhabitants strenuously
supported the proceedings of the latter; and,
in the early part of the dispute, a petition was presented
to the House of Commons, signed by two
thousand of them, and another to the Lords, congratulating
them on the measures which they had
adopted, and complaining of there being evil counsellors
about the king, and popish lords in the House.
In January 1642, Col. Lunsford assembled at Kingston
a body of four or five hundred cavalry, for which
he was proclaimed a traitor by the parliament, and
apprehended. In August of the same year, by order
of the parliament, Captain Royden, with two hundred
foot and a troop of horse, seized and took away the
arms in Lambeth House. In October, the Earl of Essex
was at Kingston, with an army of three thousand
men; and at the beginning of November, Sir Richard
Onslow, one of the knights of the shire, and a parliamentarian,
went with the trained bands of Southwark
to the defence of that town, but being ill-received by
the inhabitants, he abandoned it. On the 8th of the.
same month, a party of soldiers took possession of
Lambeth House, by order of the parliament, after the
battle of Brentford; on November 12th, the king
marched to Kingston. In December, Farnham castle,
which had been well garrisoned for the king by Sir
John Denhatn, high sheriff of the county, was besieged
by the parliamentarian forces, and, after an obstinate
resistance, surrendered to Sir William Waller. Although
armed bands were occasionally moving in different
parts of the county, yet no other important event seems,
to have taken place within its limits until the year
1647, when the inhabitants of Southwark, not approving
of the conduct of the citizens of London towards
them, privately sent word to General Fairfax, that they
were willing to surrender the borough to him: the
General immediately sent a brigade, under the command
of Col. Rainsborough, who took possession of it.
Fairfax then visited Croydon, whence, on August 10th,
he removed his head-quarters to Kingston. On the 27th
of the same month Cromwell removed his head-quarters
from Kingston, and fixed them at Putney, whence the
parliamentarian army took its departure, on November
13th, two days after Charles I. had made his escape
from Hampton Court, and on the 18th held a grand
rendezvous on Ham common. The Earl of Holland,
the Duke of Buckingham, and Lord Francis Villiers,
making a last attempt on behalf of the royal cause,
assembled at Kingston a body of six hundred horse,
their avowed object being to release the king, then,
confined in the Isle of Wight, and bring him to parlia-.
ment, to establish peace in the kingdom, and preserve
the laws; the parliament immediatelysent some troops
of horse from Windsor, under the command of Col.
Pritty, who found the royalists but ill prepared for defence;
a skirmish took place near Surbiton common,
in which the Earl of Holland and his party were soon
defeated, and Lord Francis Villiers was slain. On the
Restoration, the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of London
met Charles II., in his approach towards the capital, on
May 29th, in St. George's Fields, where a magnificent
tent was erected, in which the king partook of a sumptuous
collation. In 1768, during the riots of the populace
of London and its environs, occasioned by the impris9nment
of John Wilkes, Esq., in the King's Bench,
the rioters were opposed by the military in St. George's
Fields, and some lives were lost: and in 1780, Lord
George Gordon assembled on the same spot upwards
of fifty thousand persons, who afterwards were engaged
in the memorable disturbances of that year. Lambeth
Palace was threatened with the popular vengeance, but
was preserved by the timely interference of the military..
Surrey is included in the diocese of Winchester,
and province of Canterbury; excepting the exempt
deanery of Croydon, which contains nine parishes, and
is in the peculiar jurisdiction of the Archbishop of
Canterbury: it forms an archdeaconry, in which are
the deaneries of Ewell, Southwark, and Stoke: the
total number of parishes is one hundred and forty-one,
of which seventy-nine are rectories, thirty-four vicarages,
and the remainder perpetual curacies. For purposes
of civil government it is divided into the hundreds
of Blackheath, Brixton, Copthorne, Effingham, Elmbridge,
Farnham, Godalming, Godley, Kingston, Reigate,
Tandridge, Wallington, Woking, and Wotton, all of
them having first and second divisions, except Brixton,
which is divided into east and west, and Farnham,
which has no division. It contains the borough and
market-town of Southwark, with the populous suburban
parishes of Rotherhithe, Bermondsey, Newington,
Camberwell, Lambeth, Clapham, and Battersea; the
borough and market-towns of Guildford, Haslemere,
and Reigate; the boroughs of Blechingley and Gatton;
the market-towns of Chertsey, Croydon, Dorking, Farnham,
Godalming, and Kingston; and the large and
elegant village of Richmond. Two knights are returned
to parliament for the shire, and two representatives for
each of the boroughs; the county members are elected
at Guildford. Surrey is included in the Home circuit:
the lent and winter assizes are held at Kingston, and the
summer assizes at Guildford and Croydon, alternately;
the county gaol is in Horsemonger-lane, in the parish of
Newington. The quarter sessions are held at the New
Sessions House, Newington, on January 12th; at Reigate,
on April 20th; at Guildford, on July 13th; and
at Kingston, on October 19th. There are one hundred
and sixty-five .'acting magistrates. The rates raised in the
county, for the year ending March 25th, 1827, amounted
to £288,108. 15., and the expenditure to £291,830. 9.,
of which £241,582. 4. was applied to the relief of the
poor. According to the earliest authentic accounts, the
county of Surrey had always a sheriff of its own until
the beginning of the reign of John, when it was placed
under the same shrievalty with Sussex; and though,
during the reigns of succeeding monarchs, it was
occasionally under a distinct sheriff, yet the regular
appointment of a separate sheriff for it did not commence until 1615.
