Surrey Archaeological Collections
Surrey Archaeological Society, 2003. (updated 2023) https://doi.org/10.5284/1000221. How to cite using this DOI
Data copyright © Surrey Archaeological Society unless otherwise stated
This work is licensed under the ADS Terms of Use and Access.
Primary contact
Surrey Archaeological Society
Research Centre
Hackhurst Lane
Abinger Hammer
Surrey
RH5 6SE
Tel: 01306731275
Resource identifiers
- ADS Collection: 379
- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1000221
- How to cite using this DOI
SURREY ARCHAEOLOGICAL COLLECTIONS
Owen Manning, William Bray and the writing of Surrey's county history, 1760-1832
JULIAN POOLEY
The History and Antiquities of the County of Surrey took more than 40 years to research and thirteen to publish. It was begun in the 1760s by Owen Manning (1721-1801), vicar of Godalming, and completed in three volumes by William Bray (1736-1832) of Shere, between 1801 and 1814. But Manning and Bray did not operate alone and the work, though one of the finest county histories of its day, was fraught with difficulties. The prefaces to each volume and papers of those closely associated with the project testify to the support given to the editors by a national network of antiquaries and the industry, patience and accuracy that ensured the book's enduring value for local historical research. This paper, drawing on the rich archive materials of Manning and Bray, the antiquary Richard Gough (1731-1809), and the printer, John Nichols (1745-1826), charts the research and production of a county history which remains a basic tool for students of Surrey's past.
