A history of Surrey in 50 objects: Surrey Museums Month 2011

PUBLISHED: 12:51 25 May 2011 | UPDATED: 19:15 20 February 2013

Photos: Brian Wood

For Surrey Museums Month, a celebration of our county's heritage in April, our museums have delved into their collections to highlight some of their most special items. Photos: Brian Wood

The Palaeolithic flint hand axe shown above is the oldest human artefact in Godalming Museumâ€™s collection (it dates back at least 400,000 years) and was discovered at Llanaway, a small estate between Godalming and Farncombe.

Originally published in Surrey Life magazine April 2011

For Surrey Museums Month, a celebration of our countys heritage in April, our museums have delved into their collections to highlight some of their most special items. Surrey Life teamed up with the organisers to exclusively bring you this history of Surrey in 50 objects, via flints, sculpture, footballs and a host of other priceless artefacts and oddities, in April's Surrey Life magazine thanks to the photography of Brian Wood

Surrey Museums Month:
A history of Surrey in 50 objects

A collection of Mesolithic flints can also be found at Godalming Museum (in neatly labelled brown envelopes and tobacco tins), along with notes about their excavation and correspondence.

NEED TO KNOW: All the stories that accompany these fascinating objects can be discovered in full at www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk, along with video clips of curators talking about the items, and details of events taking place throughout April for Surrey Museums Month.

FULL EVENT LISTINGS FOR SURREY MUSEUMS MONTH 2011

Surrey's museums

Army Medical Services Museum
Mytchett Place Road, Mytchett, Surrey GU16 6DD: 01252 868820

Discovered in St Maryâ€™s churchyard, Oxted, this flint axe-head (shown from three different angles) is just over a foot long and is in mint condition. Now housed at East Surrey Museum in Caterham, it is believed to date from either the Mesolithic or early Neolithic period.

Bourne Hall Museum
Spring Street, Ewell, Surrey KT17 1UF: 0208 394 1734

Brooklands Museum
Brooklands Road, Weybridge, Surrey KT13 0QN: 01932 857381

Byfleet Heritage Centre
Byfleet Library, Byfleet, Surrey KT14 7QN: 01932 341084

Chertsey Museum
The Cedars, 33 Windsor Street, Chertsey, Surrey KT16 8AT: 01932 565 764

This head-dress from Wanborough Roman temple is one of the most important surviving objects from the period in the UK. Now in the collection of Guildford Museum, the wheel symbol at the top is linked with the Celtic version of Jupiter.

Chobham Museum
Benham's Corner, Bagshot Road, Chobham, Surrey GU2 2JY: 01276 858322

Cobham Bus Museum
Redhill Road, Cobham, Surrey KT11 1EF: 01932 868665

Museum of Croydon
Croydon Clocktower, Katharine Street, Croydon, Surrey CR9 1ET: 020 8253 1022

Dorking Museum
The Old Foundry, 62 West Street, Dorking, Surrey RH4 1BS: 01306 876591

At the museum of Holmesdale Natural History Club in Reigate, you can see these Roman box flue tiles, found in 1886 in the Doods Road area â€“ there is evidence of box tiles being made in Roman kilns in the area.

East Surrey Museum
1 Stafford Rd Caterham Surrey CR3 6JG: 01883 340275

Elmbridge Museum
Church Street, Weybridge, Surrey KT13 8DE: 01932 843573

Museum of Farnham
Willmer House, 38 West Street, Farnham, Surrey GU9 7DX: 01252 715094

Godalming Museum
109a High Street, Godalming, Surrey GU7 1AQ: 01483 426 510

Spelthorne Museum holds one of the largest collections of Roman material in the county, ranging from roof tiles to this Roman babyâ€™s bottle.