Its form is nearly oblong, except that the northern
border is rendered extremely irregular by the devious
course of the Thames. The scenery, celebrated for its
beauty, possesses also great variety; presenting in some
parts wild and naked heaths, which form a powerful
contrast with the adjoining highly cultivated and ornamented
districts. The surface, for the most part, is, gently
undulating, excepting the Weald, a district of about
thirty miles in length, and varying from three to five in
breadth, which extends along the whole southern border,
and forms, with the Wealds of Kent and Sussex,
one immense plain, the flat surface of which is of very
inferior elevation; some of the hills, however, rise to
a very considerable height, and command rich and
extensive views. The middle of the county is crossed
from east to west by the Downs, which rise with a
gentle acclivity from the north, but on the south are
broken into precipitous cliffs of great height and romantic
irregularity: the prospects from the most elevated
of them are remarkably beautiful and diversified.
Southward of the Downs rise the hills that overhang
the Weald, in the vicinities of Oxted, Godstone, Reigate,
and Dorking. Approaching the western side of
the county, this range becomes of greater extent, and
near Wonersh, Godalming, and Pepper - Harrow, is
covered with rich woods, and intersected by pleasing
vallies, watered by streams tributary to the Wey;
the whole forming one of the most picturesque, portions
of the county. The largest tracts of the very extensive
heaths lie in the western part: from Egham
on the banks of the Thames, south-south-westward as
far as the village of Ash, the district consists, with little
exception, of heath and moor; as also does that extendt
ing in a transverse direction from Bagshot, on the
north-western confines, by Chobham and Byfleet, to
Cobham, Ripley, and Oatlands; the whole south-west,
ern angle is of the same barren character, from Haslemere
to Farnham, in one direction, and from Elstead
to Frensham in the other.
The climate in general is remarkable for its dryness,
but it varies considerably in different situations. The
greatest quantity of rain falls in that portion of the
county which is included in the vale of London; and
the atmosphere of this district is moist, as also is
that of the southern border, from the flatness of the
surface, the immense number of trees obstructing the
free circulation of air, and the wet nature of the soil.
On the other hand, the air on the Downs is dry, keen,
and bracing; and a similar climate prevails on the heaths
about Bagshot, Aldershot, Hindhead, &c. The spring
is generally early, vegetation being here little checked
by the easterly winds, which often so much retard it in
other counties. On the whole, the climate is esteemed
particularly salubrious; and the atmosphere, being kept
clear of the smoke of the metropolis, by the prevalence
of westerly and southerly winds, is remarkable for its
superior purity.
The soils, which are extremely various, are by no
means so clearly discriminated as in many other counties,
the different species lying in small patches much
intermixed; they may, however, be reduced under the
four general heads of clay, loam, chalk, and heath. The
most extensive tract bearing a uniform character is that
denominated the Weald of Surrey, where the surface
consists of a pale, cold, retentive clay, upon a subsoil of
the same nature, in which iron is found: still deeper
occurs a white clay of a slaty texture, the laminae of
which are extremely thin. In some places, particularly
on the northern border of the Weald, where the soil is
more of a loamy character, rag-stone is the prevailing
substratum: the difficulties experienced in the cultivation
of this soil are extremely great. Northward of it
lies a district of sandy loam, stretching across the whole
county, and forming the range of hills overlooking the
Weald: this soil is every where of great depth, though
variable in colour and fertility, and rests on a sandstone,
veined with oxyde of iron; the richest portion
of it lies around Godalming, Although this district,
in the eastern part of the county, is in few places more
than half a mile broad, yet, proceeding westward, in the
neighbourhood of Godalming, it expands to a breadth
of five or six miles. The chalky soil of the Downs adjoins
this to the north, the most fertile portions of it
being a pure hazel loam of various depths, while the
substratum of the whole is chalk rock. A less friable
soil, mixed with flints, intervenes between Croydon
and Godstone, and is found on all the declivities
of the chalk hills. Along the elevated summit of the
Downs, particularly about Walton and Headley, is a
large extent of heathy land, consisting of ferruginous
and barren sand. A peculiar kind of clay, of a blueisliblack
colour, here called "black land," extends in a long
narrow tract along the southern side of the chalk mils,
from the vicinity of Reigate, into the county of Kent.
