SURREY is a metropolitan county and derives its name from having formed a southern district of the Thames; it is an inland shire, on the south bank of the Thames, having communication with the sea by means of that river, and contains 485,129 acres; the population in 1801 was 268,233; 1811, 328,851; 1821, 399,417; 1831, 486,434; 1841, 584,036; 1851, 683,082; 1861, 831,093; 1871, 1,091,635; and in 1881, 1,433,899 (males 683,228, females 753,671), of which 980,522 are within the area of the metropolis. The county is of moderate size, being about 25 miles long from north to south and 39 miles broad from east to west, and is bounded on the north by the Thames, which separates it from Middlesex; on the east by Kent, on the south by Sussex, on the west by Hampshire, and on the north-west by Berkshire and a small corner of Buckinghamshire. The surface is in general not elevated, but undulating and diversified, presenting much pleasing scenery. Near the centre a range of hills stretches completely across the county; this range, called the North Downs, slopes down gently on its north, but is rugged, precipitous and often of romantic appearance on its south side. The highest point in the direct line of the range is Botley Hill, above Titsey, 866 feet, but the highest point in the county, and indeed in this part of England, is Leith Hill, which is 966 feet; it is about 3 miles south of Dorking. The northern part of the county belongs to the London clay formation, occasionally rising into hills 389 feet high and dotted also with ranges of barren sand, called Bagshot sand, some of which are 463 feet high; along the Thames is a rich belt of alluvial soil. The downs belong to the chalk formation. Along the south border a tract, called the Weald of Surrey, unites with the Wealds of Kent and Sussex in forming a flat and very extensive plain, occasionally broken by low hills. The north-west is the least inviting part of the county, consisting principally of heath and moorland waste: this portion of the county belongs entirety to the geological formation known by the name of Bagshot sand: immediately south and east of it a tract of nearly equal extent is occupied by the London and plastic clay, which is succeeded on the south by the chalk formation, of which the downs above described are composed. The south part of the county belongs to the Wealden clay and iron sand formations. Surrey produces clay, bricky and potters’ earth, white sand for glass, fullers’ earth, firestone, Sussex and Purbeck marbles, chalk, lime, chert, flint, chalcedony, jet, iron sand and sulphate of barytes.

The river Thames, navigable for almost its entire length, adjoins this county for many miles, winding along its northern border, and separating it from Middlesex. The time of high water at London Bridge on the full and change of the moon is 1 hr. 58 m., and the vertical rise of the tide above the mean low water level of spring tides is, at springs, 20 ¾ ft. and at neaps, 17 ¼ ft. This noble stream, which derives its name from the Iberians, is crossed by many bridges, some of the finest in the world. Those adjoining this county, from the mouth upwards, are London, Southwark (railway), Southwark, Blackfriars (railway), Blackfriars, Waterloo, Charing Cross (railway and foot), Westminster, Lambeth (suspension), Vauxhall, Victoria (railway) (new), Chelsea (suspension), Albert (suspension), Battersea, Battersea (railway), Wandsworth, Putney (new), Hammersmith (suspension) (new), Barnes (railway), Kew (railway), Kew, Richmond (railway), Richmond, Teddington (foot bridge), Kingston (railway), Kingston, Hampton Court, Walton, Chertsey, Staines (railway) and Staines.

The shire belongs principally to the basin of the Thames and is watered by the Wandle, Putney brook, Hogg’s Mill or New Mill brook, Mole, Wey, Bourne brook and Blackwater: there are also some feeders of the Arun and Medway. The Wandle rises near Croydon and at Beddington becomes an important mill stream, one of the chief in the county, and famous for its trout; it is 11 miles long, falling into the Thames at Wandsworth. The Hogg’s Mill rises near Ewell, falling in at Kingston. The Mole, anciently called the Emlay, rises in Sussex and enters the county near Horley and winds through a beautiful valley, passing by Dorking, Leatherhead and Cobham, to East Molesey, being 42 miles long; it is sometimes soaked up by the porous soil near Box Hill, so as to leave the channel dry and thence becomes subterranean; it is nowhere navigable. The Wey is the most important river and rises near Alton, in Hampshire, flowing to Godalming, where it is made navigable and is the principal feeder of the Basingstoke and the Wey, and Arun canals; it flows by Guildford and Woking (where it receives the Pye, 12 miles long) to Weybridge, where it receives the Bourne brook-making a total course of 41 miles, of which 18 are navigable.

The Wey and Arun Canal, 18 miles long, unites with the Wey at Stonebridge Wharf, giving access to the sea at Arundel. The Basingstoke Canal begins near the mouth of the Wey and runs 37 miles to Basingstoke. The Grand Surrey Canal, cut from the Thames at Rotherhithe to Deptford and thence to Camberwell, is very short, but of considerable importance, containing an extensive basin, in connection with the navigation of the Thames.

The railways are the London, Brighton and South Coast, the South Eastern, the London and South Western and the London, Chatham and Dover; the former runs from London south by Penge, Croydon and Redhill to Three Bridges Junction and thence to Brighton, with a line from Norwood Junction through West Croydon, Sutton (where there is a branch through Banstead to Epsom Downs), Epsom, Leatherhead and Dorking to Horsham, in Sussex. From Guildford also is a line through Bramleigh and Cranleigh, in county, to Horsham. The South London line, which connects this railway with the Great Eastern at Liverpool street, passing under the Thames at Wapping, has stations at Rotherhithe (Spa road), Deptford, Old Kent road, Peckham (Queen’s road), Peckham Rye, Denmark Hill and Loughborough Park and Brixton and thence to Victoria; from Peckham Rye a line branches off to East Dulwich, North Dulwich, Tulse Hill, Streatham and Mitcham to Sutton; from Streatham, on this line, is a branch to Tooting, where it divides, one portion joining the South Western main line at Wimbledon, and the other proceeding to Merton; Streatham is also united by loop lines with the line from Balham to Streatham Common, Thornton Heath and Croydon; and with the line from Croydon to East Grinstead and Lewes. From Croydon is their line through Oxted to East Grinstead and their Sussex lines. From Oxted the company have constructed a line to Groombridge, on the Tunbridge Wells branch, which gives direct communication from London to Eastbourne. The South Eastern uses the portion between London Bridge and Redhill as a joint line, thence branching off from Redhill to Reigate, Dorking and Reading by Guildford, forming a line through West Surrey, and from Redhill and through East Surrey to Dover in Kent. These lines give access to Kent and Sussex, and all the south-western coast, and by Reading to the west and north of England. The Caterham railway branches from Caterham Junction on the London and Brighton and South Eastern joint main line, and is worked by the South Eastern Company. The county is also traversed by the Wimbledon and Croydon line of the Brighton and South Coast, which, starting from a junction with the South Western line at Wimbledon station, passes by Merton Park, Morden, Mitcham Junction and Beddington to the Epsom and Croydon line and thence by the main line from Brighton to London. The West End and Crystal Palace railway likewise runs through the county; starting from the Victoria station, and crossing the river below Chelsea New Bridge, it passes beneath the main line of the South Western railway and then runs parallel thereto, but at a lower level, through Clapham Junction to Wandsworth Common, whence it runs by Balaam, Streatham Hill, West Norwood and Gipsy Hill to the Crystal Palace.