Guildford Museum
Castle Arch, Quarry Street, Guildford, Surrey GU1 3SX: 01483 444 751

Holmesdale Natural History Club museum
14 Croydon Road, Reigate, Surrey RH2 0PG: 01737 247092

Haslemere Educational Museum
78 High Street, Haslemere, Surrey GU27 2LA: 01428 642112

Kingston Museum
Fairfield Road, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey KT1 2PS: 020 8547 6460

Wealden iron was a significant industry in Britain for over 2,000 years and the Weald area (Surrey, Sussex and Kent) was the main iron-producing area during the early Roman occupation of Britain and in Tudor and early-Stuart times. This reproduction can be seen at the Rural Life Centre in Tilford.

Leatherhead Museum
Hampton Cottage, 64 Church Street, Leatherhead, Surrey KT22 8DP: 01372 374093

The Lightbox
Chobham Road, Woking, Surrey GU21 4AA: 01483 737800

National Rifle Association Museum
Bisley Camp, Brookwood, Woking, Surrey GU21 0PB: 01483 797777

Queens Royal Surrey Regimental Museum
Clandon Park, West Clandon, Guildford, Surrey GU4 7QR:01483 223419

Found at Guildford Museum, this intricate brooch was buried with an Anglo-Saxon woman in the pagan cemetery on Guildown, the hill above Guildford, in the early 500s AD. It would have been used to fasten a cloak.

Reigate Priory Museum
Reigate Priory School, Bell Street, Reigate, Surrey RH2 7RL: 01737 222550

Museum of Richmond
Old Town Hall, Whittaker Avenue, Richmond-upon-Thames, Surrey TW9 1TP: 020 8332 1141

Rural Life Centre
Reeds Road, Tilford, Farnham, Surrey GU10 2DL: 01252 795571

Send and Ripley Museum
Portsmouth Road, Ripley, Surrey GU23 6AF: 01483 224876

At Chertsey Museum, you can see this well-preserved 10th century sword, which was found in Thorpe. Chertsey Abbey, the first monastery in Surrey, was ransacked by the Vikings on a number of occasions.

Shere Museum
The Malt House, Shere Lane, Shere, Guildford, Surrey GU5 9HS: 01483 203 245

Spelthorne Museum
1 Elmsleigh Road, Staines, Surrey TW18 4PM: 01784 461804

Surrey Heath Museum
Knoll Road, Camberley, Surrey GU15 3HD: 01276 707284

Watts Gallery
Down Lane, Compton, Guildford, Surrey GU3 1DQ: 01483 810235

A history of Surrey in 50 objects: Surrey Museums Month 2011

This gargoyle head at Elmbridge Museum in Weybridge was originally from Chertsey Abbey and dates back to the 12th century. Following the dissolution of the monasteries, Chertsey Abbey was demolished and much of it reused, including the gargoyleâ€™s head, for Henry VIIIâ€™s Oatlands Palace.

Linked to the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215, this bronze statue of King John and Stephan Langton was cast to remember the occasion. It can be seen at Chertsey Museum.

Spelthorne Museumâ€™s â€˜London Stoneâ€™ dates back to 1285 and once stood by the Thames at Staines, marking the jurisdiction of the City of London over the River Thames.

Twenty five medieval drainpipes were excavated at 43 High Street, Reigate, in 1981. The drain was probably 14th century and represents a very unusual survival in an urban context. See them at the museum of Holmesdale Natural History Club museum.

This medieval goat at East Surrey Museum in Caterham is actually a jug that was used for washing hands before eating. The water would have been poured out through a hole in the nose.

Rare Valencian tiles were just one of the finds uncovered by archaeologists carrying out excavations at the ruins of Woking Palace and this one can be seen at the townâ€™s museum and art gallery, The Lightbox.

A letter at Surrey History Centre in Woking sent by Queen Jane. Also known as Lady Jane Grey, The Nine Days Queen, she occupied the English throne from July 10, 1553, for just nine days before being executed for high treason.

The remains of an undyed, coarse linen jacket can be found at Reigate Priory Museum (along with a replica of what it would have looked like originally). Possibly a working boyâ€™s, it dates from around 1600 and was discovered hidden in an inglenook fireplace in a Tudor building in Reigate.

At Bourne Hall Museum in Ewell, youâ€™ll find a collection of bottles, pipes and more from the Assembly Rooms, dating back to when Epsom Baths was a popular retreat.

