HASLEMERE
Hasulmore (xiv cent.); Haselmere (xvi cent.).
Haslemere is a market town and a small parish
9 miles south-west of Godalming, of irregular form
about 2 miles in breadth at the south end, and nearly
2 miles at the greatest measurement from north to
south. The soil is mainly the Lower Green Sand, but
the parish also extends over some of the Atherfield
Clay and the Wealden Clay. It includes part of
Weydown Common, and Grayshott Common to the
north, and open land about East (or Haste) Hill to the
east, and other open land; but is mostly agricultural
land or woodland. The parish is traversed by the
Portsmouth line of the London and South Western
Railway, and by the road from Guildford to Midhurst.
It contains 2,253 acres. A part of the town
was in the parish of Thursley, but has been
transferred to Haslemere by the Local Government
Act of 1894. The house called Weycombe was transferred from Chiddingfold to Haslemere by order of
the Local Government Board, 1884. (fn. 1)
The woollen industry existed here as elsewhere in
West Surrey, and the iron works at Imbhams and
in Witley gave employment to charcoal burners,
called colliers as elsewhere in Surrey, in Haslemere
parish. The names of Foundry Road and Hammer
Lane imply ironworks in the parish.
The present industries include brick and tile works,
and several handicrafts introduced of late years by
artistic and benevolent residents or neighbours, such as
the linen, silk, and cotton weaving in Foundry Road,
introduced by Mr. and Mrs. King of Witley circa
1895; tapestry, by Mr. and Mrs. Blunt; silk weaving,
by Mr. Hooper; artist's wood and cabinet works, by
Mr. Romney Green; faience and mosaic works by
Mr. Radley Young, in Hammer Lane; weaving of
ecclesiastical vestments, etc., by Mr. Hunter, on College
Hill. The local museum and library, very far
superior in plan and arrangement to the ordinary local
museum, is connected with these local industries, as part
of a general scheme to revive artistic taste and intellectual interests in a country place. But though Haslemere
is a centre for a residential district, which since Professor Tyndall first built a house upon Hindhead has
housed a remarkable body of literary, artistic, scientific,
and otherwise distinguished residents, from Professor
Tyndall and Lord Tennyson downwards, the greater
part of the residential district is outside the parish
of Haslemere, though a considerable number of
houses have been built, or old houses adapted, in the
place itself.
The tradition preserved by Aubrey (fn. 2) that Haslemere
was a place of ancient importance, once possessing
seven churches, but destroyed by the Danes, is of no
value. It is unsupported by a scrap of documentary
evidence, and is contrary to probability, as the place,
unnamed in Domesday, was on the confines of the
Wealden Forest, in a generally thinly inhabited
country and was neither an ancient parish nor an
ancient manor. It was a chapelry of the parish of
Chiddingfold and was part of the first royal and then
episcopal manor of Godalming. Old Haslemere, on
East Hill, also called Haste Hill in deeds, south-east
of the town, was merely a tenement in the 14th century, (fn. 3) but the name 'Churchliten field' there (fn. 4) and
'Old church-yard' of Haslemere are suggestive of a
church having been on the spot. The place where
the present church stands, upon the opposite side of
the town, was called Piperham. (fn. 5)
The boundaries of Surrey and Sussex have perhaps
been slightly altered here to the loss of Surrey. On
6 September 1616 some forty inhabitants of Haslemere
and the neighbourhood sent a letter to Sir George
More, lord of the hundred and manor of Godalming,
complaining that some two years back John Misselbroke
had altered the course of the stream called Houndley's
Water, near Carpenter's Heath, where it formed the
county boundary, and that Richard Boxell of Linchmere in Sussex had kept up the diversion. (fn. 6) Carpenter's
Heath was the name of the land about Shottermill, on
the borders of Godalming and Farnham Manors and
Hundreds. Though the diversions deprived Sir George
of land, no further action appears to have taken
place.
Cinerary urns, made on a wheel, with calcined bones
in them, and some flints about them, but no bronze or
iron, were found in Mr. Rollason's meadow, called
Beeches, between Haslemere and Grayshott, and were
presented to the local museum in 1902. Close by
was the floor of a kiln, with tesserae and burnt stones
and charcoal. Neolithic flint implements are fairly
common in the neighbourhood.
