Page:Surrey Archaeological Collections Volume 1.djvu/75

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been validated.
SURREY ARCHAEOLOGY.
9

four women, of the counties of Surrey and Sussex, suffered for their adherence to the faith during the Marian persecution.

In the civil wars, Kingston was repeatedly visited by both armies; in October 1642, the earl of Essex occupied it with 3,000 men, and after 22. Kingston.the battle of Edgehill, and an abortive attempt on Windsor, Prince Rupert experienced a sharp skirmish in this neighbourhood. The spirit of the Surrey men also was conspicuous, in being the first to demand the restoration of the king; and the insurrection of Lord Villiers, at Kingston, was not put down without great effort. Though, since that period until the present, little of historical note is connected with the county, yet the above summary, brief as it is, will suffice to prove Surrey rich in materials for archæological display.

Some curious details relative to population in Surrey, arise from examination of the Patent Rolls. Thus, 23. Population.in Edward II. (1322), 500 foot armed with haketons (jackets), basinets (skull-caps), gauntlets, &c, were levied upon Surrey and Sussex, exclusive of Chichester. In Henry VIII. (the thirty-sixth year of his reign), 80 archers and 320 billmen were levied in Surrey alone; and when Elizabeth's life was threatened by popish malevolents, 180 principal gentry united themselves in a voluntary association to defend her. In 1574-5, the musters were 6,000 able men, 1,800 armed men, and 96 demi-lances. The excessive charges in this county for horses, in the time of Elizabeth, caused a strong remonstrance; the subsequent levies on the county are full of interesting evidence of its growing importance, as peculiarly the residence of the great metropolitan nobles. The