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County in SE. of England, bounded N. by the Thames, which
separates it from Bucks and Middlesex, E. by Kent, S. by Sussex,
W. by Hants, and NW. by Berks; greatest length, N. and S.,
26 miles; greatest breadth, E. and W., 40 miles; area, 485,129
acres, population 1,436,899. The County is traversed from
E. to W. by the North Downs range, from which the surface
slopes gently down towards the Thames on the N., while on
the S. it descends into an extensive flat plain (partly also
in the counties of Kent and Sussex) called the Weald. Except
a small portion in the SW., and another small portion in the
SE., the whole of the County is drained by the Thames and
its tributaries, the Wey, Mole, and Wandle. There are many
varieties of soil, including plastic and alluvial clays, rich
vegatable loam, calcareous earth, and almost barren heath.
On the plastic clays the crops are wheat and beans; the alluvial
soils, particularly in the vicinity of the metropolis, are
chiefly occupied by orchards, market gardens, and farms for
the culture of medical and aromatic plants; on the loamy soils
the crops are barley, oats, and pease, carrots and parsnips;
while the chief products of the calcareous soils are hops
and clover. There are some industries in oil, paper, calicoes,
woollen goods, &C., and those places situated on the Thames
share in the trade of the port of London, but (except in that
part of the County included within the limits of the metropolis)
the trade and manufactures are not of great importance. The
amenities of climate and scenery, the vicinity of the metropolis,
and the complete means of railway communication, have caused
many parts of Surrey to be studded over with mansions and
villas. The County contains 14 hundreds, 152 parishes with
parts of 2 others, the parliamentary and municipal borough
of Croydon (1 member), the parliamentary boroughs of Battersea
and Clapham (2 members), Camberwell (3 members), Lambeth (4
members), Newington (2 members), Southwark (3 members), and
Wandsworth (1 member) - all the parliamentary boroughs being
metropolitan except Croydon, and the municipal borough of
Godalming, Guildford, Kingston upon Thames, and Reigate. The
County is in the dioceses of Canterbury, Rochester and Winchester.
For parliamentary purposes it is divided into 6 divisions
- viz., North-Western or Chertsey, South-Western or Guildford,
South-Eastern or Reigate, Mid or Epsom, Kingston, and North-Eastern
or Wimbledon, 1 member for each division. (Transcribed from
Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles, 1887. -C.H.)
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