There are Congregational and Particular Baptist
chapels in Haslemere.
The town is beautifully placed on the slope of a
gentle hill—Black Down ridge—its church lying
away from the town on a high spur. There is a
market-house, placed in the middle of the wide street
on the site of the Town Hall. It is not in itself
of any great antiquity or beauty, but it harmonizes
with its surroundings. For grouping, colouring,
and the artistic setting of trees, creepers, and lovely
backgrounds the streets of Haslemere are justly
renowned; and the new houses blend on the whole
very happily with the old: but considered individually
for antiquity or architectural merit they cannot compare with the houses of Godalming. Tile-hanging is
the characteristic feature of the houses, which are mostly
gabled and of brick or timber and plaster construction,
with, in many cases, fine brick chimney stacks, and
tiled roofs. Besides the High Street, which contains
many picturesque examples of low-pitched gabled
houses, there are interesting old houses in Shepherd's
Hill (half timber and tile-hanging, to upper story,
with plastered cove below) and East Street, which latter
has a good moulded brick cornice. Most of these
appear to date from early in the 17th century, but
there are a few perhaps of earlier date, and a number
belonging to the 18th century.
BOROUGH
Haslemere, which was originally only
a tithing of Godalming, seems to have
first gained importance through its
market, which was especially mentioned with the manor
of Godalming in 1221, (fn. 7) nearly eighty years before the
lords of Salisbury had a weekly market in Godalming
itself. In point of population it does not seem to have
even approached the neighbouring (fn. 8) parishes of Witley
and Chiddingfold. Although it was not expressly
called a borough in the return of 1315, (fn. 9) it is called
'burgus' in 1377. (fn. 10) In 1394 John Waltham, Bishop
of Salisbury, had licence to grant a charter to Haslemere, giving the town a market on Wednesdays and
an annual fair on the eve and day of the Holy Cross,
and three succeeding days. (fn. 11)
In an account of rents received in Godalming
Manor, dated 1543, the 'burgesses' of the 'borough'
of Haslemere are said to owe 12s. 2d. rent for certain
lands there, (fn. 12) which rent is evidently identical with
12s. 1d. called 'le Burgage Rent' paid to the lord of
Godalming by the tenants called the burgage holders
in Haslemere. (fn. 13) The inhabitants held by burgage
tenure in the 14th century when the Court Rolls of
Godalming Manor and Hundred begin.
The tenants of the tithing owed suit to the Hundred Court of Godalming, but a view of frankpledge
was held at Hocktide at Haslemere, and a court leet
with it, in the 17th century, for the borough. (fn. 14) The
town was considered a separate manor from Godalming, after the charter of 1596 at least. (fn. 15) Separate
Court Rolls exist for it.
The burgage-rent was collected annually by the
bailiff of the borough, who seems to have been the
only officer, for in 1596, at the time when the Crown
was still holding Godalming Manor, Queen Elizabeth
addressed a re-grant of the market and fairs to the
bailiff and inhabitants of the borough. (fn. 16) In the preamble to this grant she asserted that the town had
sent two burgesses to Parliament from time immemorial, and confirmed their right to do so in the
future. She further recited the charter of Richard II,
and as the markets and fair had fallen into disuse,
restored to them the market on Tuesdays, the fair,
now twice a year on St. Philip and St. James's and
Holy Cross Day. Tolls were to be levied, a court of
pie powder held, and the tolls to be applied by the
bailiff and others to the relief of the poor inhabitants. (fn. 17)
The original grantees having all died, John Billinghurst of Coldwaltham, co. Sussex, claimed the right
to gather the tolls as heir of John Steede, the last surviving grantee. He was accused of misemploying the
profits of the fair and market, which seem at that time
to have amounted to about £7 yearly, and a decree
was issued in 1662 vesting the trust in the lords of
the manor of Godalming for the relief of the poor of
Haslemere, an account being given at the court leet
of the borough. (fn. 18) According to the inscription on
the almshouses on the common near Lythe Hill,
James Gresham, who represented Haslemere in the
Parliament of 1678–9, by his 'care and oversight'
caused the almshouses, then called the Toll House, to
be built in 1676, for the habitation of decayed inhabitants of the borough, out of the profits of the market. (fn. 19)
However, after the death of Sir William More, lord
of Godalming, John Billinghurst again tried to make
good his claim to the tolls, and obtained a reversal of
the former decree, (fn. 20) but in 1691 the grant was found
to be in favour of the poor of the borough. (fn. 21) Thomas
Molyneux, then lord of Haslemere Manor, the minister of Haslemere, and others, were appointed trustees, (fn. 22)
and John Billinghurst ordered to restore £42 11s.