Proceeding northward from the eastern extremity of the
Downs, a variety of soils occurs, chiefly strong clays,
interspersed with tracts of sandy loam, and these again
with patches of gravel, which continue nearly to Dulwich,
whence, to the north-eastern extremity of the
county, a strong pure clay occupies the whole tract.
Northward from the chalk, at Banstead Downs, is also
a long tract of clay, continuing by Sutton, Mordon,
and the eastern side of Merton, to the sandy loams of
Wimbledon, Putney heath, and Mortlake. A similar soil
js found on descending northwards from any part of
the Downs, between Banstead and Clandon, near Guildford;
but the breadth of clay separating the sandy
loam from the chalk continues decreasing as it proceeds
westward. The rich sandy soil lying between the
clay and the Thames is intermingled, especially on the
banks of the Mole and the Wey, with loams of various
qualities, and even with clay: the subsoil of nearly the
whole of these northern sands is a yellow silicious gravel.
North-westward from Guildford, sandy loams first
occur in the vicinity of Stoke, and afterwards strong
retentive clays, which extend beyond Warplesdon,
where they unite with the heaths. The soil on the
banks of the Thames consists partly of a sandy loam,
and partly of a rich strong loam.
The proportion of arable land greatly exceeds that
of meadow and pasture: the drill husbandry is general
in the western part of the county, about Bagshot, Esher,
Send, Cobham, Ripley, &c. The corn and pulse crops
are, wheat, barley, oats, beans, and peas; wheat is cultivated
to a great extent; the barley, being of a superior
quality, is generally appropriated to the making
of malt. The field varieties of peas and beans are extensively
cultivated, as an agricultural crop, in most
parts of the county, especially on the chalk hills; while
the finer sorts are grown in the vicinity of the metropolis,
and on the sandy loams in the vale of the Thames,
chiefly for the supply of the London market. The cultivation
of turnips and cabbages is now carried on to
a great extent, partly for the supply of the metropolitan
markets, and partly for the consumption of cattle. Great
quantities of carrots are grown in the northern part of
the county, to the west of the river Mole, and parsnips
on the rich deep lands in the district lying between
Wandsworth and Kingston, for the London markets,
being seldom given to cattle. Tares, and sometimes rye,
are grown as green food for sheep and horses. Red
clover has long been in general cultivation; the greater
part of this crop is made into hay, but though Within
a short distance of London, much is cut green for
horses and cows. Trefoil, white clover, and ray-grass,
are occasionally sown, and large tracts' of chalky soil
are occupied by sainfoin, most of which is made into
hay; lucerne is also grown, but on a small scale. The
Farnham hops are cultivated to a considerable extent
on the borders of Hampshire, and have long been celebrated
for their excellent quality, always bringing a
higher price than any other hops in the kingdom. Woad
flourishes on the chalk hills about Banstead Downs,
where it is generally sown with barley. By far the
most extensive and valuable tracts of meadow are situated
along the banks of the Thames, in the northwestern
part of the county, and on the banks of the
Wey, near Godalming: there is also a small extent of
meadow in its north-eastern angle, near themetropolis.
Of dairy pastures there are scarcely any: the greatest
extent lying together is on the estate of the Duke of
Norfolk, in the parishes of Newdigate and Charlwood,
on the southern border. Large quantities of manure,
of different kinds, are carried from the metropolis into
the northern parts of Surrey; in the more remote districts
lime and chalk are procured from the quarries
and works on both sides of the range of chalk downs.
A great variety of cattle is kept in this county; but
few oxen are worked. The large Wiltshire, the South
Down, and the Dorsetshire, are the principal breads
of sheep, the latter being kept chiefly for the rearing
of early house lambs, for which Surrey was formerly
much celebrated, though the number sent to the London
market has greatly decreased; many grass lambs
are prepared for the butcher in April and May.
Great numbers of hogs are fed at the distilleries
and starch-manufactories, whither they are brought
chiefly from Berkshire, Shropshire, and the East riding
of Yorkshire; those from the first-named district
are preferred. Most of the farmers keep hogs of the
Berkshire and Chinese breeds: Budgwick, on the
border of Sussex, is remarkable for a breed of swine
that fatten to an enormous size. Numerous flocks
of geese are kept on the commons, especially in the
Weald: the Dorking breed of fowls is much celebrated.
The quantity of garden ground employed in
raising vegetables for the London market is very considerable;
the parishes of Mortlake and Battersea are
particularly distinguished for the cultivation of asparagus
of excellent quality; in the latter much ground
is also occupied in the cultivation of vegetables for
seed. Orchards are numerous, but of very limited extent.