The London and South Western railway runs south-west by Clapham Junction, Wimbledon, Surbiton, Weybridge and Woking to Farnborough (Hants), and thence, via Basingstoke and Winchester, to Southampton, having branches from Raynes Park to Epsom and Leatherhead, from Malden to Kingston, Teddington and Strawberry Hill to Twickenham, from Surbiton to Thames Ditton and Hampton Court, and also one to Guildford through Cobham, and from Weybridge is a line to Chertsey; the Portsmouth line of the same company branches off at Woking and passes through Guildford, Godalming and Haslemere; at Brookwood is a short line to Bisley Camp of the National Rifle Association; the company has also a line from Clapham Junction through Wandsworth, Putney, Barnes, Mortlake, Richmond and Twickenham to Staines and Windsor, with a loop line from Barnes to Kew and Hounslow, returning to the Windsor line near Feltham; from Staines branches off the line to Reading, with stations at Egham and Virginia Water; a branch from Farnborough through Bagshot connects the Southampton and Staines and Wokingham railways; from Guildford is a branch through Farnham to Winchester: there is a line from Wimbledon connecting with the Metropolitan District system at Putney Bridge.

The London, Chatham and Dover railway, entering the county from Sydenham near Dulwich, bifurcates at Herne Hill, the city branch passing by Camberwell, Walworth and the Elephant and. Castle to the Thames, which it crosses near Blackfriars to the Holborn Viaduct, joining the Metropolitan line at Farringdon street, and having connection with the Great Northern and Midland railways via King’s Cross; the west end line proceeds by Brixton, Stockwell and Clapham to Battersea, where it passes under the South Western and joins the Crystal Palace line on which it runs to Victoria station. This company has also a branch from Loughborough Junction to the Crystal Palace via Nunhead, Honor Oak and Lordship Lane (Forest Hill).

Another line, called the West London extension, starts from the West London at Kensington and crosses the Thames above Battersea Church, and joining the London, Chatham and Dover railway at York road, communicates with Victoria station; all these lines, it will be seen, start from this station, the convenient position of which at the west end of London has rendered it an important terminus for the suburban traffic of this county. Clapham Junction is a great junction station for interchange of traffic. The great facilities afforded by the several lines in opening a convenient access to many beautiful sites have caused the county to be studded with mansions and villas, and Surrey contains, particularly along the south bank of the Thames, the seats of many well-known persons, nor, perhaps, is any part of the world so thickly occupied with noble and elegant mansions, or with so many well-planted domains.

The soils include all the principal varieties of plastic and alluvial clays, rich vegetable loam, calcareous earth and almost barren heath: on the first of these the principal crops are wheat and beans: much of the alluvium, particularly in the vicinity of the Metropolis, is occupied by orchards and market gardens and whole farms are devoted to the raising of medical and aromatic plants, as camomile, wormwood, aniseed, peppermint and lavender: the loamy soils grow excellent barley, oats and peas; there, too, root-crops, more especially carrots and parsnips, are extensively grown: the calcareous are chiefly remarkable for their excellent hops, among which those of Farnham deserve especial notice, and for their valuable, crops of clover. In the north-west of the county are some extensive nurseries, where rhododendrons and azaleas and other American plants are grown to great perfection. The quantity of grazing land is not extensive; the domestic animals are usually of the ordinary improved breeds. On the Downs many sheep are fed. A good deal of coppice wood and timber is planted: oak, chestnut, walnut, box, ash, elm, alder and willow are grown; also furze for bakers’ faggots.

The manufactures in the metropolitan suburbs are extensive and various. On the mill-streams many factories are also established, and the county has long held a respectable manufacturing rank. Woollen goods and, hosiery are made at Godalming; oil, paper, snuff and sheet-iron, for which there are numerous mills, on the Mole and on the Wandle. There are also several large paper mills. Calico bleaching and printing, once carried on upon the Wandle, has to some extent fallen off. Brush and broom making is a considerable business, also paper making, brewing and malting: Brick making, glass working, cement working and pottery, form Other branches of business. Fullers’ earth is dug at Nutfield and Reigate, these being the only places in England, except Midford in Somerset, where this material is found in sufficient quantities for use in the preparation of woollen fabrics and also for toilet purposes.

Surrey, by Order in Council, February 5th, 1876, is not included in any circuit, but commissions are issued not less often than twice a year for the discharge of civil and criminal business; the exceptions are the borough of Southwark, the parishes of Battersea, Bermondsey, Camberwell, Christchurch, Clapham, Lambeth, St. Mary (Newington), Rotherhithe, Streatham, Barnes, Putney, St. Paul’s (Deptford), Tooting, Wandsworth, Merton, Mortlake, Kew, Richmond, Wimbledon, the Clink Liberty and the district of Lambeth Palace, which are under the Central Criminal Court. The county has one Court of Quarter Sessions and is divided into 12 petty sessional divisions. The Spring assizes are held at Kingston and the Summer assizes at Guildford; the sessions are held at Guildford and Kingston, but portions of the county are now included for these purposes in the “County of London.”. The county is partly within the metropolitan police district, and the remainder is in five police divisions, with headquarters at Guildford.

