Page:The Victoria History of the County of Surrey Volume 3.djvu/85

 GODALMING HUNDRED

��HASLEMERE

��Haslemere ceased to be a borough after the Mu- nicipal Reform Act of 1835."

Although the charter of I 596 asserts that Haslemere sent two burgesses to Parliament from time imme- morial," the first extant return of burgesses for the town dates from 1584, only twelve years before.* 8 It is evident, therefore, that Haslemere was one of the towns which Elizabeth caused to return members in order to increase her influence in the House, a supposition strengthened by her own statement that she granted the market and fairs in the hope that if the inhabitants of the town should thereby enjoy greater prosperity they would feel themselves the more bound to do all possible service to her and her suc- cessors.

The electors were inhabitant freeholders, whether paying rent to the lord of the manor or not, the bur- gage holders in fact." Tenants of land which had been part of the waste of the manor, or of houses upon it, could not vote from such qualification only. The number of such burgage holders varied consider- ably, because as different owners represented different interests the burgages were deliberately divided into small parts to multiply votes. Haslemere was a rotten borough in the sense of being thoroughly penetrated with corruption, and was the scene of very violent electoral contests," till in 1784 Sir James Lowther, afterwards Earl of Lonsdale, bought the manor and many freeholds in it, and made it a close borough, though a rival interest, that of the Burrell family, existed. The second Earl of Lonsdale in fact abolished many of the freeholds, creating them only for the pur- pose of an election, when the burgages required are said to have been conveyed to the charcoal-burners and others of the neighbourhood, or to servants of his friends, with the understanding that they should be surrendered for a consideration when the need was over. But there were a few distinguished members for Haslemere. Carew Raleigh, son of Sir Walter, was elected to fill the vacancy in the Long Parliament caused by the death of Sir Poynings More in 1 649, and the famous General Oglethorpe sat from 1722 to 1754. The Rt. Hon. Sir John Beckett was one of the last two members. It was among the forty-six boroughs whose population stood lowest at the time of the Reform Bill of 1832, and accordingly was then disfranchished. 89

The manor of MANORS H4SLEMERE descended with the hundred and manor of Godalming till 1784, when the sisters of Thomas More- Molyneux and their trustees sold to Sir James Lowther under a private Act.*" Sir James was created Earl of Lonsdale the same year, and died in 1802. The manor passed to his cousin Sir William Lowther, who inherited the

���LOWTHER, Earl of Lonsdale. Or tix rings

table.

��title of Viscount Lowther, and was created Earl of Lonsdale in 1807. He died in 1844. The manor was purchased from his heirs by James Stewart Hodgson of Lythe Hill, Haslemere, in 1870. His widow held it, and died 1907. Mr. J. Whateley Simmonds, J.P. has lately bought the manor. A description of the manor in 1814 says that ' the manor was held by burgage tenure, the Burgesses paying for their several tenements a burgage rent of I2/. \d. to the lord of Godalming. The Borough and Manor are not co-extensive, as some of the lands in the borough are in the manor of Godalming. Officers are elected at a Court Leet in April or May, a Bailiff, a Constable, Searchers and Sealers of Leather and and an Ale taster. No Court Baron has been held since 1694.'

The court leet was held up to 1839, when the practice was discontinued."

The manor of IMBHAMS (Imbeham xiii-xv cents. ; Imbhams and Embornes, xvi cent.) was parcel of Loseley Manor, held of the honour of Gloucester, but adjacent land bearing the same name was held of the Bishop of Salisbury's manor of Godalming.

In 1285 Eleanor widow of Robert de Dol, late lord of Loseley, had dower in Imbhams, 31 and re- covered land in Chiddingfold from various tenants including Alan of Imbhams. 33 From her time the manor descended with Loseley to her son Robert, at whose death in March 13567 it was found that he held two holdings of the name. The one was held of the Earl of Gloucester, and the other of the Bishop of Salisbury for 1 Ss. SJ. and suit of court at Godalming. The manor-house was in that part of Imbhams which was held of the earl. None of the arable land seems to have been profitable, since it lay in the Weald, and the pasture was of no value on account of the great size of the trees. 31 Imbhams was not included in Robert de Dol's agreement with his daughter Joan de Bures, 35 but was assigned immediately after his death to his heirs, the same Joan and John Norton. 36

Joan died in 1371, her heir being her son William Bures, 37 who succeeded to the moiety of Loseley, including presumably a moiety of Imbhams, which she held in her own right. The other moiety, afterwards known as NORTH IMBH4MS, passed to John Nor- ton, descended from her sister Margaret, 38 who must have died almost immediately after her, for in 1375 he had been dead about four years, having been seised of a moiety of a piece of land called ' Imbeham,' held of the king in chief, owing to the vacancy of the see of Salisbury, but formerly held of the bishop at a rent of 6/. 39 His heir John Norton was under age. This was parcel of the manor of Loseley. It was the portion in Haslemere, and by an unknown process passed to the Coverts. It did not pass first to the Sidneys, to whom the Norton moiety of Loseley proper came, for in the proceedings by which Humphrey Sidney established his claim to the inheritance in 1508,* though land in Chiddingfold (which then of course included Haslemere) is mentioned, this land was held of the manor of Bramley." The Norton portion was already

��5 & 6 Will IV, cap. 76.


 * Writs of Privy Seal, May 38 Eliz.

" Rft. of Mtmb. of Part. i. The first members recorded aa representing Hasle- mere were Christopher Rythe of Lincoln's Inn, and Miles Rythe of the same.

a " Journ, of the Houie of Common*, 20 May 1661, p. 253.


 * Ibid, xxxii, 49 ; xxxv, 361 ; Mere-

��wether and Stephens, Hist, of Boroughs, ii, 1380.

99 Part. Papers, 1831-2, xxxvi, 3, 5, 41.

80 20 Geo. Ill, cap. 45.

81 Privately communicated.

M De Banco R. 60 (Mich. 1 3-14 Edw. I), m. 83.

88 Close, 1 5 Edw. I, m. i d.

47

��84 Chan. Inq. p.m. 30 Edw. Ill, no. 45. 84 See under Loseley. 88 Abbrev. Rot. Orig. (Rec. Com.), ii, 241.

07 Chan. Inq. p.m. 4; Edw. Ill, no. 4.

88 See Loseley.

89 Chan. In.], p.m. 49 Edw. Ill, no. 1 8.
 * > See under Loseley.

41 Inform. Rev. T. S. Cooper.

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