Surrey Archaeological Collections 74

The synthesised report on a pioneer excavation of a medieval manorial site in mid-Surrey is finally published. The occupation seems to have lasted from c AD 1200 to about AD 1350, the main hall being altered and later rebuilt. Finds included a possible fragment of chain mail and a chimney-pot and finial in the form of a mounted man blowing a horn.

Beside the Wey at Guildford, near the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre (TQ 996 492), stands an imposing brick building. This is the last of the Town Mills which have occupied the site for centuries, grinding corn, fulling cloth and supplying the town with water, and from the 17th century their history is well documented. However, they were by no means the only mills that have served the town.

There are few references to plague and other pestilences in the records of the Borough of Guildford that have survived from the 16th and 17th centuries. In the Loseley Manuscripts there is a petition dated 12 September 1563 from the inhabitants to the mayor that in consideration of the prevailing pestilence an order be issued to restrain people from having recourse to the hill of St Catherine for the annual fair. This epidemic is also mentioned in the Richard Symmes Manuscript, which states that: This year the plague was in the towne Mem that in this time of plague the mercate house was builded, with the clock and dyall. A letter from the Privy Council to the mayor in October 1578 has been preserved, stating that the fair of 11 November must not be held owing to the prevalence of the plague in and around London, from whence so many usually attend This report concerns an investigation of the registers of the three parishes of the borough from 1560 to 1669. The old style calendar the start of the year being 25 March is used throughout. 1560 is the first year that registers of the two larger parishes are both complete, and the last date was chosen to include the end of plague as a major cause of death in this country.

In 1966 Mr Kenneth Gravett published an analytical account of Whitehall, Malden Road, Cheam (TQ 242 638). He was hindered in his investigation of the house by some parts being difficult to reach and others hidden by plaster, by later applied surfaces or by additions to the structure. From October 1975 to February 1976 a restoration programme was undertaken that provided an opportunity to investigate those parts of the building previously hidden. With the original features of the house now largely clear, it has been possible to consider it in the context of its time.

Aerial photographs taken during the dry summer of 1976 recorded extensive crop marks on arable land (centred TQ 0243 5825) which has since been developed and opened as a. golf course in 1982. The Mayford History Society carried out trial excavations prior to development in the hope of finding evidence to date what appeared to be a field system and possible occupation area. Unfortunately, however, no definite dating evidence was found in the limited excavation which was possible in the time available.

The Edwards Collection, a surface collection of archaeological material from Ham Fields, reveals that the area has seen intermittent occupation throughout prehistory. The site is now mostly quarried away. The artefacts are described and considered in conjunction with those from other collections. Finally; some conclusions as to the nature of the site are offered.