The county contains 152 civil parishes and parts of two others, besides ecclesiastical district parishes, and is partly in the diocese of Rochester and partly in that of Winchester. The portion in Rochester diocese is divided into the archdeaconries of Kingston-upon-Thames and Southwark, the latter formed in 1878 and taken from the diocese of London; the archdeaconry of Kingston comprises the rural deaneries of Barnes, Beddington, Godstone, Kingston, Reigate and Streatham. Southwark archdeaconry comprises the rural deaneries of Battersea, Camberwell, Clapham, Kennington, Lambeth, Newington and Southwark. The portion in Winchester diocese is comprised in the archdeaconry of Surrey, which is sub-divided into the rural deaneries of Dorking, Emly, Farnham, Godalming, Guildford, Leatherhead and Woking.

The municipal boroughs are Croydon, population in 1881, 78,953; Godalming, 2,505; Guildford, 19,858; Kingston, 20,648; Reigate, 18,662; and Richmond, 19,066.

Other towns:-Farnham, population in 1881, 4,488; Chertsey, 9,215; Woking, 8,554; Dorking, 6,328; Leatherhead, 3,533; Haslemere, 1,111; Epsom, 6,916; Mitcham, 8,960; and Walton-on-Thames, 6,570; these are exclusive of the populous places in the neighbourhood of the metropolis.

The main roads are numerous; they are-the Dover road, the Brighton road, by Croydon and Merstham, the Lewes and Eastbourne road, the Horsham and Worthing road, the Portsmouth road by Kingston, Guildford and Godalming, the Winchester and Southampton road, the Chichester road and the Salisbury and Exeter road.

This county, after the expulsion of the Iberians and Britons, seems to have been occupied by a Belgic tribe, the Regni, who were defeated by Julius Caesar and subsequently subdued by the Romans, by whom the county was colonised and improved. Under the Saxons, Surrey formed a small kingdom, generally dependent upon one of the larger states, either Sussex or Wessex, until merged by Egbert; it was settled by the same clans as Middlesex, and many of the villages and hamlets in both shires have the same name: it was frequently overrun by the Danes and many fierce battles were fought between them and its early inhabitants. On the Norman accession this county was granted to William de Warrenne, as Earl of Surrey, in 1087, and this title continues in the possession of his illustrious descendants, the Dukes of Norfolk, whose heirs-apparent are called Earls of Arundel and Surrey.

The Royal Surrey County Hospital, Guildford, erected in 1866 as a memorial to H.R.H. Prince Consort, is situated on the rise of “the Hog’s Back,” within a few hundred yards of the railway station at Guildford, on a site given by the Earl of Onslow. Her Majesty the Queen, who is the patroness, presented to the institution a marble bust of the Prince Consort, executed by Mr. Theed, which is in the entrance hall. The hospital is supported by voluntary contributions: a new wing, serving as a children’s ward, was added in 1887 and the hospital is now available for 96 patients: the number of out-patients for 1889 was 4,755 and of in-patients 749. J. S. Stedman M.D. & H. S. Taylor, consulting medical officers; T. M. Butler, J. Morton M.B. & C. J. Sells L.R.C.P.Lorid. hon. medical officers; E. G. A. Morshead M.D.; F. Russell M.D. & Percy A. Gabb M.D. hon. assistant medical officers; H. P. C. Manning L.R.C.P. Lond. house surgeon; Rev. E. J. Luce M.A. chaplain; S. J. Budgett esq. treasurer; Col. Lamb, hon. sec.; T. Taunton, assistant sec.; Miss Bisshopp, matron.

At Brookwood, Woking, is the Surrey County Asylum for pauper lunatics, opened in 1867; the asylum is a structure of brick, and includes a recreation and dining hall, a water tower 120 feet high, with tank 90 feet from the ground containing 30,000 gallons for use in case of fire only, and within the grounds is a chapel: the buildings occupy about 9 acres of land, the estate comprising about 225 acres; there are 420 male and 600 female patients, about two-thirds of this number being usefully employed; entertainments of some kind are given once a week during the winter months. James Edward Barton L.R.C.P.Edin. medical superintendent; Francis Casteret Gayton M.D. senior assistant medical officer; Timothy Arundel Shepherd, junior assistant medical officer; Rev. Charles Arthur Skelton M.A. chaplain; J. Cartledge, clerk to the visiting justices; Thomas S. Orchard Stone, clerk to the asylum; Miss Catherine Fernandez, matron; Miss Elizabeth Rogers, assistant matron.

The Pauper Lunatic Asylum at Cane Hill, Coulsdon, 2 miles south of Purley station, was opened in January, 1884: the buildings, which adjoin the Brighton main road, are arranged to hold 1,124 patients, but are now being enlarged for 900 additional patients; the present buildings occupy an area of 12 acres, and are arranged in detached blocks, radiating from a centre and connected by covered ways, communicating with the central offices; the rooms for the committee, the superintendent and assistant medical officers, occupy the centre of the front, on each side of which are placed the wards: in a court behind stands the chapel, an edifice of brick and stone in the Early English style, consisting of chancel, nave, aisles and transepts, and seating 800 persons: besides the main buildings, the institution includes a cottage, hospital for 16 patients with the necessary offices: the asylum, which was designed by Mr. C. H. Howell, the county architect, has been built at a cost of £198,640. James Matthew Moody M.R.C.S.Eng., L.R.C.P.Edin. medical superintendent; Gerald Crowfoot Fitzgerald B.A., M.B., B.Ch. Camb., M.R.C.S.Eng, senior assistant medical officer; Harold Arthur Kidd M.R.C.S.Eng., L.R.C.P.Lond, junior assistant medical officer; Rev. John Charles Crawford M.A. chaplain; James L. Ralph, clerk to the asylum; Gilbert George Thomson, steward and storekeeper.

