Page:Surrey Archaeological Collections Volume 1.djvu/74



Of others recorded, two held four manors each; three, three each; eight, two each; and twenty, one each.

From its proximity to the metropolis, Surrey, asmight be conceived, was the frequent scene of civil discord or political strife; and age after age has left upon its soil the impression of national disturbance, or has associated its towns, villages, and castles, with striking passages in English history. The signing of Magna Charta by the wavering King John, at Runnimede, near Staines, was preceded, it is said, by long councils amongst the insurgent barons, at Reigate Castle, belonging to William, earl of Warren and Surrey. A cavern under the castle court, is called the Barons' Cave, and we find that this same castle of Reigate, with those of Guildford and Farnham, fell into the hands of Prince Lewis of France, who, in 1216, landed to assist the barons against the king. In 1217, they were surrendered to the Protector Pembroke; but, in 1264, the fortress of Kingston, with others, occupy prominent positions during the insurgency of Simon de Montfort. itself a mine of history, is rife with the especial ravages of Wat Tyler, in the reign of Richard II., in that of Edward IV., and during the insurrection of Sir Thomas Wyat, at the beginning of Queen Mary's reign, 1554. In the Loseley papers, it is recorded that twenty-six men and