ST. GEORGE'S HILL.
[To TER EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR:1 Sin.,—Having read the article on " St. George's Hill," in your issue of December 16th, 1911, alluding to the threatened spolia- tion of the beauty spot and the want of some local authority to watch over and prevent like destruction in the county, I beg to refer you to a proposal of the Surrey County Council at their recent meeting in November. Sir Thomas Skewes Cox then suggested that " a new County Committee be formed for the purpose," and remarked that it would be difficult for the County Surveyor to find out what objects and monuments of interest might be included in the return. The suggested com- mittee would be able to receive communications from any one interested in the subject, so that a proper list of value for all time to the county might be prepared."
The proposal is most opportune, seeing that the British camp or stronghold on St. George's Hill is in danger, and that Dr. Erie Gardner in volume twenty-four of the "Surrey Archreological Journal" describes it as " one of the most
important prehistoric monuments now remaining in Surrey." I trust the Surrey County Council will also include in their schedule the rare beauty spots so often threatened by building schemes and so-called improvements. As I write this letter I read that a group of picturesque cottages of old Guildford in the Farnham Road are threatened, in a town which, above all others, should preserve the ancient charm on which its fame depends, and whose safeguarding should be the first duty of the municipal body. Your constant advocacy for the care of historic sites and choice scenery leads one to plead for your powerful protest against the spoliation of St. George's Hill, which has long been a favoured site for public enjoyment.— I am, Sir, &a., S. W. KERSH1W, F.S.A.
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