A Brief History of Guildford Town

A Brief History of Guildford Town

Guildford Town is a small county town situated in Surrey, England, with many people arguing in favour of it being founded by Saxon settlers as far back as 400 AD when the Romans were removed from Britain. When it was first founded Guildford was referred to as the 'Golden Ford' due to its situation near a ford with golden sand banks.

Like a lot of towns across England, Guildford still has many early structures and buildings which have now become somewhat of a tourist attraction for both Brits and Foreigners.

During the 10th century, more than 5 years after it had settled, Guildford became a town at a time when the Kings of England were building fortresses to work against any possible Danish invaders. During the 10th century, it is though that Guildford only had a population of around 900 town folk, and it is at this time they built a wooden castle which was later re-built in stone to overlook Guildford town.

During the medieval times Guildford's main trade was wool; however carpenters, blacksmiths and other trades were settled accordingly.

It was only during the 19th century that Guildford town began to grow at a rather rapid pace as at the end of the 18th century the town had a mere population of around 2500. This slow growth up until the 19th century has long been put down to Guildford being too close to London, with the capital drawing trade away from the town.

Nether-the-less, and coming back to the 19th century, Guildford began to grow rapidly due to recent changes in trade and also boundary extensions whereby Guildford grew on the map. Officially, Guildford has extended its boundaries three times in modern history; once in 1904, once in 1933 and once again in 1974. This boundary extension brought people in to Guildford who lived further in land before.

When it comes to spotting a turning point in the modernization of Guildford one only has to go back to three points in history; in 1821 a gas line was introduced to the Town which lit up street lamps. In 1891, the town of Guildford got its upgrade to electricity. In 1866 the first ever 'modern' hospital, with surgical skills in house, was built. In 1980 the Royal Surrey County Hospital was opened.

Today, in 2012, Guildford is a popular stop off for Brits looking to see some of England. Popular places of particular interest to tourists are Guildford Castle built shortly after 1066, Guildford Cathedral which was built in the 1960's and Clandon Park which features a Palladian mansion built way back in to the 17th century. The park features seven acres of garden and is particularly popular in the Summer months.

In terms of night life Guildford offers up some exciting prospects.

The Friary Shopping Centre, Spectrum Leisure Centre, Yvonne Arnoud Theatre, Odeon Cinema as well as a wealth of restaurants make Guildford a pretty lively place to be with lots of solid entertainment to choose from as well as entertainment to keep the kids happy.