It is considered that a greater extent of land
is employed in the cultivation of medicinal plants
in this county than in any other in England: those
grown in the largest quantity are peppermint, lavender,
wormwood, camomile, aniseed, liquorice, and poppies,
which, with a few others for the druggists and perfumers,
occupy a large portion of land in the parishes
of Mitcham and Tooting.
The part most remarkable for its woods ia the
Weald, on the southern side of the county, which, there
is every reason to believe, was formerly wholly covered
with wood, much of which has been cleared off at no
very remote period. The coppices consist chiefly of
oak, birch, ash, chesnut, sallow, hazel, and alder; and
their produce is formed into hoops, poles for the hop
plantations, hurdles, and fagots; great quantities are
also made into charcoal, for gunpowder and other purposes.
The woodlands in the other parts of the county,
particularly on the chalk hills, have a greater proportion
of coppice, and fewer timber trees, than those in the
Weald. The most common kinds of timber are oak,
beech, walnut, ash, elm, box, yew, birch, Scotch fir,
larch, and maple j besides which, lime and chesnut
trees are found in the numerous plantations about gentlemens'
seats. The oaks of the finest and largest
growth are those in the Weald; the beeches thrive best
on the chalk hills, where they are every where seen
walnut trees, of a large size, are found scattered in
many parts, but no where in great numbers; the ash and
elm are seldom seen any where but in the hedge-rows,
and the latter chiefly to the north of the chalk hills, about
Croydon, Cheam, &c, and in the more immediate vici-
nity of the metropolis. The box in this county, and
chiefly on Box hill, near Dorking, attains a considerable
size; its wood is bought principally by the mathe-
matical instrument makers, and by the turners, in
London and Tonbridge. Surrey is noted for the great
number of yew-trees that are scattered in a wild state
over its chalk hills, and for the size to which some of
those that have been artificially planted have attained.
Besides forming a considerable portion of the underwoods,
the birch flourishes on the heaths; great quantities
of brooms are made of its small branches, and
sold chiefly at Southwark. Extensive plantations of fir
and larch have been made on the heathy lands in the
western part of the county. In the western and northern
parts the osier and willow are much cultivated,
particularly about Byfleet, Chertsey, &c.; the common
furze is also cultivated in different places for fuel.
Under the early Norman sovereigns a large portion of
Surrey was reserved as part of the royal demesne. By
Henry II. the limits of Windsor Forest were gradually
extended until he had afforested nearly the whole of
this county; but Richard, his son and successor, in the
first year of his reign, consented to disafforest all the
county lying eastward of the river Wey, and southward
of Guildford Down, his charter to that effect having been
confirmed by King John. That part still enclosed in
the forest, according to the provisions of this charter,
was called the Bailiwick of Surrey, being exempt from
the jurisdiction of the sheriff, and subject only to
that of its own bailiff: it contained the parishes and
townships of Ash, Bisley, Byfleet, Chobham, Horsell,
Purbright,Pyrford, Stoke, Tongham,Wanborough,Worplesdon,
Windlesham, and Woking; within the same
district also lay Chertsey, Egham, and Thorpe, but these
being estates of the abbey of Chertsey, were not subject
to the bailiff's jurisdiction. Notwithstanding the
charter of forests granted by King John, this part of
the county remained in forest until after the granting
of another charter by Henry III., in the ninth year of
his reign, which disafforested the whole, excepting only
the park of Guildford. Edward I. and Edward II. attempted
to set aside this grant, but without effect;
and Edward III., in the first year of his reign, fully confirmed
it. The royal pretensions were revived in the
seventh of Charles I., but without success; and from
that period the district known, since the time of Richard
I., as the Bailiwick of Surrey, has been regarded
as only a purlieu of the forest of Windsor; and
the king has still a right and property over the deer
escaping into it, which may be destroyed by none,
except the owners of woods, or lands, in which they
may be found, which are especially exempted from
the operation of the forest laws; it is, however, so far
free and open to all owners of land within its limits,
that, under certain restrictions, they may chase and
kill any of the deer actually found therein. For the
better preservation of the deer escaping out of the forest
into this purlieu, the king has a ranger, appointed
by letters patent, whose office it is to chase them back
again, and to whom, in his official capacity, belongs
Fangrove Lodge, near Chertsey.
