''See also Guildford, Western Australia and Guildford, British Columbia.''
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Guildford is the
county town of
Surrey,
England, as well as being the seat for the
borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the
South East England region. Being in a very sandy area, Guildford is probably named after a
golden ford in the
River Wey which existed in
Saxon times. Its population as of the 2001
census was 129,717.
It is twinned with
Freiburg in southern
Germany, and linked with
Mukono in central
Uganda.
History
Alfred Atheling, son of King
Ethelred II, had been living in
Normandy during the Danish invasion of Saxon England. After
Canute died, in around 1040, he returned to England where he was met and entertained in Guildford by the Earl Godwine who handed him to
Harold Harefoot's men who blinded and mutilated him, so that he died not long afterward.
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 2004, remains. The rest of the grounds are a pleasant public garden.
From the
14th century to the
18th century the town prospered with the wool trade.
Lewis Carroll (1832-1898), author of
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and
Through the Looking-Glass lived in Guildford and is buried in the
Mount Cemetery.
Author
P. G. Wodehouse was born in Guildford in 1881.
Guildford was made a
diocese in 1927, and
Guildford Cathedral was consecrated in 1961.
On
October 5, 1974, bombs planted by Provisional
IRA terrorists went off in two Guildford pubs, killing five
civilians. The pubs were targeted because soldiers were known to frequent them. The subsequently arrested suspects, who became known as the
Guildford Four, were convicted and sentenced to long prison sentences. They claimed to have been
tortured by the police and denied involvement in the bombing. After a long legal battle, they were released in 1989 when their convictions were overturned.
Statue of Archbishop George Abbot in Guildford High St
Facilities
In the
21st century Guildford is a bustling English town, with an attractive cobbled High Street, numerous shops and department stores as well as many pubs and restaurants. 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. There are two railway stations (
Guildford railway station, near the Friary Centre, and London Road (Guildford) railway station) which provide a convenient link to
London Waterloo for commuters, and the main line station also connects to
Portsmouth,
Reading,
Epsom and
Gatwick airport. In addition there is a bus station, a free town centre shuttle bus and a
Park and Ride service from the South of the town.
There is a small museum in the town centre and a nationally successful sports centre, known as 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.
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.
Politics
In 2002, Guildford's 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, Guildford is thought of as a traditional "Conservative" constituency. The first election of the
21st century returned a
Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament, Sue Doughty, though the 2003 Borough Council elections returned a majority council for the Conservatives, replacing a
Liberal Democrat-controlled council.
The 2005 general election saw Guildford returned to the Tories (Conservative Party), although by a very narrow margin,
0.7% of the voting electorate (347 votes).
Leisure
Guildford has the
Spectrum Leisure Centre which is a national prizewinning sports centre (pools, ice rink, bowls, athletics track as well as general halls);
The Civic Hall, a council run auditorium used amongst other things for concerts (pop, classical and comedy) closed in January 2004 awaiting long-term replacement;
Electric Theatre'', a theatre opened in 1997 to host performances by musicians and amateur drama groups; The
Yvonne Arnaud Theatre which often previews West End shows etc.
Each summer Guildford hosts the
Ambient Picnic in Shalford Park by the
River Wey and, in Stoke Park, both the
Guilfest music festival in August and the Surrey County Show (agricultural and general) on the last bank holiday Monday in May.
Guildford is also the home of the famous games company
Lionhead Studios.
Trivia
External links
de:Guildford
fr:Guildford
no:Guildford
Category:Towns in Surrey
Category:English county towns