Guildford

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For other places with the same name, see Guildford (disambiguation).
Guildford
Image:dot4gb.svg
Statistics
Population: 66819 (2001)
Ordnance Survey
OS grid reference: SU9949
Administration
District: Guildford
Shire county: Surrey
Region: South East England
Constituent country: England
Sovereign state: United Kingdom
Other
Ceremonial county: Surrey
Historic county: Surrey
Services
Police force: Surrey Police
Fire and rescue: {{{Fire}}}
Ambulance: South East Coast
Post office and telephone
Post town: GUILDFORD
Postal district: GU1-3
Dialling code: 01483
Politics
UK Parliament: Guildford
European Parliament: South East England

Guildford is the county town of Surrey, England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region. Surrey County Council, however, has its administrative base in Kingston upon Thames which, although formerly in Surrey, is now in Greater London.

The population of the whole borough as of the 2001 census was 129,701, with 66,819 people living in the town itself.

The town is twinned with Freiburg in southern Germany, and linked with Mukono in central Uganda. Its geographic coordinates are 51°14′N 00°34′W.

Contents

[edit] History

It is believed that Guildford was founded by Saxon settlers shortly after Roman authority had been removed from Britain. The site was likely chosen because the Harrow Way (an ancient trackway that continues along Hog's Back) crosses the River Wey at this point, via a ford. This probably gives rise to the second half of Guildford's name. The root of the first part is gold rather than society or meeting place. It has been suggested that the gold may refer to golden flowers by the ford, or the golden sand, but this is not certain.

Alfred Atheling, son of King Ethelred II, had been living in Normandy in France during the Danish invasion of Saxon England. After Canute died, around 1040, Alfred returned to England, where he was met and entertained in Guildford by the Earl Godwine. Godwine handed him to Harold Harefoot's men, who blinded and mutilated him to the extent that he died not long after.

There is a 12th century Norman castle, which was built as an overnight resting place as the southernmost point of the Windsor hunting park. It was visited on several occasions by King John and King Henry III. Today only the keep, restored in Victorian times and then in 2004, remains; the rest of the grounds are a pleasant public garden.

In 1995 a Chamber was discovered in Guildford High Street which is widely to believed to be the remains of a 12th century synagogue. This remains a matter of contention though it is likely to be the oldest remaining synagogue in Western Europe.

Guildford elected two members to the Unreformed House of Commons. From the 14th century to the 18th century, it prospered with the wool trade.

Guildford was made a diocese in 1927, and Guildford Cathedral was consecrated in 1961. Previously, it had been part of the diocese of Winchester.

On October 5, 1974, bombs planted by Provisional Irish Republican Army terrorists went off in two Guildford pubs, killing four off-duty soldiers and a civilian. The pubs were targeted because soldiers from barracks near Guildford were known to frequent them. The subsequently arrested suspects, who became known as the Guildford Four, were convicted and sentenced to long prison sentences in October 1975. They claimed to have been tortured by the police and denied involvement in the bombing. In 1989, after a long legal battle, their convictions were overturned and they were released.

[edit] Town

Archbishop George Abbot
Enlarge
Archbishop George Abbot

In the 21st Century Guildford is a bustling English town, with an attractive High Street made of granite setts (frequently referred to as cobbled), numerous shops and department stores. There is a Tourist Information Office and several hotels including the historic Angel Hotel which long served as a coaching stop on the main London to Portsmouth stage coach route. In addition there is a bus station, a free town centre shuttle bus and a 'Park and Ride' service from the north and south of the town.

There is a small museum in the town centre and a nationally successful sports centre, The Spectrum, in Stoke Park, which is home to the Guildford Flames ice hockey team. The University of Surrey is situated to the north-west of the town centre, about ten minutes' walk from Guildford main line train station. Guildford Cathedral is adjacent to the university's main campus and the Royal Surrey County Hospital is nearby.

Guildford has the most visited Art Gallery in Surrey - Guildford House Gallery with over 120,000 visitors per annum. The Gallery is situated in the High Street, in a 17th Century Grade I Listed Town House and is run by Guildford Borough. It is open Tuesdays to Saturdays and admission is free. Its own art collection includes works of Guildford and the surrounding area, and work by Guildford Artists, most notably John Russell R.A.