Chobham Museum is home to a number of objects depicting local life through the ages, including this 18th century rush light holder, which would have been a common source of light for poor people.

The Queenâ€™s Royal Surrey Regiment Museum at Clandon Park is home to these recruitment boards, dating from 1715, which are of national importance.

In the 18th century, a pear tree grew in the garden of the White Hart Inn, Godstone, but the pears were so hard it was called the Iron Pear Tree. Some years later, a spring was discovered in the garden and the water was said to be good for the health. By 1752, it was being bottled and sold for 12d a gallon â€“ this example can be seen at East Surrey Museum.

A selection of letters and manuscripts of William Cobbett, political reformer, activist, author of Rural Rides and creator of Hansard, can be found at Farnham Museum, including this will from 1816.

A lid from Thomas Hollowayâ€™s Universal Ointment, which claimed to cure just about any disease imaginable in the 19th Century, can be found at Egham Museum.

This bust of Alfred Lord Tennyson, made by the sculptor Thomas Woolner in 1857, can now be found at Haslemere Museum. Tennyson lived the last 25 years of his life at Aldworth House in Haslemere

This vase once stood on the mantelpiece at Croft rectory, North Yorkshire, the home of Charles Dodgson (aka Lewis Carroll). Found at Guildford Museum these days, it was probably made in the 1860s.

Housed at the National Rifle Association at Bisley, this Whitworth rifle and stand were used by Queen Victoria to fire the first shot at the inaugural meeting of the National Rifle Association on Wimbledon Common in 1860. It was designed by Sir Joseph Whitworth, a prominent British engineer and entrepreneur who had experimented with cannons using twisted hexagonal barrels instead of traditional round rifled barrels.

Linoleum was invented by Frederick Walton who took over a mustard mill in Staines to manufacture this floor covering. Staines lino was exported throughout the world and Spelthorne Museum has a display board dedicated to it.

Known as the â€˜Idiot Genius of Earlswood Asylumâ€™, James Henry Pullen (1835-1916) was one of the earliest examples of an idiot savant, with a unique talent for mechanical invention. One of his most imaginative works was the State Barge, found at Royal Earlswood Museum, which he perceived as a vessel from which Queen Victoria could rule her empire.

Stone breaking goggles dating from the 1870s. These were an early form of eye protection given to inmates of the workhouse and The Spike in Guildford â€“ where you can still see them today.

Found at Shere Museum, this mahogany and brass â€˜magicâ€™ lantern was made by Lancaster and Sons in 1878. Shere resident Charles Goodwin Norton became a pioneer of cinematography.

Dating from circa 1880, this unusual home-made spelling machine came from Yorktown National School. It can now be found at Surrey Heath Museum.

Bourne Hall Museumâ€™s Hansom cab, owned by Lord Rosebery and used to travel to London while PM in 1894.

Wife of the Victorian artist GF Watts, Maryâ€™s large-scale community art projects culminated in the dramatic Watts Cemetery Chapel that stands in Compton today.

The ground floor gallery and garden at Godalming Museum are dedicated to the work of Gertrude Jekyll, the Arts and Crafts garden designer, and this bag can be found among the exhibits.

After five qualification rounds, Woking Football Club played away to Bolton (one of the 12 founding professional clubs) in 1908 in the first round proper of the FA Cup. A football from this match can be found at The Lightbox in Woking.

Haslemere Educational Museum has a colourful collection of pottery made at the Hammer Vale Pottery Works of Radley Young and William Stallworthy in Shottermill between 1901 and 1911.

This football was kicked by East Surrey soldiers on the first day of the Battle of the Somme in 1916 and can be found at The Queenâ€™s Royal Surrey Regiment Museum at Clandon Park.

An early 20th century church hanging at Haslemere Educational Museum, based on a design by Godfrey Blount, one of the founders of the Peasant Art Society in Haslemere.

Surrey Heath Museumâ€™s china-headed doll, June, donated by an elderly lady
who had kept her carefully ever since the age of six.

