Template:Wp-Godalming-History

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Pre-1300

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 in 899 AD, where it and Guildford are gifted to Alfred's nephew, Æthelwold. It was originally associated with the Æscings, Jutes from Kent.^[1]

Godalming grew in size partly due to its location halfway between Portsmouth and London, which encouraged traders to set up stalls and inns for travellers.

Its Domesday assets were two churches (both held by Ranulf Flambard) worth 12s, three mills worth £2 1s 8d, 25 ploughs, of meadow, and woodland worth 103 hogs – totalling £34. Its population was roughly 400. The manor belonged to the King, but a few centuries later it was in the hands of the Bishop of Salisbury under a charter from King Edward I of England.

1300–1800

In 1300, the town gained the right to hold a weekly market and an annual fair. Its major industry at the time was woollen cloth, which fed Godalming's prosperity over the next few centuries, until a sudden decline in the 17th century. Then people applied their skills instead to the latest knitting and weaving technology and began producing stockings in a variety of materials, and later to leatherwork.

A willingness to shift industries meant that Godalming continued to thrive. For example, papermaking was adopted in the 17th century and paper was still made there in the 20th century. The quarrying of Bargate stone also provided important income, as did passing trade: Godalming was a popular stopping point for stagecoaches and the Mail coach between Portsmouth and London. In 1764, trade received another additional boost from early canalisation of the river, linking the town to Guildford and from there to the River Thames and London on the Wey and Godalming Navigations.

In 1726 a Godalming maidservant called Mary Toft hoaxed the town into believing she had given birth to rabbits. The foremost physicians of the day came to witness the freak event and for a brief time the story caused a national sensation. Eventually Toft was found out after a porter was caught smuggling a dead rabbit into her chamber; she confessed to inserting at least 16 rabbits into herself and faking their birth. Toft died and was buried in Godalming in 1763.

Court testimony of 1764 attests to how purchasing one of the mills in Godalming and dealing in corn and flour brought a substantial income.

From 1800

So successful was Godalming that in the early 19th century it was much larger than Guildford, and by 1851 the population had passed 6,500. Already it was becoming a popular residence for commuters,, as it had been connected to London by rail in 1849 and to Portsmouth in 1859. Today Godalming railway station stands on the Portsmouth Direct Line. The first mayor of Godalming was Henry Marshall.

We reached the town of Godalming. I had an ideahow I came about it I cannot saythat Godalming was a pleasant and picturesque town; my drive through it effectually got rid of that idea. I saw nothing pleasant or picturesque about it, even allowing for the determined and depressing drizzle that dulled the outlook. Perhaps I saw things crookedy on that day, but to me, certainly, Godalming looked a one-streeted affair of commonplace houses and shops, with not even a feature amongst the lot worth noticing, not even its old market-house.

Public electricity supply

Godalming claimed world attention in September 1881 as the first town in the world to install a public electricity supply. It was Calder and Barrett who installed a Siemens AC Alternator and dynamo, powered by a waterwheel at Westbrook Mill, on the River Wey. There were several supply cables, some laid in gutters, which fed seven arc lights and 34 Swan incandescent lights. Floods in late 1881 caused problems and later Calder and Barrett withdrew from the contract. It was taken over by Siemens, under which the supply system grew and several technical problems were solved. But in 1884, the whole town reverted to gas lighting as Siemens failed to tender for a contract to light the town. This followed a survey they undertook that failed to show adequate support for the business to be viable. Siemens had also lost money on the scheme in the early years, but was prepared to stay on in order to gain experience. Electricity returned to the town on January 1, 1903.