which he had collected. (fn. 23) The market produced
little, being in the centre of a poor country. The
view of frankpledge and court baron, held together
in this case as at Godalming, give a few interesting
glimpses of town management. So anxious were the
burgesses to keep down the poor-rate that they decreed
at the court of 4 May 1627 that no one in this leet
shall let, devise, grant, &c., any messuage, &c., or
room, to any 'forriner,' unless he and they can satisfy
the bailiff and overseers that he can maintain himself
and family—penalty £10. This was repeated 7 May
1628. Under Charles I the records of the court were
kept in Latin. One result of the Commonwealth is
that English was used, as was also the case in Guildford.
On 30 April 1652 Puritan opinion forbade any person
to set up a game called 'nine holes' in this borough—penalty 5s. But cleanliness was some way off godliness, for on 10 April 1654 it was ordered that no one
was to keep a dunghill standing in the borough above
a month—penalty 12d. On 22 April 1658 the
Market House, the Fish Cross, and the Butter Cross,
were reported to be very ruinous. Robert Cobden
and William Shudd were bound to repair them, under
penalty of £10, to be done before the feast of St. Michael the Archangel. This feast survives in all its
full sanctity as a date in spite of the opinions then
prevailing. After the Restoration Mr. Richard
Symmes, the steward of Godalming, had the record of
the court kept again in Latin. It is interesting to
find that in 1678 among the 'foreign' tradesmen
who set up stalls at the market, but who were fined
11s. for doing so without the bailiff's leave, was
Robert Smyth of Farnham, bookseller. The old
Crosses and Town Hall, ruinous in 1658, were pulled
down, the two former after 1735. The Town Hall
was not pulled down till 1814, when the present
hall was built by the two members. For this date
there is a plan of the town, a copy of which is preserved in the present Town Hall.
Haslemere ceased to be a borough after the Municipal Reform Act of 1835. (fn. 24)
Although the charter of 1596 asserts that Haslemere
sent two burgesses to Parliament from time immemorial, (fn. 25) the first extant return of burgesses for the
town dates from 1584, only twelve years before. (fn. 26)
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 successors.
The electors were inhabitant freeholders, whether
paying rent to the lord of the manor or not, the burgage holders in fact. (fn. 27) 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 considerably, 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, (fn. 28) 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 purpose 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 1649, 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. (fn. 29)
MANORS
The manor of
HASLEMERE
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. (fn. 30) 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
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 12s. 1d. 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.'
Lowther, Earl of Lonsdale. Or six rings sable.
The court leet was held up to 1839, when the
practice was discontinued. (fn. 31)
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, (fn. 32) and recovered land in Chiddingfold from various tenants
including Alan of Imbhams. (fn. 33) From her time the
manor descended with Loseley to her son Robert, at
whose death in March 1356–7 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 18s. 8d. 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. (fn. 34) Imbhams was not included in
Robert de Dol's agreement with his daughter Joan de
Bures, (fn. 35) but was assigned immediately after his death
to his heirs, the same Joan and John Norton. (fn. 36)
Joan died in 1371, her heir being her son William
Bures, (fn. 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 IMBHAMS, passed to John Norton, descended from her sister Margaret, (fn. 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
6s. (fn. 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, (fn. 40) though land
in Chiddingfold (which then of course included
Haslemere) is mentioned, this land was held of the
manor of Bramley. (fn. 41) The Norton portion was already
in the hands of William Covert of Slaugham and
Harlcombe, who died in 1494. In 1504 his son John
Covert died seised of the manor of Imbhams in
Haslemere, Chiddingfold and Alfold, held of the
Bishop of Salisbury. (fn. 42) His heir was his cousin Richard,
from whom it went to John's nephew Giles, who
held at the time of the survey of Godalming made
by Edward VI, and died in 1557, (fn. 43) holding of the
Crown, which then held the bishop's manor of Godalming. He was succeeded by his brother Richard.