The Metropolitan District Asylum for Chronic Insane Persons and Imbeciles at Caterham is surrounded by a farm of 100 acres: the building is of white brick, with red brick facings, string bands and dressings, and consists of 13 blocks and a chapel, with a detached block for infectious cases, six for males and seven for females; there is a recreation hall to seat 800, with a permanent stage; dances are given weekly, attended by the asylum band, and there is a spacious cricket ground: the asylum is supplied with water from an artesian well 360 feet in depth: the asylum is arranged to hold 945 males and 1,107 females, and most of the officers are resident. George Stanley Elliot M.D. medical superintendent; Rev. William Jones M.A. chaplain; William H. Pratten, clerk; Samuel Overend, foreman of works; Mrs. Elizabeth Mosely, matron.

The Royal Hospital for Incurables, situated on West bill, Wandsworth, founded in 1854 at Carshalton, was afterwards removed to Putney, and again removed to the present building in 1863, Melrose Hall and estate having been purchased at a cost of £20,000, and a further sum of £20,000 expended in necessary additions and alterations; the hospital will hold 200 patients of both sexes, and is supported entirely by voluntary contributions. Frederic Andrew, secretary. Office, 106 Queen Victoria street E.C.

The Metropolitan Convalescent Institution, Walton-on-Thames, was erected in 1840 for the reception of convales cents, who are boarded and lodged gratis for three weeks; 300 beds are made up in the establishment; in 1862 a new wing was added, and in 1868 another, called the “Marner” wing: the late Earl of Ellesmere gave for the site 5 acres.

Norman Rushworth L.R.C.P.Lond, medical officer; Rev. Frederick William Vynter M.A. chaplain; Mrs. Proctor, lady superintendent; Charles Holmes, 32 Sackville street, London w, secretary.

The Children’s Convalescent Institution, Kingston hill, erected from the designs of Mr. H. Saxon Snell, architect, is a branch of the above, and was opened by the Prince and Princess of Wales in July, 1875: it is intended for children of both sexes from 2 to 14 years of age, and contains 150 beds.

The Cambridge Asylum for Soldiers’ Widows, situated at Norbiton, Kingston, the first stone of which was laid by the late Prince Consort, May 1st, 1852, is a red brick building in the Italian style, from designs by Mr. Thomas Allom, architect, and was opened in February, 1854, as a memorial to the late Duke of Cambridge; it was erected at a cost of £3,700, and has a chapel adjacent. There are 50 inmates. Col. J. Ainslie Stewart, secretary; Miss Winifred Winch, matron.

The North Surrey District School, Anerley, was erected in 1849; the buildings, of red brick, comprise a central block with wings, an infants’ department, detached infirmary, chapel and outhouses; the whole being surrounded by about 58 acres of land inclosed by a brick wall: the school is intended for the education of pauper children belonging to some of the unions in the northern portions of Surrey and educates children belonging to the unions of Lewisham and Wandsworth; James Marsland, superintendent; Rev. Henry Cornelius Laycock B.A. chaplain; H. James Chaldecott, clerk.

The Surrey County School, for the middle classes, is situated at Cranleigh; it was opened on the 12th October, 1865, and in 1869 it was enlarged, the additions including a chapel, in the Early English style, erected by Sir Henry W. Peek bart. in memory of his mother at a cost of £5,500; the school has now about 350 boys. Rev. Joseph Merriman D.D. head master.

The Mayford Industrial School, at Mayford, Woking, for destitute boys not convicted of crime, was established at Wandsworth in 1867, and removed to Byfleet comer in 1871 and to its present site in August, 1887; the total cost of the new building is £15,000; the estate comprises about 12 acres; there are about 180 boys in the school, who are employed upon the land, tailoring, shoemaking, carpentering and in other useful occupations. William Redpath, superintendent.

The Princess Mary Village Homes, at Addlestone, erected in the year 1871, consist of a number of brick cottages, with central building forming a school; it is a certified industrial school for the reception of the female children of prisoners and other children in destitute and dangerous circumstances, and the buildings are so designed as to carry out the “Family system,” each cottage containing a certain number of little girls under the charge of one of the mothers, who are:-Mrs. Meredith, Miss Caroline Georgina Cavendish, and Miss Lloyd, of Addlestone; Rev. E. W. Bullinger D.D. Woking, chaplain. London office, 143 Clapham road SW.

The National Orphan Home for Girls was established at-Hatch, in the parish of Ham, in 1849, and a new building erected on the site in 1862; a wing was added in 1868 and two wings in 1872; it is arranged to hold 200, and has now 103 children: the home is open to orphan girls of all classes, who are educated until the age of fifteen, and are then placed in suitable situations. Mrs. Annie Clements, matron.

The Royal Albert Orphan Asylum, Frimley, established in 1864, is a brick building, with a stuccoed front, surrounded by about 200 acres, 50 of which are used as a farm; the children admitted are elected by subscribers only and must be orphans; boys are eligible between the ages of 8 and 12 years, and leave the institution at 14: girls between the same ages, but remain until 15: there are now about 220 children; besides farming, the boys are taught useful trades, and the girls are instructed in housework. Charles R. A. Griffin, superintendent and secretary to the local committee; Miss Elizabeth Crowdace, matron; Charges A. Walker, 18 Newgate street, London E.C, secretary.

The National Asylum for Idiots at Earlswood, Redhill, incorporated by Royal Charter in 1862, and considerably enlarged in 1870, has a detached infirmary with 42 beds, the first stone of which was laid in July, 1877, by Prince Leopold: the asylum contained, in 1890, 615 inmates, but is available for a much larger number, and is chiefly supported by voluntary contributions; the office is at 36 King William street E.C., London; William John Little M.D. consulting and visiting medical officer; Robert Jones M.D., B.S. resident physician and superintendent; Ernest Frederick Cooper L.R.C.P.Lond, assistant medical officer; James Downing, secretary.