It appears surprising, that a county so near the metropolis
should contain so large a quantity of waste
land. About the commencement of the present century
it was computed, that one-sixth lay in a wild and uncultivated
state; and though this extent has been
greatly lessened by numerous enclosures, there yet remain
in heaths about forty-eight thousand acres, and in
commons about seventeen thousand. The principal
heaths are, that of Bagshot, on the western border of
the county, which, with Romping Downs, and the
wastes of Purbright, Windlesham, &c., contains upwards
of thirty thousand acres, almost entirely covered with
short heath; Frensham, Thursley, and Witley heaths
comprising together five thousand eight hundred acres
Hindhead heath, which, with the last-mentioned tracts,
is situated on the south-western confines of Surrey,
and occupies an extent of upwards of three thousand
acres; the heaths of Farnham and Crooksbury, containing
about three thousand seven hundred acres; Blackheath,
about four miles south of Guildford, comprising
about one thousand acres; and Headley heath,'containing
about nine hundred acres. From their vicinity to the
metropolis, Addington heath and Shirley common,
containing about three hundred acres, and situated "to
the south-east of Croydon, are worthy of notice'. The
surface of the heaths is in general flat, and their
value is very trifling, being only used for grazing a
very few lean cattle. In the low swampy parts, about
Bagshot, Windlesham, Frimley, and Chobham, peat is
cut, though the places which supply it are few; some of
the heath is cut for making into brooms; they also
produce whortleberries, which are sometimes gathered
for sale. In the western' heaths, as well as in seyeral
other parts, fish-ponds have been made, by means
of dams in the narrow vallies, in which fish, chiefly
carp, are fed for the London market. Two of the most
extensive of these are, Spire pond, between Chobham
and Byfleet, and another near Frensham, each containing
about one hundred and fifty acres. The most extensive
commons still remaining unenclosed are, those
of Leith hill and Hurtwood, containing upwards of
three thousand acres; those of Walton, Kingswood;
and Banstead, occupying about one thousand five hundred
acres; and those of Epsom, Leatherhead, and
Ashtead, extending over one thousand two hundred
acres. Those in the more immediate vicinity of
the metropolis are Wimbledon and Putney, containing
about one thousand acres; Barnes common, about
two hundred; Wandsworth common, about three
hundred and fifty; Battersea and Clapham commons,
together about fifty; Streatham common, about two
hundred and fifty; and Kennington common, about
twenty. Coal from the port of London is carried into
every part of the county, and in the vicinity of the metropolis
is the only fuel that is used; but in the more
remote districts, furze, turf, and peat, are commonly
burned in all the cottages.
A sand-stone, commonly called rag-stone, containing
oxyde of iron, abounds along the line of junction ot
the Weald with the sand hills, which skirt that tract
on the north; the oxyde of iron sometimes prevails so
greatly, as to have been formerly worked and smelted
as iron-ore; but in consequence of the high price
of fuel, these works have long been totally abandotted.
Stone of a similar kind to the above is found m
smaller quantities about Send and Chobham; andironore
appears in the sand in the vicinities of Puttenhain
and Godstone. At Purbright, and in many parts of the
surrounding country, are found loose blocks of stone.,
bearing a strong resemblance, both in quality and
appearance, to those termed the Grey Wethers, on the
downs of Berkshire and Wiltshire. In the neighbourhoods
of Godstone, Gatton, Merstham, Reigate, and
Blechingley, are extensive quarries of a peculiar kind
of stone, which, when first dry, is soft and unable to
bear the action of a damp atmosphere; but after being
kept under cover for a few months, its texture becomes
so firm and compact, that it can resist the heat of an
ordinary fire, and is, in consequence, in great demand
for fire-places. On the White hills near Blechingley
this stone is softer than elsewhere, and is now chiefly
dug for the glass-manufacturers, who, by means of it,
have been enabled to produce plate-glass of much larger
dimensions than they formerly could: great quantities
are taken by water to Liverpool and the north of England.
Limestone, of a blueish-grey colour, containing
a very small proportion of flint, is extensively quarried
near Dorking, and affords lime of great purity and
strength, particularly serviceable in works under water,
having been employed in the construction of the West
India andWapping docks; limestone is also dug and
burned at Guildford, Sutton, and Carshalton. Some
of the most extensive chalk-pits are those at Croydon,
Sutton, Epsom, Leatherhead, Bookham, Effingham,
Horsley, Clandon, Stoke, Guildford, and Puttenham,
on the northern side of the Downs; and those
at Godstone, Catterham, Reigate, Merstham, Buckland,
and Betchworth, on the southern side. The sand about
Tandridge, Reigate, and Dorking, is in great request
for hour-glasses, writing, and a variety of other purposes
that about Reigate, more especially, is considered
unequalled in the kingdom for purity and
colour; great quantities are sent to London. Fullers'
earth is found in very extensive beds about Nutfield,
Reigate, and Blechingley, to the south of the Downs;
and some, though of an inferior quality, near Sutton
and Croydoh, to the north of them: it is of two
kinds, blue and yellow, the latter, which is the most
valuable, being chiefly employed in fulling the finer
cloths of Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, while the former
is sent into Yorkshire, for the coarser manufactures;
this earth is sent in wagons to the railway
commencing at Merstham, along which it is conveyed
to the Thames, where it is shipped. Brick-earth
is found in most parts of the county, though not of
the finest quality: at Nonsuch, in the parish of Cheam,
however, there is a particularly valuable bed, from which
a kind of brick, capable of resisting intense heat, is made.
