edge of a considerable tract of meadow; or, in the lan- CHAP. II. guage of our Saxon ancestors, an ing, from which circumstance, and from the Saxon proprietor of it at some early period, it undoubtedly derived its name, being therefore called Godhelm's ing; and, by contraction of these two Name. words into one, Godhelming, or Godelming, a name at once descriptive of its situation, agreeable to the known custom of deriving the names of places from their proprietors, and at the same time exactly conformable to the most anciently received manner of writing it. It is a neat and well-built town, containing four thousand and ninety-eight inhabitants, and seven hundred and thirty-nine houses. The bishop and church of Salis- Manor. bury were formerly proprietors of this manor: his canons, and at length their dean, were even before that possessed of the rectory and advowson: the houses in Church street are for the most part within the dean's manor of the rectory, which is called the dean's hold; and finally, the proprietor of Losely house has of late years been lord of this manor; and from these circumstances, partly misconceived, and partly misapplied, has arisen the mistake. As to the bridge called Bishop's bridge, a little to the north of the town, on the London road, it doubtless received its name, from having been repaired or rebuilt by some one of the bishops of Salisbury, while the manor remained in their hands.

At the time of the Domesday survey, William the conqueror was proprietor of the lordship of Godalming, as Edward the confessor had been before him. It remained in the crown till granted by Henry II. to the bishop of Salisbury, in exchange for other possessions. The successor of this prelate obtained, in 1294, a grant of free warren throughout this manor; and in 1300, a farther grant of a weekly market, on Wednesday,

BOOK. IV. and of a fair to be held annually, on the festival of St. Peter. In the fiftieth year of Edward III. a charter was obtained, by which various immunities were conferred on the town, especially an exemption from the payment of tolls. The see of Salisbury had been in possession of this manor upwards of four hundred years, when, in 1542, it was conveyed to King Henry VIII. in exchange for other lands, and was vested in the crown, till Queen Elizabeth, in 1601, granted it, together with the lordship of the hundred of Godalming, in consideration of the sum of £1,341 to Sir George More, Knt. of Losely, in whose descendants it has ever since remained, being now the property of J. M. Molyneux, Esq.

Bridge.

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The town of Godalming consists of a principal street, running nearly east and west, and several smaller ones. The great road from London to Portsmouth passes through it, as also the roads to Petworth and Chichester. The manufacture of cloths and kerseys formerly flourished at this town, as well as at Guildford, and other places in the neighbourhood; but of late years has gone very much to decay.

The bridge, over the Wey at this place, formerly belonged to the lord of the manor, who shut it against carriages of every sort, except in time of flood; but in 1782, an act of parliament was obtained to make it a county bridge, with the consent of Mrs. Molyneux, the then proprietor. The present structure was in consequence erected, and was opened for public use in 1785.

The weekly market, first granted by a charter of the twenty-eighth year of Edward I. 1300, and confirmed by a subsequent one of the seventeenth year of Elizabeth, is held on Wednesday. The fairs, of which there

are two, are kept on the 13th of February, and 10th of CHAP. II. July.

By a charter of the ninth year of Elizabeth the inhabitants were incorporated by the style of the warden and inhabitants of the town of Godalming, and the warden was to be annually elected on Michaelmas day. The charter was followed by ordinances and constitutions that were confirmed in 1620, whereby it was provided that the warden shall have eight of the fittest and gravest men of the inhabitants as assistants: such persons to continue assistants during life. An assistant elected and refusing to serve is subject to a fine, and when a warden is elected, three assistants are put in nomination, and the majority elect, the warden for the time being having a double vote. The new warden takes his oath within three days after his election, or forfeits £10 to the warden for the time being, £6 thereof to the use of the town, and £4 for the old warden himself, who then continues his office. No person having served warden or bailiff can be compelled to serve again for three years. The bailiff is elected on the same day as the warden: should he refuse to serve he pays 40s.-20s. to the town, and 20s. to the person elected in his stead.

The advowson of Godalming church originally be- Church. longed to the crown, but was given by the charter of Henry I. to the church of Salisbury. The presentation is in the dean of that church. The church (dedicated to St. Peter) consists of a nave, with two aisles, a chancel, separated by a transept, in the centre of which, upon four strong arches, is erected the tower and spire. The greatest length of the whole building is one hundred and seventeen feet, and its breadth forty-eight. The spire is of timber, covered with lead, and the tower contains eight bells. The roof, the nave, the south chancel, and part of