The Reformatory of the Philanthropic Society for the reformation of juvenile offenders, instituted in 1788 and incorporated in 1806, is situated on an estate about a mile to the east of Redhill station and very near to Earlswood station on the London, Brighton and South Coast railway; the buildings, the foundation stone of which was laid by H.R.H. Prince Consort in April, 1849, consist of five separate houses, each containing about 60 boys, who are mostly employed on a farm of about 300 acres connected with the school: there are also various trade shops for the purposes of industrial instruction; attached is a private chapel with frequent services. This society may be considered the parent of the Reformatory system in England, and its great success in training criminal boys is universally recognised. The Rev. Marshall A. Vine B.A. warden and resident chaplain; John Trevarthen, secretary.

The Royal Victoria Patriotic Asylum for orphan daughters of deceased soldiers, sailors and marines, on Wandsworth Common, founded out of the surplus money of the Crimean Patriotic Fund, contains 220 girls.

Her Majesty’s Surrey Prison, Wandsworth common, opened in 1851, is a large building of brick and stone and has room for nearly 1,000 criminals. Capt. A. P. H, Helby R.N. governor; Capt. L. P. Pennethome, deputy governor; Rev. George Binks de Renzi B.A. chaplain; Rev. H. D. Galeran, Catholic minister; Richard Frith Quinton M.D. surgeon; Sidney Reginald Dyer L.R.C.P.L. assistant surgeon; William Henry Chandlery storekeeper.

The Female Convict Prison, Woking, opened in 1869, has 380 inmates, who are employed in various useful occupations, a great number being engaged in the manufacture of twine for the Post Office. Richard Brayn L.R.C.P.Lond, governor and medical superintendent; Miss Maria Hutchinson, assistant superintendent; Rev. Frederick Augustus Gardiner M.A. chaplain; Michael Laurenson, Catholic priest; J. H. Askham, steward; John Webster, foreman of works; Mrs. Mary Ann Price, chief matron.

Fairs and Markets

Bletchingley, May 10 & November 2, the latter for cattle.

Chertsey, first Monday in Lent for cattle. May 14, for sheep & August 6 & September 25, for general purposes; market day, Wednesday.

Croydon, October 2, for cattle, horses & sheep; cattle & corn market, Thursday.

Dorking, Holy Thursday for cattle; corn market Thursday, & fat stock market first Thursday in every month.

Epsom, July 25; corn & cattle market on Wednesday.

Ewell, May 12 & October 29, for sheep & cattle.

Farnham, May 10, June 24 & November 10; corn market & cattle market, Thursday.

Godalming, market day, Wednesday.

Godstone, July 22.

Guildford, May 4 & November 22, for sheep, cattle & horses; market days, Wednesday & Saturday; cattle market every Tuesday.

Haslemere, May 13 & September 26, for cattle.

Kingston-on-Thames, November 13, for cattle; market days, Wednesday, Thursday & Saturday.

Mitcham, August 12,13 & 14.

Redhill, market day, last Wednesday in every month.

Reigate, Whit Monday & December 9; corn market every Tuesday.

Ripley, July 22.

Parliamentary Representation of Surrey

Surrey formerly returned six members in three divisions, but under the provisions of the “Redistribution of Seats Act, 1886,” it now returns six members in six divisions:

No. 1.-The North-Western or Chertsey division comprises the sessional division of Chertsey and so much of the sessional division of Guildford as is included in the hundred of Woking, but is not included in the parish of Stoke-next-Guildford and the parish of Frimley in Farnham sessional division.

No. 2-The South-Western or Guildford division comprises the sessional divisions of Farnham (except so much as is comprised in division No. 1) and Guildford (except so much as is comprised in division No. 1) and the municipal boroughs of Godalming and Guildford.

No. 3.-The South-Eastern or Reigate division comprises the sessional divisions of Dorking (except so much as is comprised in division No. 4), Godstone (except so much as is comprised in division No. 6) and Reigate and the municipal borough of Reigate.

No. 4.-The Mid or Epsom division comprises the sessional divisions of Epsom and Kingston (except so much as is comprised in division No. 5) and the parishes of Effingham and Mickleham in Dorking sessional division.

No. 5.-The Kingston division comprises the sessional division of Richmond, the municipal borough of Kingston-upon-Thames, and the parish of Ham and Hatch, and so milch of the parish of Kingston as is not included in the municipal borough of Kingston-upon-Thames.

No. 6.-The North-Eastern or Wimbledon division comprises the sessional division of Croydon (except so much as is comprised within a district of the metropolis), the parishes of Caterham, Chelsham, Farley and Warlingham in Godstone sessional division, and the parishes of Merton and Wimbledon in Wandsworth sessional division, and so much as is included in the county of Surrey of the area of the parliamentary borough of Deptford, and the area of the parliamentary boroughs of Battersea and Clapham, Camberwell, Lambeth, Newington, Southwark and Wandsworth.

Military

Guildford is the depot of No. 2 Regimental district, Queen’s Own (Royal West Surrey) Regiment, which comprises the 1st & 2nd battalions (2nd Foot), & the 3rd battalion (2nd Royal Surrey Militia).

Kingston is the depot of No. 31 Regimental district, East Surrey Regiment, which comprises the 1st battalion (31st Foot) & 2nd battalion (70th Foot) & the 3rd & 4th battalions (1st & 3rd Royal Surrey Militia).

Volunteers

Artillery

City of London (1st), No. 15 battery, Capt. A. G. C. Stollery, Selkirk road, Tooting Graveney.

Rifles

Under the Home Defence Mobilization Scheme the following Battalions form part of the Surrey Brigade.

East Surrey Regiment, 2nd Volunteer Battalion.

East Surrey Regiment, 3rd Volunteer Battalion.

Queen’s (Royal West Surrey Regiment) 1st Volunteer Battalion.

Queen’s (Royal West Surrey Regiment) 2nd Volunteer Battalion.

Surrey County Council

Local Government Act, 1888, 51 & 52 Vic. c. 41.

Under the above Act, Surrey, after the 1st April, 1889, for the purposes of the Act, except such portion as is included in the “County of London,” and except a certain borough, for which see below (a), became an administrative county (sec. 46), governed by a County Council, consisting of chairman, aldermen and councillors (the number of councillors being determined by the Local Government Board) to be elected in manner prescribed by the Act (sec. 2).

