SURREY, an inland English county, on the banks of the Thames, by which, on its northern side, it is separated from Middlesex. On the west it is bounded by Berkshire and Hampshire, on the south by Sussex, and on the east by Kent. Its shape is an oblong, of moderate regularity, except on its northern side, where considerable indentations are formed by the curvatures of the Thames. Its length from east to west is about thirty-seven miles, and its breadth from north to south about twenty-five. The area is 758 square miles, or 485,120 statute acres.

The population of this county at the four decennial periods of enumeration was found to be as follows; viz. in 1801 it amounted to 269,043, in 1811 to 323,851, in 1821 to 398,658, and in 1831 to 485,700.
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In the same year the number of families chiefly employed in agriculture was found to be 14,647; of those chiefly employed in trade, manufactures, and handicraft, 49,616; and of those not comprised in either of the preceding classes, 44,814. The number of inhabited houses was 80,070, occupied by 109,077 families; of uninhabited, 6102; and of those building, 1073.

The amount of the annual value of the real property of the county, as assessed for the purposes of the property-tax in 1813, was L. 1,579,173.

The towns and villages within this county, whose inhabitants exceed 3000, are, with their population in 1831, as follows. Such of them which are so in contact with the metropolis as to form suburbs to it, are here distinguished by an asterisk.
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The face of the country exhibits great varieties. On the north, by the banks of the Thames, from Lambeth to Egham, the richness of the highly improved country, the abundance of trees, the verdure of the meadows, the undulation of the hills, with the numerous elegant private houses, all display the most pleasing marks of taste, wealth, and comfort. The centre of the county is a range of chalk hills, much covered with thick underwood, intermixed with arable fields badly cultivated, and utterly destitute of water. The south part, at the foot of this range of hills, is a flat clayey country, nearly impassable in the winter, but covered with some of the best and largest oak trees that are to be found in the island. The north-western part exhibits a considerable tract of the most sterile black heaths, while on the south-west, near Farnham, is some of the most productive land in England.

The productions of agriculture are various, and, at a distance from the capital, scarcely differ from those of other districts in similar circumstances. A greater proportion of clover and of sanfoin is cultivated on the hills, where there arc no natural meadows, than in most other parts of the kingdom. Woad is also very extensively raised in the same districts. It is commonly sown along with turnips intended for feeding sheep, which will not touch woad. It is generally harvested before the corn-crops are ready for the sickle. Near London, the garden-ground extends over several thousand acres. The growing of plants, for the use of the druggists and perfumers, engages much attention; and those gardens supply peppermint, lavender, wormwood, chamomile, aniseed, liquorice, poppy, and other similar articles. Hops are extensively cultivated near Farnham, and are sold for higher prices than those of any other districts.

No minerals are now raised in the county; for though iron is known to exist, and was formerly worked with charcoal, the improvements in chemistry have fixed that operation to the coal-districts. The fossil riches are valuable, especially fullers’ earth, which is of the best quality, and in abundance, and supplies the cloth manufacturers both in the west and north of England. Limestone is plentiful; and that, as well as chalk, is converted into lime, upon a great scale, for the use of the builders of the metropolis. The quarries of Merstham produce an excellent fire-stone; and the sand near Dorking and Ryegate is in great request for making glass, hour-glasses, and other purposes.

The manufactures are various and extensive; but, being almost exclusively near the metropolis, may more properly be considered as belonging to London than to the county of Surrey. The principal of these are breweries and distilleries on a magnificent scale. The tanners, rope and sail-makers, glass-makers, starch and hair-powder makers, and the preparers of vinegar and raisin wines, carry on large trades. A few miles farther from London, chiefly on the banks of the river Wandle, the calico-printers and bleachers have large establishments.