An intricate model steam roundabout made in the 1930s by Percy Jarrad Todd, a Camberley Watchmaker and jeweller â€“ it contains over 3,000 parts and is found at Surrey Heath Museum.

The famous Napier-Railton was built by Thomson & Taylor of Brooklands in 1933 and driven by John Cobb who was born and lived in Esher. It holds the Brooklands Outer Circuit lap record, which can never be bettered as the track no longer exists, and is found at Brooklands Museum in Weybridge.

Egham Museumâ€™s painting of Windsor Castle on a grain of rice by Charles Gunner, circa 1936. Gunner achieved international recognition for his spectacular microscopic writing and painting.

A clay model of a World War I soldier from the Bronze Foundry in Thames Ditton. This model is a small representative of Thames Dittonâ€™s former â€˜bronze empireâ€™ and can be seen at Elmbridge Museum in Weybridge.

The Hawker Hurricane was designed by Sydney Camm at the Kingston works, and this example at Brooklands Museum was built there in 1940.

Byfleet and the surrounding area was transformed by the arrival of the Vickers and Hawker factories at Brooklands, employing over 14,000 people at their peak. Pictured here are some models of the aircraft made at Brooklands, which you can see at Byfleet Heritage Centre located at Byfleet Library.

Various artefacts at Send and Ripley History Society Museum are connected with the first civilian production of penicillin in the UK â€“ Kenneth White, first informally and later officially, produced penicillin in his Ripley pharmacy.

Herbert Sulzbach was a German Jew who served in the German army during the First World War and the British army during the Second World War â€“ his medals can be seen at the Royal Logistics Corps Museum at Deepcut.

The potter Henry Hammond founded the pottery course at UCA Farnham (then the West Surrey College of Art) and examples of his work can be seen
at the townâ€™s Crafts Study Centre.

At Cobham Bus Museum, youâ€™ll find Europeâ€™s largest collection of London buses, ranging from Victorian horse buses to the iconic Routemaster.

And finally, what do you make of this mystery object, which can be found at Guildfordâ€™s The Spike? Log-in and post your answers below

The Palaeolithic flint hand axe shown above is the oldest human artefact in Godalming Museumâ€™s collection (it dates back at least 400,000 years) and was discovered at Llanaway, a small estate between Godalming and Farncombe.

A collection of Mesolithic flints can also be found at Godalming Museum (in neatly labelled brown envelopes and tobacco tins), along with notes about their excavation and correspondence.

Discovered in St Maryâ€™s churchyard, Oxted, this flint axe-head (shown from three different angles) is just over a foot long and is in mint condition. Now housed at East Surrey Museum in Caterham, it is believed to date from either the Mesolithic or early Neolithic period.

This head-dress from Wanborough Roman temple is one of the most important surviving objects from the period in the UK. Now in the collection of Guildford Museum, the wheel symbol at the top is linked with the Celtic version of Jupiter.

At the museum of Holmesdale Natural History Club in Reigate, you can see these Roman box flue tiles, found in 1886 in the Doods Road area â€“ there is evidence of box tiles being made in Roman kilns in the area.

Spelthorne Museum holds one of the largest collections of Roman material in the county, ranging from roof tiles to this Roman babyâ€™s bottle.

Wealden iron was a significant industry in Britain for over 2,000 years and the Weald area (Surrey, Sussex and Kent) was the main iron-producing area during the early Roman occupation of Britain and in Tudor and early-Stuart times. This reproduction can be seen at the Rural Life Centre in Tilford.

Found at Guildford Museum, this intricate brooch was buried with an Anglo-Saxon woman in the pagan cemetery on Guildown, the hill above Guildford, in the early 500s AD. It would have been used to fasten a cloak.

At Chertsey Museum, you can see this well-preserved 10th century sword, which was found in Thorpe. Chertsey Abbey, the first monastery in Surrey, was ransacked by the Vikings on a number of occasions.

This gargoyle head at Elmbridge Museum in Weybridge was originally from Chertsey Abbey and dates back to the 12th century. Following the dissolution of the monasteries, Chertsey Abbey was demolished and much of it reused, including the gargoyleâ€™s head, for Henry VIIIâ€™s Oatlands Palace.

