Page:The Victoria History of the County of Surrey Volume 3.djvu/760

 A HISTORY OF SURREY

��itself in Guildford by the expulsion of Thomas Smal- pece from the corporation for his ' contempt and dis- ordered behaviour ' (Court Monday after Michaelmas, 3 Jas. I). His offence, we learn from a letter at Loseley, was ' going about to set up ' a maypole. The corporation was severe against foreigners trading in the town ; in 1521 they were excluded altogether from the markets, except victuallers, graziers, and sellers of oats at the discretion of the mayor. At the same time clothiers were forbidden to send any wool to be spun into yarn within 8 miles of Guildford unless under a bond that it should be brought back to be woven in Guildford. The number of ' approved freemen ' subsequently dwindled, and in 1654 was only 159, but others were admitted to trade in the markets on payment. The token coinage in Guildford is of the dates 165* to 1669 and 1765 to 1 797. The latter issue often has a wool-pack on it, though the wool trade of Guildford was long dead. 913

There seems to be no definite mention of town officials before the I4th century. In 1368 the election is noted of a seneschal, two farthing men, a clerk, two butlers (pincernae), who superintended the arrangements for the feast, and two hall wardens. 92 The earlier charters (q.v.) are directed to the good men of the town. The style of incorporation in 1488 was the 'mayor and good men,' 95 but the name mayor had probably superseded that of sene- schal long before. The government of the unreformed corporation was entrusted to a steward, mayor, recorder, two justices, bailiff, two coroners, town clerk, hall warden, two serjeants-at-mace, and a beadle. 9 *

The property of the corporation in 1834 con- sisted of the old town hall with a dwelling-place attached, a new market house or court house with a small garden and stable, tolls and fines, sundry small quit-rents and other payments, with the appoint- ment of the master of the grammar school. 95

A court of pie-powder was held at Guildford in the Middle Ages at the time of the fair. 96 A court of record was held every third Monday, but was much fallen into disuse in 1835."

The borough was represented by two members in the Parliament of I295. 98 There is no record of members for 1299, but with one or two other exceptions it was constantly represented by two members. In 1654 and 1656, in the reformed Parliaments elected under the Instrument of Govern- ment, Guildford had one member. The franchise till 1832 was in the freemen and the freeholders paying scot and lot, if resident. These did not number more than 150 in the 1 9th century. In 1 867, by the Redistribution Act of that year, the number of its representatives was reduced to one." By the Act of 1885 the borough became for the first time part of the county for electoral purposes.

��A fair in Guildford was granted by Edward III in 1340 to be he'.d during five days, beginning on the eve of Trinity.' 00 Some seven years later the date was changed to Whitsuntide, owing to the fact that the men of Guildford did not derive so much profit as they ought, because so many neighbouring fairs were held at Trinity. 101 This fair is now held on 4 May, and is for cattle ; another, also for cattle, is held on 2 2 November, both formerly in North Street, but now in the new market.

The markets 1M used to be held in the High Street, and the parts to be occupied by various dealers are clearly defined in the corporation orders of Elizabeth's time. Thence they were removed to North Street, except the corn market, which was held in a building in the High Street, built in i8i8. 103 A new cattle market was built in 1896 off the Woodbridge Road. The cattle market is on Tuesdays, the vegetable market, in the same place, on Saturdays. The corn market, also held on Tuesdays, was removed to the same neighbourhood in 1902. One-third of the tolls of Guildford, according to the custom of English boroughs, was the right of the Earls of Surrey and continuously passed to them. 104 The other two- thirds belonged first to the Crown and then to the borough, but many people, including the Bishop of Salisbury, 1 " and the Archbishop of Canter- bury and the Prior of Christchurch, 106 claimed to be free of them. In 1835 the mayor farmed the tolls of the town for the annual payment of I5O. 107 They were declared to produce from 1 70 to zoo. lM The manor of GUILDFORD was MANORS Crown property at the time of the Conquest 109 and throughout the Middle Ages. 110 It was assigned as dower to Eleanor mother of Edward I, 1 " and also to his second wife Margaret. 1 " The grant of the vill at fee farm to the

���ELEANOR of Provence.

Or four fates gales.

��MARGARET of France. Azure powdered with ficurt de lit or.

��'probi homines' in 1369 evidently included the manor. The park was however reserved and is treated under Arlington (q.v.).

The manor of POTLE in Guildford is said to have originated in a grant of land made by William the Conqueror to Robert Testard. 11 * 1 Robert Testard's

��911 Boyne, Tokens ; Williamson's Coll.; see also Surr. Arch. Coll. iii ; R. Whit- bourne, Surrey Mints ; and G. C. Williamson, Trade Tokens of Surrey, x.

M Gross, Gild Merchant, ii, 97. The seneschal was the custodian of the town charters ; ibid. 101.

93 Conf. R. 19-23 Eliz. pt. i, no. 7.

M Parl. Pafert (1835), xxvi. See under Guildford. w Ibid.

''Chan. Inq. p.m. 40 Edw. Ill (ist nos.), no. 59.

" Part. Pafers (1835), xxvi, Guildford.

��"Ibid. (1878), Ixii.

"30 & 31 Viet. cap. 102.

" Chart. R. 14 Edw. Ill, no. I.

101 Ibid. 20 Edw. Ill, no. 7.

toa A market is mentioned in 1276. See Chan. Inq. p.m. 4 Edw. I, no. 90.

108 The corn market was under the old market house, which stood across the street. This was pulled down in 1683, and the market was held under the pre- sent town hall till 1818.

1M See Dorking and Reigate, which were part of the earl's possessions.

562

��105 Plac. de Quo Warr. (Rec. Com.), 741.

106 Chan. Inq. p.m. 4 Edw. I, no. 90. WPar/. Pafert, Ref. on Munic. Corf.

(1835), xrvi, 2871 et seq. IM Ibid.

>V.C,H. Surr. 1,295.

110 Cat. Pat. 1272-81, p. 71; 1292- 1301, p. 342, &c.

111 Ibid. 1292-1301, p. 452. lla Pat, 27 Edw. I, m. 4.

u Testa de Nevill (Rec. Com.), 225 ; and see V.C.H. Surr. i, 295 for houses in Guildford held separately from the body of the place.

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