Though Surrey cannot be regarded as a manufacturing
county, yet its vicinity to the metropolis, and the convenience
of its streams for the working of mills, have
caused several manufactures of importance to be established
in it. On the Wandle is situated a great number
of flour, paper, snuff, and oil mills, besides mills for
preparing leather and parchment, and for grinding logwood:
upon its banks also, chiefly in the parishes of
Croydon and Mitcham, are large calico, bleaching, and
printing works. This river, which is usually not more
than three feet deep, and eight broad, is remarkable
for turning ninety mills in a course of only ten miles.
On the Mole are several flour-mills, some iron-mills at
Cobham, and several flatting-mills at Ember. There are
extensive powder-mills near Maiden, to the north of
Ewell; and several paper-mills on the different tributary
branches of the Wey. At Godalming are considerable
factories for the weaving of all kinds of stockings and
the making of patent fleecy hosiery; at the same place
are also establishments for the combing of wool, and
the manufacture of worsteds, blankets, tilts, and collarcloths.
At Stoke, near Guildford, is a sawing-mill for
staves, ship-pins, &c.; and at Mortlake a manufacture
of delft and stone ware. In the neighbourhood of London,
particularly at Battersea and Lambeth, are several
distilleries on a very extensive scale; and at the latter
place, manufactories for patent shot and artificial stone:
the manufactures carried on in Southwark, and its
immediate vicinity, are of different kinds, being chiefly
such as are connected with the varied trade of the port
of London. This north-eastern extremity of the county
has a very large share in the vast commerce of the
port of London; and, besides its numerous wharfs
and quays on the banks of the Thames, it possesses
various large commercial docks, among which may be
noticed, more particularly, the Grand Surrey docks
(Outer and Inner), by which the Grand Surrey canal
connects with the river.
The principal rivers are the Thames, the Wey, and
the Mole. The Thames, forming the entire northern
boundary of the county, first touches it at its northwestern
extremity, above Egham, whence it takes a southeasterly
course, by the town of Chertsey, to the confluence
of the Wey, where it assumes an irregular
north-easterly direction to the village of Kew, passing
by the town of Kingston (to which and the village of
Thames-Ditton it makes an extensive sweep on the
south-east), the village of Petersham, and the bold
heights of Richmond: at Kew it takes a winding
easterly course, which it pursues by Mortlake, Barnes,
Putney, Wandsworth, and Battersea: then forming
Chelsea Reach, it pours its majestic stream through
the spacious arches of the six magnificent bridges
which connect the cities of London and Westminster
with the borough of Southwark and the
southern suburbs of the metropolis; and, immediately
eastward of the last of them forms the pool,
or harbour of London; between Rotherhithe and Deptford
it quits Surrey, as it approaches the superb pile
of Greenwich hospital: above London bridge it is navigable
for barges of large burden during the whole
of its course past this county; the tide flows to
Richmond bridge. The Wey, rising on the eastern border
of Hampshire, to the south-west of Haslemere,
makes a small circuit through that county, and then
enters Surrey, on its south-western border, near Frensham,
proceeding eastward to Godalming, where it becomes
navigable, and whence its course to the Thames
is generally in a north-north-easterly direction: at
the village of Shalford, a little to the south of Guildford,
it is joined by a stream which rises near Leith
hill, to the south of Wotton, and passing through
Guildford, by the villages of Stoke and Send, and
close to the south-east of that of Woking, it proceeds
to Weybridge, to which place it gives name, and near
which it falls into the Thames at Harn Haw. The
Mole rises from several springs on the southern borders
of the county, and in the forest of Tilgate in Sussex,
the waters of which unite in the parish of Horley,
to the south of Reigate, whence this river takes
a south-westerly course, at first through a flat and
uninteresting county; approaching the downs near
Dorking, the scenery changes, and passing beneath
the venerable grores around Betchworth castle, the
river enters a narrow defile, and pursues its course
through a romantic valley beneath the almost perpendicular
height of Box hill: its course from the vicinity
of Dorking is nearly northward to Leatherhead,
where it emerges from among the hills, flowing northwestward
by the village of Stoke to that of Cobham,
a little distance beyond which it takes a north-easterly
direction by Esher to West and East Moulsey,
at which latter place it joins the Thames opposite to
Hampton Court. This river is famed for, and is supposed
to derive its name from, the circumstance of a
part of its waters pursuing a subterraneous passage;
this is occasioned by the porous and cavernous
nature of the soil over which the river runs during
several miles of its course below Dorking; when its
waters are at their ordinary height, no particular irregularity
in its stream is here observable; but in seasons
of drought its current is wholly carried through
the swallows, as the subterraneous passages are called,
and its ordinary channel, similar to that of any other
river of the same size, is left dry, except here and
there a stagnant pool: by the bridge at Thorncroft it
rises again, and thenceforward the current is uninterrupted.