He was father of Antony Covert, father of John and
Antony, all of whom held it. (fn. 44) John conveyed to Antony
in 1625, the conveyance including the pond which
supplied the water for the Quenells' iron furnace
called Imbhams. (fn. 45) The Coverts sold to Peter Quenell
the elder in 1627. (fn. 46)
Quenell had already acquired SOUTH IMBHAMS,
the other moiety, which went with the Bures portion
of Loseley, probably to the Strodes, who had land in
Chiddingfold, (fn. 47) and so to the Westbrooks. John
Westbrook was lord of the manor of Imbhams alias
Southymbhams, in 1492, and granted land which had
escheated to him as lord. When he sold Loseley to
Sir Christopher More he did not convey the manor
of South Imbhams (fn. 48) specifically, and it continued in
his family. He died in 1513, and his son William
in 1537. His heirs were his sister Florence Scarlett,
widow, and Elizabeth wife of Edward Hull. John,
grandson of the former, sold his moiety of South
Imbhams to Thomas Quenell in 1568. (fn. 49) Thomas
left it, subject to his wife's life interest, to his brother
Robert Quenell in 1571, and Scarlett levied a fine to
Robert Quenell in 1576. (fn. 50)
Thomas Hull, son of Elizabeth Hull, had sold his
share to the same Robert Quenell in 1574. (fn. 51) This
Robert was father to Peter, who acquired the other
part of Imbhams, vide supra, in 1626. The Quenells
were ironmasters, and Peter, a Royalist, cast guns for
the king at Imbhams as long as he was allowed. (fn. 52) He
died in 1649. His son Peter served in the king's army,
and also borrowed money. He died in 1666. Peter
Quenell his son held a court in 1669, but under
an arrangement to satisfy his father's debts sold
with his mother's concurrence in 1677 to Thomas
Newton and William Yalden. (fn. 53) The latter took the
manor and held a court in 1679. He died in 1740,
aged 91. His son William died in 1742, leaving a
son William who died in 1796. He had a daughter
Elizabeth, wife of Ralph Bennet, and two other
daughters. The trustees of the estate sold it to
George Oliver of Brentford in 1797. His son
George died at a great age after 1870, and the manor
was sold to the late Mr. James Stewart Hodgson of
Lythe Hill, Haslemere, whose widow died in 1907.
William Yalden the younger was of 'the Newhouse,' since known as the Manor House. The old
manor house is a moated farm of the 16th century.
CHURCH
The church of ST. BARTHOLOMEW is embowered in trees, among
which the grey stone tower with stoneslated roof has a more venerable aspect than is warranted by its actual age. The churchyard, which is
extremely pretty and well kept, abounds in choice
shrubs and trees, and has a great number of old and
new monuments. Professor Tyndall lies here, but
under a gorse and heather-covered mound, without
stone or other memorial.
The church was originally only a chapel-of-ease to
Chiddingfold. The tower at the west end is practically all that remains of ancient date, and there is reason
to suppose that this goes no further back than the
middle of the 17th century. The nave, north aisle,
and chancel, after having been greatly altered about
1837, were partly rebuilt in 1870–1, a south aisle
being added at the same time. The style in which
the new work was designed is that of the middle of
the 13th century. When the rebuilding took place a
number of the older gravestones were built into the
walls inside and out. There is a good deal of modern
glass of varying merit, including a two-light window
designed by the late Sir Edward Burne-Jones to the
memory of the poet Tennyson, its subject being Sir
Galahad and the Holy Grail. Some old glass said to
have been brought out of Kent by the Rev. M. Sanderson at the end of the 17th century has been redistributed, part being in the west window of the tower,
and the rest in the west window of the north aisle;
originally the whole was in the east window of the
chancel. A writer in the Gentleman's Magazine for
1801 gives the subjects as follows:—
'1. St. Matthew. 2. Our Saviour's Ascension.
