Godalming
From Free net encyclopedia
Godalming is a town in the Waverley district of the county of Surrey, England, seven kilometres south of Guildford. It is built on the banks of the River Wey.
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History
The town has existed since Saxon times (see also Godalming (hundred)), and probably earlier. It is mentioned in the will of King Alfred the Great, and the name itself has Saxon origins, 'Godhelms Ingus' roughly translated as “the family of godhelm”, and probably referring to one of the first lords of the manor.
By the time of the 1086 Domesday survey, Godalming had three watermills and a population of roughly 400 people. At the time, its manor belonged to the King, but a few hundred years later, ownership transferred to the Bishop of Salisbury, under a charter granted by King Edward I of England.
In the year 1300, the town was granted the right to hold a weekly market and an annual fair. Its major industry at the time was woollen cloth, which contributed to Godalming’s prosperity over the next few centuries, until a sudden decline in the 17th century. Instead, its people applied their skills to the latest knitting and weaving technology and began producing stockings in a variety of materials, and later to leatherwork.
A willingness to adapt, and move from one industry to another meant that Godalming continued to thrive. For example, paper making was adopted in the 17th century, and was still manufactured there in the 20th century. The quarrying of Bargate stone also provided an important source of income, as did passing trade - Godalming was a popular stopping point for stage coaches between Portsmouth and London.
In 1764, trade received an additional boost when canalisation of the river took place, linking the town to Guildford, and from there to the River Thames and London.
So successful was Godalming, that in the early 19th century it was considerably larger than today’s county town of Guildford, and by 1851 the population had passed 6,500. Already, it was becoming a popular residence for commuters, for it was connected to London by railway two years earlier, in 1849, and to Portsmouth in 1859. Today the town is served by Godalming railway station on the Portsmouth Direct Line.
Godalming came to world attention in 1881, when it became the first town in the United Kingdom to install a public supply of electricity, and the first in the world to boast electric street lighting, driven by a Siemens AC Alternator and dynamo at Westbrook watermill, feeding seven arc lights and 34 Swan incandescant lights.
The long history of Godalming is still evident in its architecture, from its parish church, with its Saxon chancel and Norman tower, to its 19th century town hall, nicknamed the Pepperpot. The town has around 230 listed buildings, featuring everything from Tudor timbers to 17th century brickwork.
Other significant buildings include Edwin Lutyens's Red House, and one of the best known English public schools, Charterhouse stands about a mile from the town, on the top of Charterhouse Hill. Charterhouse won the FA Cup as the Old Carthusians in 1880 and 1881.
Winkworth Arboretum, with its collection of rare trees and shrubs, is situated a few miles to the south.
Transport
Godalming is on the mainline railway between London (Waterloo) and Portsmouth, and is served by South West Trains. The village of Farncombe is effectively a suburb of Godalming to the north east of the town, it too has a railway station.
Items of interest
The comic novel The Return of Reginald Perrin, by David Nobbs, contains the following footnote: "Note: It is believed that this book mentions Godalming more than any other book ever written, including A Social, Artistic and Economic History of Godalming by E. Phipps-Blythburgh." The novel was the second in a trilogy, adapted to become a hit TV series: The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin.
The town has often been used as a backdrop for the shooting of various films and television programmes. In February 2006, for instance, the picturesque Church Street, which runs from the Pepperpot to the parish church, was used in the production of Holiday, written and directed by Nancy Meyers. Local residents, quite accustomed to seeing British personalities such as Damon Hill, Chris Evans and Anthea Turner, who all live locally, were very interested by the presence of Hollywood superstars such as Cameron Diaz and Jude Law around town.
Notable people
- Admiral Sir John Balchen [1]
- Julius Caesar (cricketer)
- Ben Elton (comedian)
- Aldous Huxley (writer)
- Gertrude Jekyll (gardener)
- Edwin Lutyens (architect)
- James Oglethorpe (founder of the Province of Georgia)
- John (Jack) Phillips (radio operator on the Titanic)
- James Plaisted Wilde, Baron Penzance
- Chris Evans T.V and radio personality
- Christopher Timothy Actor
The Rabbit Woman of Godalming
In 1726 Mary and Joshua Toft, both of Godalming, were married. On September 27th her family summoned the local surgeon, John Howard who, to his astonishment, arrived to find Mary giving birth to a stillborn rabbit with the legs of a kitten. Mary explained that she had been startled by a rabbit in pregnancy, and since that moment had craved roast rabbit, and had dreams about them. Some versions of the story say that she claimed to have encountered a six foot high rabbit which assaulted her in rather a personal manner, but most academic accounts prefer the former explanation; it seems to be a tale which lost nothing in the telling. Further births followed, until eventually she had given birth to fifteen rabbits. Word spread, and crowds began to gather at Mary’s home to see the mysterious offspring, who had all been preserved in glass jars. There was a thorough investigation by the King's own surgeon, and getting nervous Mary Toft confessed that she had stuffed dead rabbit babies inside her and faked labour pains. The medical establishment were so embarrassed that charges were dropped. And so, Godalming entered the modern world.