All the rivers of this county empty themselves into the Thames. The only navigable river, besides that fine stream which bounds it, is the Wey, on which barges pass above Guildford into the Basingstoke Canal. The Mole is a beautiful small stream, celebrated for sinking into the ground, and at some few miles lower again emerging. The Wandle runs a short course, but is of great value, from the vast quantity of mill-machinery which it keeps in motion, and the employment which it thus affords to several thousand persons. It rises in one spring near Croydon, turns a large mill within a few yards of its source, and runs nine miles before it joins the Thames. The Medway rises in Surrey, but is a very small stream till it enters the county of Kent. The Loddon, a small river on the western border, is chiefly valuable for the supply of water which it affords to the Basingstoke Canal. That canal was one of the first executed in this part of the kingdom, having been finished in 1796. The Croydon Canal only reaches that town from the Thames; and the little success attending it has prevented its being carried farther, as was originally intended. The Surrey Canal runs parallel to the Thames; but, by avoiding the sinuosities of that river, and the whole of the metropolis, is expected to be beneficial to the inhabitants on the upper banks, by conveying coals and other heavy commodities to them, from ships, at a cheap rate. Its entrance, from the Thames below London Bridge, has a fine basin, capable of containing 100 sail of square-rigged ves-[7:20:848] sels. Railroads have been constructed from Merstham to the Thames; but the project has not repaid those who have advanced the capital a sufficient interest to recommend any further attempts. Several railroads which will pass through the county have been projected, and acts of the legislature for some of them have been obtained: only one of them has yet made much progress, namely, the London and Southampton. Some obstacles long delayed that intended to proceed to Brighton, and the same is the case with the one projected from London to Dover.

Among the Roman antiquities of this county are the Ermine Way, which traversed it, and the remains of which may still be traced near Dorking. The piles are still standing in the river Thames at Walton, which were placed there by the ancient Britons, to impede the passage of Julius Caesar. The vestiges of the encampments of the Romans may be distinctly traced at Bottlehill, at Waltonhill, and some other spots. Among the antiquities of later date, are the Palace of Lambeth, belonging to the see of Canterbury; that of Farnham, belonging to the see of Winchester; the remains of the Abbey at Croydon, the Castle of Guildford, Waverley Abbey, and some other Saxon edifices. The meadow of Runnymead, St Anne’s Hill, the seat of the late Mr Fox, the park of Richmond, and the terrace there, with the palace and gardens of Kew, are all objects that excite a high degree of interest. It is difficult to determine which of the towns is the capital of the county. The principal prison is in the borough of Southwark, and the quarter-sessions are held there; but the lent assizes are held at Kingston-on-Thames, and the summer assizes alternately at Croydon and at Guildford.

The titles derived from this county are those of the Duke of Richmond, the Earls of Surrey, Guildford, and Onslow, and Baron Abinger. The county is formed into the eastern and western division to elect two members for each. The election for the east division is held at Croydon; and the other polling places are Ryegate, Camberwell, and Kingston. The western election is held at Guildford; and the other polling places are Dorking and Chertsey. The boroughs of Gatton and Haselmere, which formerly returned two members each, have been disfranchised; and Ryegate, which chose two, now elects but one member. Lambeth has been erected into a borough, and returns two members; as do the ancient boroughs of Southwark and Guildford.

The number of seats belonging to noblemen and gentlemen in this county is so great as to forbid the noticing of even all those which in any other county would be deemed highly worthy of notice. The most remarkable are, her majesty’s palace of Kew; Claremont, king of Belgium; Clandon Place, earl of Onslow; Pepper Harrow, Lord Middleton; Oatlands, Lord Francis Egerton; Painshill, Lord Carhampton; Ockham Park, earl of Lovelace; Addington Palace, archbishop of Canterbury; Rooksnist, C. H. Turner, Esq.; Nonsuch Park, S. Farmer, Esq.; Gatton, Lord Monson; Nork House, Lord Arden; Betchworth, Right Honourable H. Goulbourne; Norbury Park, Joseph Dennison, Esq.

See Manning and Bray’s History of Surrey; Salmon’s Antiquities of Surrey; Stevenson’s View of the Agriculture of Surrey; Lyson’s Environs of London.