The chairman shall, by virtue of his office, be a justice of the peace for the county, without qualification (sec. 46).

The police for the county will be under the control of a standing joint committee of the Quarter Sessions and the County Council, to be appointed as therein mentioned (sec. 9).

The coroners for the county will in future be elected by the County Council, and the clerk of the peace shall be appointed by such joint committee, and may be removed by them (sec. 83—2).

The clerk of the peace for the county shall also be the clerk of the County Council (sec. 83—1).

The administrative business of the county (which would, if this Act had not been passed, have been transacted by the justices) shall be transacted by the County Council.

(a) The following large borough shall be for the purposes of this Act, an administrative county in itself, and is to be called a County Borough (sec. 30), of which the municipal authority shall have the power of a County Council (sec. 31)-Croydon.

The following Table shows the acreage under each kind of crop, and the number of horses, cattle, sheep and pigs in the County of Surrey, as taken from the agricultural returns, 1889:—

Metropolitan Police

The county is also partly under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Police.

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NAME AND ANTIENT HISTORY

On the division of the kingdom into shires, this district, from its situation on the south of the Thames, received the name of Suthrea, from Suth, south, and rea, the river or water. The aboriginals were the Legentiaci or Belgæ. After the Romans had gained possession of this island, this portion was part of the province named Britannia Prima, During the Saxon Heptarchy it formed, with Sussex, a distinct state, under the South Saxons. This was founded by Ella, about the year 491, and had its own monarchs till 725, when it was subdued by Ina, king of Wessex.

SITUATION, BOUNDARIES, AND EXTENT

Surrey is an inland county, lying in the south-eastern part of the kingdom. It is bounded on the north by Middlesex and a very small point of Buckinghamshire; on the west, by Berkshire and Hampshire; on the south, by Sussex; and on the east by Kent. The greatest length of Surrey, from north to south, is about 27 miles, and its greatest breadth, from east to west, about 37 miles. It contains nearly 811 square miles, or about 519,000 acres.

CLIMATE AND SOIL

The climate of Surrey is almost as varied as the soils and surface: but it is a general opinion that less rain falls in most parts of it than in the metropolis, or in the vale of London; so that the climate on the whole may be regarded as dry, though the southern border is necessarily moist and damp, from the flatness of the surface; hence, also, the low parts near the Thames are considered damp. On the other hand, the atmosphere of the chalk, which runs across the whole county, from east to west, is dry, and rather keen and bracing. On the wide and exposed heaths about Bagshot, Aldershot, and Hind Head, a similar climate prevails, so that the whole west side, with a small exception, has a dry and rather cold atmosphere. The spring is in general early, and vegetation is not so often checked by cold and raw mornings, as in some of the more southern counties. The summers are commonly dry and warm, and the harvest generally commences in the first ten days of August; and from the steadiness of the weather there is seldom any corn out in the fields after the first week in September.

The soil is extremely various, but may be reduced to the four general heads, of clay, loam, chalk, and heath. The most extensive tract of uniform soil is that which extends along the whole southern border of the county, and forms what is called The Weald of Surrey. Northward, a district of sandy loam stretches across the whole county. It is difficult to conceive a worse kind of soil than that of the heaths, and these occupy a very large portion of the west side of the county. The under soil is of different strata, but principally composed of chalk and gravel. The woods, of which there are but few, are flourishing.

POPULATION

There were in 1811,55,434 inhabited houses; 151,811 males and 172,040 females; making a total population of 323,851; having increased since the census of 1801 above 54,000. The increase of the population, since 1811 and the return of peace in 1814, as well as the houses, must evidently have been much greater, and may be more accurately stated in the next census.

RENT AND SIZE OF FARMS

The size of farms in Surrey varies extremely, so that it is impossible to ascertain exactly the average size, though they are certainly more uniform and stationary in the Weald than in any other district.

There are scarcely any farms here which reach . 300 acres, and the smallest do not contain more than 40 or 50 acres. About Bagshot and Cobham there are few farms of more than 200 acres; on the borders of the Downs there are some very large farms; viz. from 600 to 1200 acres. The largest farm in the county is at Wanborough, between Guildford and Farnham, and contains 1,600 acres. Within a few years past, this farm was in the hands of Mr. Morris Birkbeck, now a resident in the Western States of America. Excepting that part of Surrey that lies within the influence of the London markets, the rents of the farms in this county may be reckoned low, as the best lands near Godalming, run from 25s. to 30s. an acre. In the clays of the Weald, the farms are let as low as 10s. an acre. However, before the conclusion of the late war in 1814, rents in Surrey were beginning to look upwards.

TITHES

On this subject the complaints of the farmers in Surrey are as general as in the other parts of England. The objections against them are grounded upon their rigid exaction in kind. It is proper, however, to remark, that in Surrey, as well as in many parts of England, the most valuable tithes are in the hands of laymen, who are as strict as the clergy, and sometimes more so, in drawing the utmost from this kind of property. When enclosures take place, the tithe is generally commuted.

TENURES

Are principally freehold; there is not much copyhold. In the Weald of Surrey, Christ Church Hospital possesses a considerable estate; and in different parts of the county a good deal of land is held under Church leases.

LEASES

“Most farms in Surrey,” Mr. Stevenson says, “are let on leases for twenty-one years. A few are let on three lives, the lease being renewable generally on the payment of one year and a half’s rent; sometimes two years rent arc paid, besides the usual fee to the steward of the manor. Church lands are commonly let for twenty-one years, renewable every seven. Some extensive farms, however, are held without a lease, from year to year, entirely at the will of the landlord. The repairs during the lease lie upon the landlord or tenant, according to agreement. The usual term of entry to the arable farms is at Michaelmas; the out-going tenant keeping possession of the barns till the following May.“

FARM-HOUSES AND OFFICES

In the vale, or Weald, of Surrey, the ruinous and mean appearance of the farm-houses form striking contrasts with those in other parts of the county, though the size, mode, and materials, of their construction vary with their age. The oldest are entirely of brick, and their covering is generally of large heavy slate. Others are of brick nogging, covered with tiles, and many are built of a framing of wood, lathed and plastered and rough-cast. Some of the barns in Surrey are built of clay walls, hut in general they are made of timber, on a foundation of brick or stone. They are very large, and double doors have been some time in use.

