Saxon church, 10th c. on the site of earliest settlement in Guildford. The flint tower has been dated to the late 10th century on stylistic grounds and a local legend says people used it to watch the Norman invaders burn nearby Shalford in 1066. Most of the church was rebuilt in c1180 in the transitional…
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Holy Trinity Church (1749-63)
Surrey’s only large 18th century church, it has fine brickwork as is a perfectly proportioned example of the Palladian style. It is built on the site of a medieval church which was destroyed when the tower suddenly collapsed during alterations to remove the columns in the church. Some monunments were transfered, among them the tomb…
Abbots Hospital (1619-22)
Almshouse (or hospital) built by George Abbot, local boy and Archbishop of Canterbury for twelve men and eight women. At the time of its construction Abbot would have been rubbing shoulders with King James I and the future Charles I. Inigo Jones was introducing the Palladian style to England at the Queens House in Greenwich…
Tunsgate Arch (1818)
Tunsgate Arch was built in 1818 by Henry Garling as the entrance to the Corn Market (demolished 1935). Built in Portland stone, the Tuscan columns were originally evenly spaced but were moved in 1935 to allow traffic to pass through.
Guildhall
Former town hall and court room, the Guildhall is still used for ceremonial occasions and celebrations. With its turreted bell tower, distinctive clock and frontage it is a truly unique landmark. Pevsner describes it as “superb, the epitome Restoration panache” and the effect is more like the “carved poop of a 17th c. ship than…
New ideas for Guildford Museum
The Friends of Guildford Museum recently listed a set of ideas for taking Guildford Museum forward in leaner times. Ambitious plans for a new extension had to be shelved when the National Lottery Heritage Fund put all new applications on hold. In July I reported on some statements from the Council for a “scaled down…
Marlyn’s House, Burpham
Marlyn’s was threatened with demolition via a planning application that was overturned in 2018. The building has now been locally listed. Marlyn’s and Marlyn’s Cottage are both very old buildings. They appeared on the Tithe Maps of 1838 and there are references to property on the site back to the 17th century. At the rear…
Old Maps
The National Libraries of Scotland has scanned most of the UK Ordnace Survey Maps from the earliest ones available, Here is a link to the Guildford Maps There is also a useful tool that displays a modern satellite view against an old map making it much easier to locate modern streets on old maps from…
Old School House Demolished
Sad to have to say goodbye to the Old Schoolhouse in Slyfield. Dating from 1870 it was apparently once the only building in the area and over the years a community grew up around it. It was an original school building dating from the time of the 1870 Education Act which introduced national education into…
Views of Changing Guildford
This very clever video by Nick Armstrong shows how many well loved views have changed whilst others remain timeless. You can find it on YouTube