Linked to the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215, this bronze statue of King John and Stephan Langton was cast to remember the occasion. It can be seen at Chertsey Museum.

Spelthorne Museumâ€™s â€˜London Stoneâ€™ dates back to 1285 and once stood by the Thames at Staines, marking the jurisdiction of the City of London over the River Thames.

Twenty five medieval drainpipes were excavated at 43 High Street, Reigate, in 1981. The drain was probably 14th century and represents a very unusual survival in an urban context. See them at the museum of Holmesdale Natural History Club museum.

This medieval goat at East Surrey Museum in Caterham is actually a jug that was used for washing hands before eating. The water would have been poured out through a hole in the nose.

Rare Valencian tiles were just one of the finds uncovered by archaeologists carrying out excavations at the ruins of Woking Palace and this one can be seen at the townâ€™s museum and art gallery, The Lightbox.

A letter at Surrey History Centre in Woking sent by Queen Jane. Also known as Lady Jane Grey, The Nine Days Queen, she occupied the English throne from July 10, 1553, for just nine days before being executed for high treason.

The remains of an undyed, coarse linen jacket can be found at Reigate Priory Museum (along with a replica of what it would have looked like originally). Possibly a working boyâ€™s, it dates from around 1600 and was discovered hidden in an inglenook fireplace in a Tudor building in Reigate.

At Bourne Hall Museum in Ewell, youâ€™ll find a collection of bottles, pipes and more from the Assembly Rooms, dating back to when Epsom Baths was a popular retreat.

Chobham Museum is home to a number of objects depicting local life through the ages, including this 18th century rush light holder, which would have been a common source of light for poor people.

The Queenâ€™s Royal Surrey Regiment Museum at Clandon Park is home to these recruitment boards, dating from 1715, which are of national importance.

In the 18th century, a pear tree grew in the garden of the White Hart Inn, Godstone, but the pears were so hard it was called the Iron Pear Tree. Some years later, a spring was discovered in the garden and the water was said to be good for the health. By 1752, it was being bottled and sold for 12d a gallon â€“ this example can be seen at East Surrey Museum.

A selection of letters and manuscripts of William Cobbett, political reformer, activist, author of Rural Rides and creator of Hansard, can be found at Farnham Museum, including this will from 1816.

A lid from Thomas Hollowayâ€™s Universal Ointment, which claimed to cure just about any disease imaginable in the 19th Century, can be found at Egham Museum.

This bust of Alfred Lord Tennyson, made by the sculptor Thomas Woolner in 1857, can now be found at Haslemere Museum. Tennyson lived the last 25 years of his life at Aldworth House in Haslemere

This vase once stood on the mantelpiece at Croft rectory, North Yorkshire, the home of Charles Dodgson (aka Lewis Carroll). Found at Guildford Museum these days, it was probably made in the 1860s.

Housed at the National Rifle Association at Bisley, this Whitworth rifle and stand were used by Queen Victoria to fire the first shot at the inaugural meeting of the National Rifle Association on Wimbledon Common in 1860. It was designed by Sir Joseph Whitworth, a prominent British engineer and entrepreneur who had experimented with cannons using twisted hexagonal barrels instead of traditional round rifled barrels.

Linoleum was invented by Frederick Walton who took over a mustard mill in Staines to manufacture this floor covering. Staines lino was exported throughout the world and Spelthorne Museum has a display board dedicated to it.

Known as the â€˜Idiot Genius of Earlswood Asylumâ€™, James Henry Pullen (1835-1916) was one of the earliest examples of an idiot savant, with a unique talent for mechanical invention. One of his most imaginative works was the State Barge, found at Royal Earlswood Museum, which he perceived as a vessel from which Queen Victoria could rule her empire.

Stone breaking goggles dating from the 1870s. These were an early form of eye protection given to inmates of the workhouse and The Spike in Guildford â€“ where you can still see them today.

Found at Shere Museum, this mahogany and brass â€˜magicâ€™ lantern was made by Lancaster and Sons in 1878. Shere resident Charles Goodwin Norton became a pioneer of cinematography.