Guildford's Spectrum Leisure Centre [1] is a national prizewinning sports centre that includes a variety of pools (for leisure and for serious swimming), ten pin bowling, a small inflatable laser tag arena called Ice Station Zero (However there is a full sized Laser Quest in the town centre), an ice rink (discos every Friday and Saturday night) and an athletics track, as well as general halls used for indoor sports including gymnastics and trampolining.

The town's principal commercial theatre is the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre [2] which often shows productions before (and after) they have spent time in London's West End. The Electric Theatre [3] opened in 1997 to host performances by musicians and amateur drama groups.

Guildford has an Odeon cinema multiplex.

A wide variety of cuisines are available in the many restaurants in Guildford. Additionally, there are numerous pubs and bars and several nightclubs.

Each summer Guildford hosts the Ambient Picnic [4] in Shalford Park by the River Wey. Stoke Park is the venue for both the Guilfest music festival during the summer and the Surrey County Show (agricultural and general) on the last bank holiday Monday in May.

Guildford is home to the Guildford Flames of the English Premier Ice Hockey League, Guildford United of the Combined Counties Football League, Guildford International of the National Volleyball League and the Guildford Heat of the British Basketball League.

Guildford Cricket Club play their home matches at the Woodbridge Road ground. Surrey County Cricket Club also play one or two matches a season there.

Guildford is home to two-time BCAFL Southern Conference, Southern Division Champions, the University of Surrey Stingers American Football team. One of the most successful teams currently in the University.

It is also home to the local radio station, 96.4 The Eagle.

It is a market town with the market being held on Fridays and Saturdays. A farmers' market is usually held on the first Tuesday of each month.

[edit] Local Schools

The Royal Grammar School, Guildford's 'old school' building, which was constructed over the turn of the Tudor and Elizabethan periods and houses a chained library, lies towards the top of the High Street. The feeder school for the Royal Grammar School, is Lanesborough preparatory school. Lanesborough is also the choir school for Guildford Cathedral.

Other schools in Guildford include County School, George Abbot, Christ's College, Guildford High School, King's College, University of Surrey, Guildford School of Acting, St Peter's, Northmead Junior, Tormead School and Worplesdon Primary School.

[edit] Politics

In 2002 Guildford's latest application to be granted the status of a city was unsuccessful, losing out to Preston, the only English town being formally recognised as a city as part of the Queen's Golden Jubilee celebrations. See City status in the United Kingdom.

Politically, the constituency of Guildford is thought of as a traditional conservative seat. However, for the first time in over ninety years, the 2001 general election returned a Liberal Member of Parliament, Sue Doughty. The 2003 Borough Elections returned a majority council for the Conservative party, replacing the Liberal Democrat-controlled council. In the 2005 general election Guildford returned a Conservative Party MP, Anne Milton – by a narrow margin (0.7% of the voting electorate, or 347 votes) and despite a 0.5% rise in the Liberal Democrat vote.

[edit] Local Leisure and Entertainment

[edit] Transport

[edit] Rail

There are two railway stations in Guildford:

The main station, entitled Guildford, is located near the original town bridge on the west side of the River Wey and serves the main line between London Waterloo and Portsmouth. There are also lines to Reading, Epsom, Gatwick airport, London Bridge and long distance services, operated by Virgin Trains, connect Guildford with Birmingham and Manchester.

London Road station is on the other side of the town centre to the main station. It serves stopping services running between the main station and Waterloo and London Bridge stations.

[edit] Road

The A3 links Guildford to Portsmouth, London and the M25.

[edit] Bus

Bus services in Guildford are primarily operated by Arriva with some additional services provided by Safeguard and Stagecoach. Most routes are centred on the bus station which is attached to the Friary shopping centre. Many internal bus services within Guildford are loop shaped (starting and ending at the bus station) with different numbers for the clockwise and anticlockwise services. There are also services to many surrounding towns and villages including Woking and Aldershot. There is no longer a bus service to London. Due to the location of the main railway station on the other side of the river from the bus station, only a small proportion of bus services stop at the railway station leading to poor integration between bus and rail services.

[edit] Notable residents (past and present)

[edit] Emergency Services

Guildford is served by these Emergency Sevices:

[edit] Trivia

[edit] External links

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