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Guildford History
Anglo Saxon Times
The first true Guildfordians were Anglo-Saxons, most probably mercenary soldiers from north-western Europe who migrated to assist the Romano-British.
After King Arthur halted this westward migration in the defeat of the Anglo-Saxons in 500 AD, immigrants settled on lands under their control.
The name "Surrey" derives from "Suthrige", the Southern district, and "Guildford" from "Gyldeforda", the Golden Ford, from either the yellow rivers at the riverside or the golden sand of the river bed itself.
Th early Guildfordians were pagons but evidence suggests they were converted to Christianity during the middle of the 7th century.
Guildford first appears in written records in the 880s and the early 900s saw Guildford begin to develop into the major defensive and commercial centre for west Surrey.
11th Century & Guildford Castle
In 1036, Godwin Earl of Wessex, murdered Alfred the Atheling, young brother of the future King Edward the Confessor, and in 1050 the Church of St Mary's was rebuilt in Saxon stone and is the oldest building in the town.
After the Norman invasion in 1066 the royal castle (the only one in Surrey) was built. Stone gradually replaced timber with the great square tower being built in the mid 1100s.
Guildford castle never underwent any major seige and was used as the county gaol for much of the middle ages.
By 1379 most of the castle buildings had fallen dwon and in 1611 James I sold the ruined castle to a local merchant named Francis Carter. Guildford was now a wealthy town largely because of the wool trade.
Guildford Borough
In 1512 Robert Beckingham, a wealthy London grocer, gave lands to Guildford Borough to build a school. Grammar schools were common at the time and helped develop a Protestant grounding.
The school flourished and in its first hundred years produced five bishops, two Lord Mayors of London and an Archbishop of Canterbury.
The 17th century saw a slump in the wool trade and civil war. In 1653 Sir Richard Weston, a leading county committeee member, initiated a canal project making the River Wey navigable for barges from the Thames to Guildford helping the local economy.
In 1683 the Guldhall was rebuilt and the symbol of Guildford, the Guildhall clock, was donated by John Aylward, a London clockmaker. At the beginning if the 18th century the corn and flour trade grew and in 1739 the first map of the town was printed.
By the mid 1800s the railway had replaces coaches and on 5th May 1845 Guildford Station opened. Guildford acquired a hospital, new barracks for the 'Queens' regiment, breweries, printers and manufacturers.
A new council was established in 1835 under the Municipal Corporations act and a police force and fire fighting service were shortly established.
20th Century
The First World War 'modernised' Guildford and the Guildford Borough Council extended its influence by building an electricity works firstly on Onslow Street and then Woodbridge Road.
In 1933 the Guildford bypass enabled the Lido to be built next door and the first brick of the Cathedral was laid in 1936. The Cathedral Church of the Holy Spirit was not concecrated until 1961.
Throughout the 20th century Guildford Borough took the initiative in arts and recreation meanwhile existing functions were consolidated with county and national forces.
More recently ressure on housing has resulted in estates such as Fairlands, Burpham, and Merrow, and traffic problems have persisted with the demands of road travel.
Guildford however is now one of the twenty most profitable towns for business in England, and the top retail centre in the South East outside London.
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