Dating from circa 1880, this unusual home-made spelling machine came from Yorktown National School. It can now be found at Surrey Heath Museum.

Bourne Hall Museumâ€™s Hansom cab, owned by Lord Rosebery and used to travel to London while PM in 1894.

Wife of the Victorian artist GF Watts, Maryâ€™s large-scale community art projects culminated in the dramatic Watts Cemetery Chapel that stands in Compton today.

The ground floor gallery and garden at Godalming Museum are dedicated to the work of Gertrude Jekyll, the Arts and Crafts garden designer, and this bag can be found among the exhibits.

After five qualification rounds, Woking Football Club played away to Bolton (one of the 12 founding professional clubs) in 1908 in the first round proper of the FA Cup. A football from this match can be found at The Lightbox in Woking.

Haslemere Educational Museum has a colourful collection of pottery made at the Hammer Vale Pottery Works of Radley Young and William Stallworthy in Shottermill between 1901 and 1911.

This football was kicked by East Surrey soldiers on the first day of the Battle of the Somme in 1916 and can be found at The Queenâ€™s Royal Surrey Regiment Museum at Clandon Park.

An early 20th century church hanging at Haslemere Educational Museum, based on a design by Godfrey Blount, one of the founders of the Peasant Art Society in Haslemere.

Surrey Heath Museumâ€™s china-headed doll, June, donated by an elderly lady who had kept her carefully ever since the age of six.

An intricate model steam roundabout made in the 1930s by Percy Jarrad Todd, a Camberley Watchmaker and jeweller â€“ it contains over 3,000 parts and is found at Surrey Heath Museum.

The famous Napier-Railton was built by Thomson & Taylor of Brooklands in 1933 and driven by John Cobb who was born and lived in Esher. It holds the Brooklands Outer Circuit lap record, which can never be bettered as the track no longer exists, and is found at Brooklands Museum in Weybridge.

Egham Museumâ€™s painting of Windsor Castle on a grain of rice by Charles Gunner, circa 1936. Gunner achieved international recognition for his spectacular microscopic writing and painting.

A clay model of a World War I soldier from the Bronze Foundry in Thames Ditton. This model is a small representative of Thames Dittonâ€™s former â€˜bronze empireâ€™ and can be seen at Elmbridge Museum in Weybridge.

The Hawker Hurricane was designed by Sydney Camm at the Kingston works, and this example at Brooklands Museum was built there in 1940.

Byfleet and the surrounding area was transformed by the arrival of the Vickers and Hawker factories at Brooklands, employing over 14,000 people at their peak. Pictured here are some models of the aircraft made at Brooklands, which you can see at Byfleet Heritage Centre located at Byfleet Library.

Various artefacts at Send and Ripley History Society Museum are connected with the first civilian production of penicillin in the UK â€“ Kenneth White, first informally and later officially, produced penicillin in his Ripley pharmacy.

Herbert Sulzbach was a German Jew who served in the German army during the First World War and the British army during the Second World War â€“ his medals can be seen at the Royal Logistics Corps Museum at Deepcut.

The potter Henry Hammond founded the pottery course at UCA Farnham (then the West Surrey College of Art) and examples of his work can be seen at the townâ€™s Crafts Study Centre.

At Cobham Bus Museum, youâ€™ll find Europeâ€™s largest collection of London buses, ranging from Victorian horse buses to the iconic Routemaster.

And finally, what do you make of this mystery object, which can be found at Guildfordâ€™s The Spike? Log-in and post your answers below

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A history of Surrey in 50 objects: Surrey Museums Month 2011

For Surrey Museums Month, a celebration of our county's heritage in April, our museums have delved into their collections to highlight some of their most special items. Photos: Brian Wood

A history of Surrey in 50 objects: Surrey Museums Month 2011

The Palaeolithic flint hand axe shown above is the oldest human artefact in Godalming Museumâ€™s collection (it dates back at least 400,000 years) and was discovered at Llanaway, a small estate between Godalming and Farncombe.

