HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF SURREY. BOOK IV. TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF THE HUNDREDS OF AND TANDRIDGE, CHAPTER I. SURVEY OF THE HUNDREDS OF ELMBRIDGE AND COPTHORNE. THE hundred of Elmbridge undoubtedly received its CHAP. I. name from the river Mole, formerly called the Emley, by which it is traversed. It embraces the parishes of COBHAM, EAST AND WEST MOULSEY, STOKE D'ABERNON, WALTON-UPON-THAMES. WEYBRIDGE. In the seventh year of the reign of Henry III. Ralph de Immeworth was possessed of this hundred. It was afterwards vested in the family of Braose; but, in 1481, was granted, with its jurisdiction and privileges, by Edward IV. to the corporation of Kingston, to which it was confirmed by the charter of Charles I. in 1638. WEYBRIDGE is a considerable village, so called from Weybridge. the river Wey, on which it stands, not far from its conflux with the Thames. It contains in the whole BOOK. IV. about fourteen hundred acres, of which six hundred were enclosed, under an act passed in 1800. In 1821, according to the population returns, this parish contained one hundred and eighty-eight houses, and eight hundred and ninety-seven inhabitants. Manors. Manor of Weybridge. Manor of On an inquisition taken 24th of July, 1284, it was found that the hamlet of Waybrugg was held by Geoffrey de Lucy, of the Abbey of Chertsey, in free soccage, and that it consisted of, in demesne, twenty acres of arable land, value 5s. 7d.; sixteen acres of meadow, £l. 4s. Od.; pasture called Contese and Gers'm, 3s.; rents of assize at Michaelmas, £2. 2s. 4d.; at Christmas, 18s. 6d.; at Easter, 16s. 62d.; tolnet warragii, 6s. 8d.; a fishery, 28.; rents and works of sixteen customary tenants, 15s. 10d.. in all, £6. 14s. 5 d. The manor of Weybridge was part of the possessions of the duchy of Cornwall; but when Henry VIII. in his thirty-first year, erected Hampton court into an honour, he annexed this and Byfleet to it, giving to the duchy the manor of Sheppen, in Berkshire, in exchange. In the fifteenth year of Henry VII. 1500, Humphrey Ruggeley and Alice, his wife, levied a fine to John Reed, Bartholomew Reed, Hugh Payntayn, clerk, and Richard Lake, of three messuages, three gardens, one hundred acres of land, twelve acres of pasture, ten acres of meadow, ten of wood, and 10s. rent in this parish. When Henry VIII. had possession of Hampton court, and was making the chase there, he wanted this estate, and agreed to give William Reed the manor of Tandridge, &c. in exchange for it, but Reed died before it was completed, leaving John, his son and heir, under age. This minority was no impediment to the king's gaining the possession. Sir Thomas Cromwell was appointed guardian of the infant, and completed the exchange. Queen Elizabeth was here the 14th of August, 1590, CHAP. I. and 27th of August, 1602, and is said to have shot with a cross bow in the paddock. Anne, consort of James I. here built a room, called the silk-worm room. Charles I. in the second year of his reign, settled this place on his queen, Henrietta Maria, for her life. His youngest son, called in his cradle, Henry of Oatlands, was born in 1640, in the house which, Mr. Fuller says, was taken down to the ground when he wrote. This mansion stood in a low situation, near the present kitchen-garden, and was destroyed in the time of the protectorate of Cromwell, except some apartments inhabited by one of the earls of Dorset, and the silk-worm room, above mentioned, then called the gardener's chamber. The park was also thrown open. Many foundations of buildings are to be traced on the spot where the house stood, especially, when it is sown with corn. At the restoration, the queen-mother was again put in possession of Oatlands, in its dilapidated state, and after her death, Charles II. granted a lease of the estate to the earl of St. Alban's. It came next into the possession of Sir Edward Herbert, lord chief justice of the king's bench and common pleas, under James II. whose fortunes he followed; and whose interest in this estate being forfeited by his attainder, William III. granted the feesimple to his brother Arthur, who had been bred to the sea, and for his services was created earl of Torrington. Dying without issue, in 1716, he devised his possessions to Henry, earl of Lincoln. George, son and heir to this nobleman, formed the gardens about the year 1725, and probably built the house, which at his death devolved to his brother Henry. The latter married Catherine, daughter to Henry Pelham, Esq. and niece to the duke of Newcastle, who, having no child, obtained a patent, BOOK IV. creating him duke of Newcastle-under-Line, with remainder to the earl, his nephew. He accordingly succeeded to this dignity, in 1768, and fixed his residence at Oatlands, enlarged the park, and made considerable plantations. At the foot of the terrace is a large piece of water, formed by springs which rise in it. The Thames is not seen, and Walton bridge, which terminates the view that way, seeming to be placed across this water, causes it to appear like a branch of the river, or, rather, like the river itself. On the side of the hill, between the house and the kitchen garden, rise some springs, which are formed into a small piece of water; by the side of it, the late duke of Newcastle constructed a grotto, divided into three apartments; the outside is of white stone, full of perforations, perhaps the abode of fish, or some species of marine animal, but whence brought is not known. The sides and roofs are encrusted with shells and petrifactions. In one of the rooms is a bath, supplied by a small spring dripping through the rock; at the end of it is a copy of the Venus de Medici, as if going to bathe. In one of the windows are the arms of Cecil, with many quarterings, encircled by the garter and motto. Over this is a room incrusted in like manner. On the side of the park, next Walton, is an arch, probably brought from the old house, on which is this inscription: "Henricus Comes de Lincoln hunc arcum, opus Ignatii Jones, vestustate corruptum, restituit." The owners of Oatlands had long held the manors and parks of Byfleet and Weybridge by leases from the crown. His late royal highness the duke of York purchased, of the duke of Newcastle, the estate of Oatlands, and what was held under the crown leases. He also bought the late General Cornwall's house and |