The small river Wandle, rising from some
very strong springs near Croydon, flows "eastward by
Beddington and Wellington, and having been greatly
increased by the waters of some other powerful springs
situated near Carshalton, flows northward by Mitcham,
Mordon, Merton, and Tooting, to Wandsworth,
where it falls into the Thames, after a course of about
ten miles; its waters are remarkable for their purity.
A powerful stream rises in the town of Ewell, whence
it pursues its course to the Thames, at Kingston. One
of the streams which, by their junction in Kent, form
the river Medway, rises in the parishes of Godstone
and Home, and flowing through that of Lingfield,
passes eastward into that county. The small river
Loddon forms the western boundary of Surrey for
the distance of nine or ten miles near its source.
Under the head of canals it may be proper to observe,
that the navigation of the Wey is artificial, and
has locks upon it, which are supposed to have been
the first constructed in the kingdom; the navigable
channel also is, in some places, wholly separate from
the natural course of the river: the bill for the formation
of this navigation up to Guildford was passed
in-1651, but the work was not carried into execution
until towards the close of the century: it was extended
to Godalming in 1760, and by its means timber,
flour, and paper, are now exported to London. The
Basingstoke canal enters Surrey from Hampshire near
Dradbrook, crossing the river Loddon, from which it
derives its chief supply of water; immediately turning
northward, it proceeds in that direction to the neighbourhood
of Frimley, where it pursues an easterly
ourse, a little inclining northward, by Purbright, to the
river Wey, a short distance below Byfleet; from Dradbrook
to its junction with the navigable channel of the
Wey, a distance of about fifteen miles, it has a fall of
one hundred and ninety-five feet; from Hook common
there is a branch to Turgis Green, six miles long, and on
the same level: the act for the formation of this navigation
was passed in 1778, and it was completed in 1796:
the chief articles of traffic upon it are timber, corn, and
coal. The Grand Surrey canal, the act for constructing
which was obtained in 1801, commencing a little
to the west of the road from London to Camberwell is
carried eastward across the Kent road, and then northward
to the Grand Surrey docks, through which it
communicates with the Thames. The Croydon canal
the act for making which was obtained in 1801, commencing
on the northern side of that town, is carried
north-by-east by the hamlet of Sydenham to the
Grand Surrey canal, in the parish of Deptford; part of
its course lies just within the north-eastern confines
of Kent: it is navigable for boats of twenty-five tons'
burden. The Surrey and Sussex canal forms a junction
between the navigable channel of the Arun in Sussex,
and that of the Wey, a little above Guildford. The Surrey
railway, which was projected and commenced in the
yeaf 1802, proceeds from Wandsworth, in a double linej
up the valley of the Wandle to Croydon, whence it is continued
southward to Merstham: the part from Wandsworth
to Croydon, about ten miles in length, was soon
completed; and the success of the undertaking shortly
induced the proprietors to form the further line, which
is about seven miles long, but has not near the same
extent of traffic as the lower part, from which short
branches are carried to many of the manufactories on
the banks of the Wandle,- at Wandsworth the railway
terminates at a basin, capable of holding more than
thirty barges, which communicates Avith the Thames: the
breadth of the two lines, with a foot-path, is twentyfour
feet. In forming the railway-between Croydon and
Merstham, it was found necessary, for the purpose of
preserving the level, to raise embankments across several
vallies, of from ten to thirty feet deep, with arched
carriage roads through them.
Owing to the inferiority of the materials for making
and repairing the ordinary roads, they are not generally
in a good condition. The road from London to the
Land's End enters from Staines, and passes through
Egham and Bagshot to Basingstoke; this is also the
road from London to Truro, through Launceston; that
from London to Wells, Bridg-water, and Mineheadj
that to Exeter and Dartmouth, through Taunton; that
to Barnstaple and Ilfracomb; and that to Stratton;
The road from London to Winchester, Poole, andWeymouth,
branches off near Bagshot, and passes through
Farnham to Alton in Hampshire; this is also the
road from London to Southampton, to Gosport, and
to Portsmouth. The road from London to Portsmouth,
through Guildford, passes through Wandsworth,
Kingston, Esher, Guildford, and Godalming, to Petersfield.
The road from London to Chichester branched
from the last near Godalming, through Haslemere, to
Midhurst. The road from London to Brighton, by
Lewes, passes through Streatham and Croydon, to
East Grinstead in Sussex. That from London to
Brighton, through Reigate, passes by Clapham common,
Tooting, Mitcham, Sutton, and Reigate, to Cratfley
in Sussex: that by Horsham, branches from the
last at Lower Tooting, and passes  through Ewell, Epsom,
Leatherhead, and Dorking. The road fronr London
to Dovor quits Surrey at New Cross turnpike.