A collection of Mesolithic flints can also be found at Godalming Museum (in neatly labelled brown envelopes and tobacco tins), along with notes about their excavation and correspondence.

Discovered in St Maryâ€™s churchyard, Oxted, this flint axe-head (shown from three different angles) is just over a foot long and is in mint condition. Now housed at East Surrey Museum in Caterham, it is believed to date from either the Mesolithic or early Neolithic period.

This head-dress from Wanborough Roman temple is one of the most important surviving objects from the period in the UK. Now in the collection of Guildford Museum, the wheel symbol at the top is linked with the Celtic version of Jupiter.

At the museum of Holmesdale Natural History Club in Reigate, you can see these Roman box flue tiles, found in 1886 in the Doods Road area â€“ there is evidence of box tiles being made in Roman kilns in the area.

Spelthorne Museum holds one of the largest collections of Roman material in the county, ranging from roof tiles to this Roman babyâ€™s bottle.

Wealden iron was a significant industry in Britain for over 2,000 years and the Weald area (Surrey, Sussex and Kent) was the main iron-producing area during the early Roman occupation of Britain and in Tudor and early-Stuart times. This reproduction can be seen at the Rural Life Centre in Tilford.

Found at Guildford Museum, this intricate brooch was buried with an Anglo-Saxon woman in the pagan cemetery on Guildown, the hill above Guildford, in the early 500s AD. It would have been used to fasten a cloak.

At Chertsey Museum, you can see this well-preserved 10th century sword, which was found in Thorpe. Chertsey Abbey, the first monastery in Surrey, was ransacked by the Vikings on a number of occasions.

Linked to the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215, this bronze statue of King John and Stephan Langton was cast to remember the occasion. It can be seen at Chertsey Museum.

Spelthorne Museumâ€™s â€˜London Stoneâ€™ dates back to 1285 and once stood by the Thames at Staines, marking the jurisdiction of the City of London over the River Thames.

Twenty five medieval drainpipes were excavated at 43 High Street, Reigate, in 1981. The drain was probably 14th century and represents a very unusual survival in an urban context. See them at the museum of Holmesdale Natural History Club museum.

This medieval goat at East Surrey Museum in Caterham is actually a jug that was used for washing hands before eating. The water would have been poured out through a hole in the nose.

Rare Valencian tiles were just one of the finds uncovered by archaeologists carrying out excavations at the ruins of Woking Palace and this one can be seen at the townâ€™s museum and art gallery, The Lightbox.

A letter at Surrey History Centre in Woking sent by Queen Jane. Also known as Lady Jane Grey, The Nine Days Queen, she occupied the English throne from July 10, 1553, for just nine days before being executed for high treason.

The remains of an undyed, coarse linen jacket can be found at Reigate Priory Museum (along with a replica of what it would have looked like originally). Possibly a working boyâ€™s, it dates from around 1600 and was discovered hidden in an inglenook fireplace in a Tudor building in Reigate.

At Bourne Hall Museum in Ewell, youâ€™ll find a collection of bottles, pipes and more from the Assembly Rooms, dating back to when Epsom Baths was a popular retreat.

Chobham Museum is home to a number of objects depicting local life through the ages, including this 18th century rush light holder, which would have been a common source of light for poor people.

The Queenâ€™s Royal Surrey Regiment Museum at Clandon Park is home to these recruitment boards, dating from 1715, which are of national importance.

A selection of letters and manuscripts of William Cobbett, political reformer, activist, author of Rural Rides and creator of Hansard, can be found at Farnham Museum, including this will from 1816.

A lid from Thomas Hollowayâ€™s Universal Ointment, which claimed to cure just about any disease imaginable in the 19th Century, can be found at Egham Museum.

This bust of Alfred Lord Tennyson, made by the sculptor Thomas Woolner in 1857, can now be found at Haslemere Museum. Tennyson lived the last 25 years of his life at Aldworth House in Haslemere

This vase once stood on the mantelpiece at Croft rectory, North Yorkshire, the home of Charles Dodgson (aka Lewis Carroll). Found at Guildford Museum these days, it was probably made in the 1860s.