3. St. Mark. 4. Adam and Eve in Paradise. 5. The
Nativity. 6. Noah going into the Ark. 7. St. Luke.
8. Saul thrown from his horse, and his attendants
offering him assistance: "Savl, Savl, qvid persecv'is
me?" 9. Offering of the Wise Men. Among the
numerous presents, I distinguished some fine hams,
poultry and mutton. 10. St. John.'
The same writer describes the nave as 'separated
from the transept [i.e. aisle] by four pointed arches
resting on low round pillars, part of a wooden
screen remaining under the chancel arch. The font
is a large octagonal stone supported on a pillar corresponding with it. On one of the bells is inscribed,
"Peace and good neighbourhood."'
Another writer says (fn. 54) of the arcade between the
nave and north aisle, 'the pillars that support the
arches are of oak, and of large dimensions.' Mr. J. W.
Penfold, an old resident, in giving his recollections
of the church as he remembers it 'in the early days
of William IV,' says; 'The north aisle was separated
from the nave by huge oak pillars, with heavy carved
ribs or struts forming arches to support the low roof,
and much obscuring the view into the nave. . . About
1837 the oak pillars were removed, and neat fluted
iron columns were substituted.' (fn. 55)
From Cracklow's view of 1823 it would seem probable that the old nave and chancel retained features
of 13th-century date, but that the building had been
greatly altered in the 16th and following centuries.
The registers date from 1572.
The church plate includes a cup and paten cover of
1669, a credence paten of 1672, a paten of 1718, a
cup of 1730, and a flagon of 1793—all of silver.
The place where the present church stands upon
the side of the town opposite to 'Old Haslemere'
(vide supra) was called Piperham, and the church here
is the 'capella de Piperham' which with Chiddingfold
is mentioned in 1180 and 1185 in the Salisbury
Registers. (fn. 56) A deed of 1486 in the possession
of Mr. J. W. Penfold shows that the road from
the upper end of Haslemere Street leading to the
present church then led to Piperham Church. A
fragment of a Court Roll at Loseley of 6 & 7 James I
mentions the road as out of order leading from 'Pepperham's church in Haslemere by Pilemarsh.' Pilemarsh is between the present church and Haslemere
Station. There probably was another church, now
gone, on East Hill, whence the tradition of seven
churches. Also in 1458 John Piperham leased to
John Boxfold of Haslemere his tenement called Piperhammes next the church in Haslemere on the understanding that Boxfold should perform all services due
to the king, the lord of the fee, and to the church. (fn. 57)
There was also a tenement called Howndleswater,
otherwise Peperham in Haslemere, of which John
Bridger was possessed when he died in February
1580–1. (fn. 58)
The parish was a chapelry in the parish of Chiddingfold, but in 1363 Bishop Edyngton of Winchester
granted licence for the consecration of a long-existing
chapel and burial-ground at Haslemere in place of
the old churchyard near the old church. (fn. 59) The district possessed parish officers and registers of its own,
and though a rector was usually, till recently, instituted
to the rectory of Chiddingfold with Haslemere, a
separate curate was often in residence. It has been
in all respects a separate parish since 1869.
ADVOWSON
The history of the advowson is
coincident with that of the mother-church of Chiddingfold till 1868.
In that year a rector was instituted to the churches of
Chiddingfold and Haslemere on the understanding that
he should resign the latter when called upon to do so.
This he did in 1869, when Haslemere became a
separate rectory.
CHARITIES
Smith's Charity is distributed as in
other Surrey parishes.
James Bicknell by will 27 November 1633 left the produce of certain land, of about
13s. 4d. a year, to the churchwardens for the poor
James Gresham, lessee of the tolls of the market, left
the tolls and an almshouse in 1676. The almshouse
exists, but is now unendowed. In 1816 Mr. Shudd,
a solicitor of the town, left £350 to the poor.
There is a cottage hospital founded by John Penfold, opened in 1898, in commemoration of the
Diamond Jubilee of the late Queen Victoria; a
convalescent home, founded and maintained by Jonathan Hutchinson; and a holiday home at East Hill,
established by Mrs. Stewart Hodgson in 1884, for
the reception of poor girls from London.