Our exploration of Guildford continues. Here we highlight iconic landmarks along its High Street while also discovering its enchanting and picturesque back alleys.
Follow the entire walk on 
. The route map is available on 
.
Waypoints
A2: St. Mary’s Church
B2: The Town Mill
C2: Yvonne Arnaud Theatre
D2: Millmead Lock
E2: Westyne Garden
F2: Alice and the White Rabbit
G2: The Town Bridge
H2: Treadmill Crane
I2: Odean cinema
J2: Friary Street and Shopping Centre
K2: Angel Gate
L2: Angel Hotel
M2: Milkhouse Gate
N2: Abbot Hospital
O2: Holy Trinity Church
P2: Status of George Abbot Archbishop of Canterbury
Q2: Old Royal Grammar School
R2: Somerset House
S2: Site of Old Odean Cinema
T2:G-Live
U2: St Joseph Church
This video is a continuation of the second part of our Guildford town walk.
Picking up from where we ended at the St. Mary Church [A2], we stroll down Mill Lane and then cross the road to The Town Mill [B2]. The initial mill on the site was built in 1295, for the wool trade in Guildford. It was likely known as Kings Mill. By the late 17th century, the mill expanded to process corn. The Wey Navigation system allowed the mill to transport grain and flour to and from London. Recently, since 2006, a turbine was introduced which today contributes electricity to the National Grid annually. The older turbine can still be seen at the Dapdune Wharf.
Behind the Mill is the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre [C2], built in 1965 and named after the much-loved French actress who had made her home in Effingham Common, Follow the alley adjacent to the theatre to reach the Millmead Lock along The Wey Navigation, one of England’s pioneering navigable river systems. Stretching over 30 km of continuous navigable route from the River Thames near Weybridge via Guildford to Godalming, the Wey Navigation was one of the first rivers in England to be made navigable in 1653. The Millmead lock is one of the 12 locks between Weybridge and Guildford
Cross the bridge to the other side of the river walking by Westyne Garden, frequently visited by parents with young children. Outside the garden, the evocative statue of Alice and the White Rabbit [F2] awaits silently under the willow trees. These artefacts depict the book’s famous beginning, in which Alice follows a talking rabbit into a hole, leaving her older sister behind.
Head along the river towards the Town Bridge [G2]. The Town Bridge offers a glimpse of Guildford’s ancient history. It stands near the site known as Gyldeforda, the Golden Ford, the ancient river cross that originally gave the town its name. On the bank of this bank of the bridge St Nicolas Church to the left. Observe the plaque adjacent to the church’s northern door, commemorating the devastating flood from the River Wey in 1968 that submerged the area nearly to a person’s height!
Continue walking on this bank of the River Wey with the car park on the right. Look across the river just before you pass under the Friary Bridge. Here is a fine example of a restored treadmill [H2] crane dating from at least 1726, which was used to unload grain from barges. Wharves, warehouses and breweries lined both sides of the canal to the Daphune Wharves and a little beyond.
We leave the tow path walking up a flight of steps at the point just across the canal from the Odean Cinema [I2]. The Guildford mainline station is across Walnut Tree Close. We turn to cross the Walnut Bridge, passing the cinema on the left and making our way toward Bedford Road. Cross the busy A322 at the traffic lights and proceed toward Friary Street.
The Friary name is derived from the Dominican Friary established in 1274. To the south of the square is Friary Street [J2], once a busy thoroughfare running alongside wharves, warehouses and militia barracks. It is now a pedestrianised area with shops and eateries. Friary Shopping Centre is to the north [J2].
Walk up along North Street and in 100 metres turn right into Angel Gate [K2]. This is a very narrow walkway that leads to a charming and quaint courtyard. The ambience of this quaint, charming courtyard may give an impression of a secretive, hidden enclave in a continental European city. Here you can enjoy a cup of coffee and visit the delightful florist.
Continue straight on toward High Street and cross the road. Then look back at the Angel Hotel [L2] with it Tudor timber framing behind the Regency façade. Established in the Middle Ages, famous guests of the hotel included Lord Nelson, Charles Dickens, Lord Byron and Jane Austen.
In the distance is the Mount looking down from over 130 metres straight onto Guildford High Street. We walk downhill and then into Chapel Street to Castle Street and then uphill toward Tunsgate. At Tungate, look for a flight of steps on the right taking you to Milkhouse Gate, home to barbers, bars, and boutique picture framers. Part of the Milkhouse Gate is no more than a shoulder’s width wide. And you have to duck slightly under an archway just before re-emerging at the High Street.
Walking up the High Street, you soon arrive on the left at the Abbot Hospital [N2] or, the Hospital of the Blessed Trinity. The Hospital was established in 1619 by George Abbot, Archbishop of Canterbury. It is not a “hospital” in the modern sense of the word but a place of shelter for the elderly poor of the town. 12 single men and 8 single women lived under the care of a resident Master.
Across the road from the hospital is the Holy Trinity Church [M2]. Built in the 1750s, after the medieval church fell down in 1740, it is a simple Palladian church, a popular style at the time, inspired by Roman architecture. St. Mary’s [A2] was already there, but a second parish church made the town much more important. The east end was added in 1888 to make the church bigger, for a different style of worship. The church includes a very late medieval chantry chapel, the splendid Renaissance tomb of an archbishop of Canterbury, a Georgian pulpit, a regimental chapel, Arts & Crafts decorative panels and a modern icon and embroideries.
Continue up the High Street passing the statue of George Abbot, Archbishop of Canterbury. Further along on the right of the High Street is the white facade of the Royal Grammar School old building [Q2]. The modern part of the school is on the right. The School was set up in 1509 after Robert Beckingham, a Freeman of the City of London, left a bequest in his will to establish a free school in Guildford.
Almost next to it is Somerset House [R2], originally built c.1700 as a townhouse for Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset. Today it is the townhouse has been divided up into shops and offices.
Our walk continues toward a roundabout where the old Odean cinema [S2]. In June 1963, the Beatles played here to a horde of screaming girls. Just past the roundabout on the left, is the modern G-Live [R2]. Open in 2012, G-Live is the venue today in Guildford for concerts and conferences with nearby hotels.
Cross the car park of G-live and turn left into Dene Road. We arrive back where we begin at St Joseph Church [U2].