Guildford
place and town
Aged unknown
Wikidata WikipediaGuildford (/ˈɡɪlfərd/)is a town in west Surrey, around 27 mi (43 km) southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around 148,998 inhabitants in 2019. The name "Guildford" is thought to derive from a crossing of the River Wey, a tributary of the River Thames that flows through the town centre. The earliest evidence of human activity in the area is from the Mesolithic and Guildford is mentioned in the will of Alfred the Great from c. 880. The exact location of the main Anglo-Saxon settlement is unclear and the current site of the modern town centre may not have been occupied until the early 11th century. Following the Norman Conquest, a motte-and-bailey castle was constructed, which was developed into a royal residence by Henry III. During the late Middle Ages, Guildford prospered as a result of the wool trade and the town was granted a charter of incorporation by Henry VII in 1488. The River Wey Navigation between Guildford and the Thames was opened in 1653, facilitating the transport of produce, building materials and manufactured items to new markets in London. The arrival of the railways in the 1840s attracted further investment and the town began to grow with the construction of its first new suburb at Charlotteville in the 1860s. The town became the centre of a new Anglican diocese in 1927 and the foundation stone of the cathedral was laid in 1936. Guildford became a university town in September 1966, when the University of Surrey was established by Royal Charter. Guildford is surrounded on three sides by the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which severely limits its potential for expansion to the east, west and south. Recent development has been focused to the north of the town in the direction of Woking. Guildford now officially forms the southwestern tip of the Greater London Built-up Area, as defined by the Office for National Statistics.
DbPedia
Commemorated on 1 plaque
Guildford The town of Guildford lies in the gap where the river Wey cuts through the chalk ridge of the North Downs. The main routes in West Surrey converged to cross the river, over the ford on the site of the old town bridge. It was to this spot that the first Saxon migrants came in about the year AD500, to settle at Gyldeforda - "the golden ford". The coat of arms of Guildford include the wavy lines that represent the ford. In the mid 600s, these pagan Saxons became Christians and St. Mary's Church nearby in Quarry Street has a late Saxon tower. In the Middle ages Guildford thrived as a centre for the wool trade. Lying halfway between London and the South Coast, it was well placed for trade. Although small throughout the Middle Ages, Guildford was a prosperous town having the status of a borough from the 10th century and was recognised by Henry III as the county town of Surrey. As a centre of the local road network, Guildford had a large number of inns and public houses. Opposite, White Lion Walk marks the site of the great White Lion coaching inn, demolished in 1957. Nearby, The Star was the base for most of the 'carriers' in Georgian and Victorian times. These men would transport goods to and from the outlying villages. Both The Star and the building facing it have the distinctive 'jetty', where the upper storey projects beyond the ground floor. Both date from the late Elizabethan period. The granite setts (not cobbles) have been a feature of Guildford High Street since 1869.
High Street, Guildford, United Kingdom where it sited