Stables, though large, are objectionable, for want of a proper division between the horses: hence, accidents are frequent; and an unruly or vicious horse may not only injure his neighbour, but the confusion will almost unavoidably spread over the whole stable. Where horses are fed without any division between them, it is impossible that each can get his due and proper portion of food; a timid horse, or a slow eater, will always he wronged by his neighbour.

The Cow-houses are well built, especially in the immediate neighbourhood of London, and in those parts of the county where the rearing of calves is an object to the farmer; and the manner of fastening up the cows here, secures the animal from any danger.

COTTAGES

The cottages, in some parts of the county, go along with the farms; in this case, the farm servants are much benefited. In other parts, the latter must take cottages where they can. These are in general sufficiently large and convenient for the people who occupy them; the rent runs from two to five pounds per annum, varying according to their size, or their vicinity to London. A small piece of ground, sufficient to grow potatoes, is generally attached to them; and their front is not unfrequently covered with a vine. Upon the whole (the Weald excepted), these buildings may be considered as equal, in point of goodness and convenience, to those of most counties.

CARRIAGES

Waggons are much more common in Surrey, among the farmers, than in Middlesex. They are generally twelve feet long, eighteen inches deep on a medium; three feet before, and three feet six or eight inches in the hinder part. The carts used in Surrey, near London, are much the same as those employed in Middlesex, holding from 50 to 60 cubical feet, when not heaped; when heaped with dung, they carry about 70 or 80. They are generally drawn by three horses in summer and four in winter. There are small carts drawn by four horses, but very few one-horse carts.

CATTLE

The cows, kept almost exclusively by the cow-keepers, are the short-horned, or Holderness; but for gentlemen’s families, the Jersey, Alderney, and Suffolk breeds are kept, and by the farmers at a distance from town, the Welsh, Devonshire, Sussex, and Staffordshire. Most of the cattle that are fattened for killing used to be in the hands of the great distillers at Battersea, Vauxhall, &c. The cattle most conspicuous on the barren flat heaths of Surrey are small and mean-looking; their bone is in general remarkably fine, and they are of a quality intrinsically good. Of sheep, some of all the varieties are kept in Surrey. Among the horses there is little or nothing peculiar or remarkable. Hogs are kept in greater or less numbers by most of the farmers; chiefly the Berkshire or China breeds.

IMPLEMENTS

It has been said, that there is perhaps a greater variety of ploughs to be seen in Surrey than in any other county in England, there being at least twelve kinds. The common harrows are three feet wide in front, and four feet in the middle and back part. The implements are in general much the same as those used in the neighbouring counties.

ROADS AND IRON RAILWAYS

The chief causes of the badness of the roads in many parts of Surrey are various, hut have been principally occasioned by the neglect to use the flints, which lie in great abundance on the hills. The cross roads are good on the hills, and in some other parts of the county, but on the clays of the Weald, and on the sands, as well as in the low parts, near the Thames, at some distance from London, they are very indifferent.

The iron railway between Wandsworth, Croydon, and Mestham, is the first instance of the application of this mode of forming roads for general use, being projected and begun in 1802: the part that runs from Wandsworth to Croydon was soon completed, and the success of the undertaking induced the proprietors to carry it on to Mestham; but this division of the railway running through a tract of country destitute of manufactures, and having only had the lime, fullers-earth stone, and corn, to depend upon at the further extremity, has not paid very well.

ENCLOSURES

Surrey is certainly behindhand with most other counties that have been enclosed and brought into cultivation: however, during the first forty years of his late Majesty’s reign, five acts passed for the enclosure of between five and six thousand acres in this county. Since enclosures have taken place, the rent of the common fields, in several parts, has risen double; but the expense attending the making of enclosures is one of the principal causes why they are not more general.

Gates are mostly strongly made, and seem sufficient for every purpose.

WASTES

The quantity of waste land in this county till the late enclosures took place was immense, and bore a very great proportion to the whole surface; it being the general computation, that the sixth part of the land was waste, though it appears that the soil of almost all the heaths might be planted with every prospect of success, and that there are very few commons that would not bear good crops of corn. It may be sufficient to remark, that the unenclosed commons and heaths, before the year 1794, amounted to about one hundred in number in Surrey alone: more than a tenth part of these waste lands have been enclosed and cultivated since that period.

FISH PONDS

In the western part of the county, particularly on the wide and desolate heaths, are several very large and extensive ponds, which appear to have been used nearly two centuries in keeping and feeding carp and other fish for the London market. Shire Pond, between Cobham and Byfleet, and one near Frensham, three miles in circumference, containing about 150 acres, are among the most extensive. In the winter this is much frequented by wild fowl. In the south-eastern parts of the county also, near Godstone, there are ponds, though not so large as those on the heaths, employed for the same purpose, of feeding fish for the London market.

LITERATURE AND LEARNED MEN

George and Robert Abbott were natives of Guildford; the first a prelate and polemical writer, the second also a divine. Thomas Cromwell, Sir Robert Dudley, Dr. Samuel Croxall, John Evelyn, Sir John Leake, Edward Gibbon, Dr. Henry Hammond, Charlotte Smith, &c. &c. were also natives of Surrey.

On account of the proximity of this county to the metropolis, it affords but one provincial paper,

Fish ponds on the western heaths have paid better than any other mode of manuring the land. The dams are generally formed of stones and earth, some of them of chalk. In order to prevent the escape of the small fish, several of these are formed one below the other, so that if the small fish get over the uppermost dam with the waste water, or in a Hood, the lower dams prevent them from getting-further. Carp is the principal fish with which they are stocked; and 4000 have been annually sent to the London market by one person, the Surrey Gazette, printed every Saturday in Southwark.