This county contained the Roman station of No-
momagus, situated at Woodcote, near Croydon; besides
two others, supposed to have been respectively at
Kingston on Thames and Walton on the Hill. It was
traversed by the roads leading from the southern and
eastern coasts to the capital, which met in St. George's
Fields, near Southwark, the principal of them being
the Ermin-street, which ran nearly parallel to, and at a
very short distance to the eastward of, the present turnpike-
road through Clapham, Tooting, Merton, Ewell,
and Epsom, to Ashtead, thence proceeding, nearly in a
southerly direction, to Dorking, where it took a westerly
course, about a mile southward of Guildford, to
Farnham, beyond which town it soon entered Hampshire;
the Stane-street, which, branching from the Ermin-
street at Dorking, proceeded southward, through
the parish of Ockley, into Sussex; and another Stanestreet,
which from the metropolis passed through
Streatham, Croydon, Coulsdon, Catterham, and Godstone,
also into Sussex; and the Watling-street, from
Dovor, which crossed its north-eastern extremity to
London. Remains of ancient encampments, supposed to
be Roman, may be seen at Bottle hill, in the parish of
Warlingham; on Castle hill, in that of Hascomb; near
Chelsham; on Holmbury hill, in the parish of Ockley;
at Ladlands and Oatlands; and on St. George's hill,
near Walton on Thames. Foundations of Roman edifices
have been discovered at Walton on the Hill, and
on Blackheath, in the parish of Albury, both surrounded
by intrenchments. Other remains of buildings,
supposed to be of the like origin, have been
traced in the vicinities of Wellington, Carshalton, and
Beddinton; and near Kingston on Thames, Roman
sepulchral urns, coins, earthenware, and foundations of
buildings, have been found. Many Roman coins and
pavements have also been found in St. George's Fields,
Southwark. Different ancient encampments, the date
of the formation of which is uncertain, exist in various
places, besides those above mentioned; that at the
south-western angle, of Wimbledon common is supposed
byCamden to mark the site of the battle fought in
568; while those of Hanstie Bury, on a projection of
Leith hill, and War Coppice hill, in the parish of Catterham,
are attributed to the Danes.
The number of religious houses in Surrey, of all denominations,
prior to the general dissolution, was about
twenty-eight. Remains yet exist of the abbeys of Chertsey
and Waverley, and of the priories of Merton, Newark,
or Newstead, and Southwark. Of ecclesiastical architecture
and antiquities, the most remarkable specimens
are in the churches of Addington, Barnes, Beddington,
Camberwell, Carshalton, Chaldon, Chipstead,
Compton, Croydon, Dunsfold, St. Mary and St. Nicholas
(at Guildford), Kingston, Lambeth, Leatherhead, Leigh,
Merstham, Merton, Merrow, Mickleham, Shere, St. Mary
Overy, commonly called St. Saviour's, in Southwark (one
of the largest and finest parochial churches in the
kingdom), and in the chapel of St. Martha on the Hill.
The most remarkable fonts are those of the churches
of Beddington, Chelsham, Dunsfold, Elstead, Ewhurst,
Frensham, Hambledon, Haslemere, Home, Merstham,
Mitcham, Mordon, Mortlake, Shere, Thames-Ditton, and
Walton on the Hill. There are extensive remains of
the castles of Farnham and Guildford. The most remarkable
ancient residence is Lambeth palace: there are
also remains of the ancient palace of the Archbishops
of Canterbury, at Croydon. Few counties in England
can vie with Surrey in the number and elegance of its
seats of nobility and gentry, and certainly none not exceeding
it in size: this circumstance is owing chiefly
to its vicinity to the metropolis, and the superior pleasantness
of its scenery. Of its parks, the royal one of
Richmond, to the south-east of that elegant resort, is
the most extensive, being nearly eight miles in circumference,
and containing upwards of two thousand two
hundred and fifty acres. Many of the farm-houses in
the Weald have a mean and dilapidated appearance;
but in the other parts of the county they are neat and
commodious: the oldest are built entirely of brick,
and generally roofed with large heavy flag-stones;
while many are constructed on a wooden frame, with
lath and plaster; others again are rough-cast. The mineral
springs are numerous, and were formerly in high
repute and much frequented, more particularly those of
Epsom. .On the northern side of the chalk hills, and in
the vallies by which they are traversed, in the eastern
part of the county, copious streams of water, in. the
shape of remarkably powerful springs, provincially
called bourns, are periodically discharged. In sinking
wells on the chalk it is often found necessary to bore
to the depth of three hundred feet; and the thick
beds of clay lying in the north-eastern part of the
county must, for the same purpose, be bored entirely
through, frequently to an equal depth. There are
several remarkable excavations, of unknown date, in
the chalk hill upon which Guildford castle stands.
Surrey gives the title of earl to the family of Howard,
Dukes of Norfolk.