GODALMING, a town in Surrey, England, 34 m. S.W. of London by the S.R. Pop. (1931) 10,400.
Godalming (Godelminge) belonged to King Alfred, and was a royal manor at the time of Domesday. The manor was held by the see of Salisbury in the middle ages, but reverted to the crown in the time of Henry VIII. Godalming was incorporated by Eliza beth in 1574, when the borough originated. The charter was con firmed by James I. in 1620, and a fresh charter was granted by Charles II. in 1666. The bishop of Salisbury in 1300 received the grant of a weekly market which included a fair at the feast of St. Peter and St. Paul. Another fair at Candlemas was granted by Elizabeth. The market is still held. The making of cloth, particu larly Hampshire kerseys, was the staple industry of Godalming in the middle ages. Tanning, introduced in the 15th century, survives. The present manufacture of fleecy hosiery dates from the end of the 18th century. It is on the Wey, and on the high road between London and Portsmouth. The church of SS. Peter and Paul is principally Early English and Perpendicular. Charterhouse School, transferred from Charterhouse Square, London, to Godalming in 1872, has 92 ac. of grounds and spacious buildings in Gothic style. (See CHARTERHOUSE.) Godalming manufac tures paper, leather, parchment and hosiery, and trades in corn, malt, bark, hoops and timber ; Bargate stone, of which the parish church is built, is still quarried.