QUARTER SESSIONS

The assizes for the county are held at Kingston-upon-Thames, alternately with Guildford and Croydon.

CIVIL AND ECCLESIASTICAL DIVISIONS

The county of Surrey is divided into 13 hundreds, containing 140 parishes and 10 market-towns, viz. Chertsey, Croydon, Dorking, Epsom, Farnham, Godalming, Guildford, Haslemere, Kingston, and Reigate; and sends fourteen members to parliament, viz. two for the county, and two for each of the following boroughs, Gatton, Haslemere, Bletchingley, Reigate, Guildford, and Southwark. This county is in the province of Canterbury, and the diocese of Winchester.

RIVERS AND CANALS

The Thames, though it rises in Gloucestershire, it is well known does not bear that name till it joins with the Isis, below Dorchester, in Oxfordshire. The inclination of these rivers, thus united, is towards Reading, in a south-east direction, where it receives the Kennett; here, turning to the north north-east, it is joined by the Loddon near Wargrave; and passing Henley, flows in an east course to Cookham; near this place it receives the Wide, and runs in a south-east course past Windsor, Datchet, Staines, and Chertsey; turning again to the east north-east, it is joined by the Wey and Mole; and passing Kingston, inclining to the north, near the town of Brentford, it is further increased by the Brent, and unites with the Grand Junction Canal; from whence it glides, in a serpentine course, through the delightful villages of Mortlake, Barnes, Chiswick, Hammersmith, Putney, Fulham, and Wandsworth, where it receives the Wandle; and passing Chelsea, soon after reaches the metropolis, from whence the following water itinerary commences, describing its several beauties.

The river Mole, which rises on the south-east side of the county, and is supposed to derive its name from its sinking into the swallows at the foot of Box Hill, and working its way under ground, until it comes to Leatherhead, where it rises again, and pursuing a northward course, falls into the Thames at Moulsey.

The river Wandle rises near Croydon turnpike, and being increased by the waters of other springs at the hack of the town, takes its course through Waddon, Beddington, and Wallington, where it is joined by another river, formed by several springs, but particularly by two arising in the park of George Taylor, Esq. as well as two from out of the grounds of Thomas Durand, Esq. These collecting into a large and beautiful sheet of pellucid water in the very centre of the village of Carshalton, pass from thence through Mitcham and Merton to Wandsworth, where it empties itself into the Thames.

The river Wey enters the county from Hampshire near Farnham, runs east to Godalming, and there turns north, where it becomes navigable to the Thames at Weybridge, supplying the county with all sorts of necessaries, particularly coals from London. It is here worthy of remark, that the first locks that were constructed were erected upon this river, by a gentleman of the name of Weston.

CANALS

Under this head Mr. Stevenson observes, there is good reason to believe that the first locks erected in the kingdom were those on the Wey. Sir Richard Weston, of Sutton, near Guildford, brought this contrivance over with him from the Netherlands. Under his direction the Wey was made navigable from Guildford to Weybridge about the end of the century, though the bill for that purpose was passed in parliament in 1665. In 1760 the navigation was extended to Godalming. The next canal in Surrey is that from Basingstoke to the Thames, and which passes out of Hampshire into this county near Dradbrook. This canal was completed, and made navigable to London, in 1796.

The dock of the Grand Surrey Canal at Rotherhithe will contain about 100 sail of square-rigged vessels, at any draught of water in which they can approach the pool. This public work was first suggested and laid out by Mr. Dodd, the engineer, and an act of parliament immediately after obtained for its execution. The dock and main line of canal, and collateral cuts, are as follows: the Ship Dock immediately communicating with the river Thames, a little below King’s Mills, Rotherhithe, gives admission into the Grand Dock or Basin. On the north, south-east, and west sides of the latter is an extensive site for building wharfs, warehouses, &c. and in the centre of the dock or basin a large island for the same purpose, to which there is access by a draw-bridge. The convenience of this dock for the erection of warehouses, granaries, depots for coals, See. so near the metropolis, sufficiently speaks for its utility. The main line of canal passing from the dock or basin runs nearly in a south line on the west of Deptford, and from thence in a west line crossing the Kent, Camberwell, and Clapham roads, enters the Thames again at Vauxhall Creek. Attached to this main line is a collateral cut to Peckham, Horsemonger Lane, Southwark, and Butt Lane, Deptford. The whole of this range of eight miles is upon one entire level, without a lock, and peninsulates the south of the metropolis, with which the Croydon Canal forms a junction. The upper lines and levels of this canal extend from Kennington Common along the Wash way to Rushey Green, Stockwell, passing in the vicinity of Clapham and Tooting to Mitcham. The capability of extending this line to Portsmouth has been ascertained and surveyed by the engineer, who proposed a route through Guildford, Farnham, Alton, and Alresford, to Winchester, there to join the river Itching, which is navigable from Southampton to that place.

THE WATER ITINERARY

Since a more pleasant mode of navigation has been introduced by the establishment of steam-packets, which start every day from Queenhithe for Richmond, Twickenham, &c. except on Sundays, when they go from Blackfriars Bridge, the desideratum has been greater than ever to become acquainted with the numerous objects that irresistibly attract the attention of passengers, on the elegantly varied banks of the Thames. The whole voyage exhibits a continued series of villages, magnificent seats, splendid villas, beautiful pleasure grounds, and highly cultivated gardens.

Having passed through the stately bridges between London and Lambeth, we observe on this side the ancient palace of the Archbishops of Canterbury; and on the other, the venerable Abbey of Westminster, with the hall built by William Rufus, lately the brilliant theatre of his present majesty’s coronation. As a gloomy, though necessary contrast to these remains of regal magnificence, we next observe the Penitenliary on Millbank, with its numerous towers, exciting the idea of its resemblance to the French Bastile. The external wall of this prison encloses no less than eighteen acres of ground, and the six circular buildings within fire capable of lodging and employing nearly 150 prisoners each.

Happily, the transient depression excited by objects of this sombrous hue is speedily diverted by casting our eyes towards Vauxhall, on the other side, which naturally recals the recollection of more cheerful images; —the music, the gardens.