Linoleum was invented by Frederick Walton who took over a mustard mill in Staines to manufacture this floor covering. Staines lino was exported throughout the world and Spelthorne Museum has a display board dedicated to it.

Stone breaking goggles dating from the 1870s. These were an early form of eye protection given to inmates of the workhouse and The Spike in Guildford â€“ where you can still see them today.

Found at Shere Museum, this mahogany and brass â€˜magicâ€™ lantern was made by Lancaster and Sons in 1878. Shere resident Charles Goodwin Norton became a pioneer of cinematography.

Dating from circa 1880, this unusual home-made spelling machine came from Yorktown National School. It can now be found at Surrey Heath Museum.

Bourne Hall Museumâ€™s Hansom cab, owned by Lord Rosebery and used to travel to London while PM in 1894.

Wife of the Victorian artist GF Watts, Maryâ€™s large-scale community art projects culminated in the dramatic Watts Cemetery Chapel that stands in Compton today.

The ground floor gallery and garden at Godalming Museum are dedicated to the work of Gertrude Jekyll, the Arts and Crafts garden designer, and this bag can be found among the exhibits.

After five qualification rounds, Woking Football Club played away to Bolton (one of the 12 founding professional clubs) in 1908 in the first round proper of the FA Cup. A football from this match can be found at The Lightbox in Woking.

Haslemere Educational Museum has a colourful collection of pottery made at the Hammer Vale Pottery Works of Radley Young and William Stallworthy in Shottermill between 1901 and 1911.

This football was kicked by East Surrey soldiers on the first day of the Battle of the Somme in 1916 and can be found at The Queenâ€™s Royal Surrey Regiment Museum at Clandon Park.

An early 20th century church hanging at Haslemere Educational Museum, based on a design by Godfrey Blount, one of the founders of the Peasant Art Society in Haslemere.

Surrey Heath Museumâ€™s china-headed doll, June, donated by an elderly lady who had kept her carefully ever since the age of six.

An intricate model steam roundabout made in the 1930s by Percy Jarrad Todd, a Camberley Watchmaker and jeweller â€“ it contains over 3,000 parts and is found at Surrey Heath Museum.

The famous Napier-Railton was built by Thomson & Taylor of Brooklands in 1933 and driven by John Cobb who was born and lived in Esher. It holds the Brooklands Outer Circuit lap record, which can never be bettered as the track no longer exists, and is found at Brooklands Museum in Weybridge.

Egham Museumâ€™s painting of Windsor Castle on a grain of rice by Charles Gunner, circa 1936. Gunner achieved international recognition for his spectacular microscopic writing and painting.

A clay model of a World War I soldier from the Bronze Foundry in Thames Ditton. This model is a small representative of Thames Dittonâ€™s former â€˜bronze empireâ€™ and can be seen at Elmbridge Museum in Weybridge.

The Hawker Hurricane was designed by Sydney Camm at the Kingston works, and this example at Brooklands Museum was built there in 1940.

Byfleet and the surrounding area was transformed by the arrival of the Vickers and Hawker factories at Brooklands, employing over 14,000 people at their peak. Pictured here are some models of the aircraft made at Brooklands, which you can see at Byfleet Heritage Centre located at Byfleet Library.

Various artefacts at Send and Ripley History Society Museum are connected with the first civilian production of penicillin in the UK â€“ Kenneth White, first informally and later officially, produced penicillin in his Ripley pharmacy.

Herbert Sulzbach was a German Jew who served in the German army during the First World War and the British army during the Second World War â€“ his medals can be seen at the Royal Logistics Corps Museum at Deepcut.

The potter Henry Hammond founded the pottery course at UCA Farnham (then the West Surrey College of Art) and examples of his work can be seen at the townâ€™s Crafts Study Centre.

At Cobham Bus Museum, youâ€™ll find Europeâ€™s largest collection of London buses, ranging from Victorian horse buses to the iconic Routemaster.

And finally, what do you make of this mystery object, which can be found at Guildfordâ€™s The Spike? Log-in and post your answers below

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