Introduction

Guildford Castle, however, is not one of those that have left a mark on British history. Its heydey lasted barely a century and it was largley neglected during the great castle building under Edward I and later. It was virtually a ruin by the end of the Middle Ages. However, this lack of later building means that it is a rare example of a Norman and early Plantagenet castle uncomplicaed by subsequent work. Unfortunatley, most of the buildings hae completley disappeared and we shall have to wait for a programme of detailed excavation to discover the full extent of what was once one of the finest palaces in England.

Early History

In the 5 years following the invasion of 1066, castles were built throughout the country to deter local rebellions, such as the one in Norwich in 107. Designed principally as a base for a band of horsemen, these castles consisted of an earth motte, topped by a palisade and a wooden tower. To one side of the mound lay the 'bailey' ringed by another palisade and containing the buildings where the garrison lived.

The positions for these castles were carefully chosen. It has frequently been claimed that Guildford Castle was built to control the Wey gap or to protect London from an invasion from the south coast (this latter explanation cannot possibly hold water; the coast of France was, of course, held by the Normans themselves). The main reason for the site chosen was simply to overawe and dominate the town of Guildford itself, which was after all the major military purpose behind it. accordingly, the Normans dd not hesitate to demolish any buildings that may have stood on the site they selected, as is known to have happened at Lincoln and York. It may possibly also have occurred in Guildford, for the line of the south town ditch is intruded into by the castle mound. On the other hand it may be that the ditch curved to the north to aviod anatural spur projecting from Pewley Hill. This spur was detached from the hill by digging a deep ditch across its neck, and the spoil heaped up on it to make a mound. The motte is accordingly partly natural and partly man-made. A 'V' shaped ditch surrounded the motte at least 20' deep, and the bailey was laid out to the south west. It was roughly triangular, two sides running along what are now astle street and Quarry street.

There ae few references in early records to the castle; for example, it is not mentioned in the Domesday survey of 1086. However, as the castl belonged to the king and Domesday was a survey for royal tax purposes, this omission does not mean that the castle had not been built by this date. It was held on behalf of the king by a castellan, the earliest being Robert Testard, one of William's Norman followers.

The next century saw the consolidation of Guildford Castle with more permanent buildings. The wooden tower and palisades on the motte were replaced by a "shell keep", a chalk wall that encircled the top of the mound just below the crest; then n the middle of the 12th century the magnificent stone tower keep was built. The first written record occurs in 1173 with orders to repair and strengthen it during Prince Henry's rebellion gainst his father Henry II. By the end of that century it was in use as the county prison for Surrey and Sussex - a common use for the keeps of royal castles.

The 13th century

Guildford Castle saw its only military activity in 1216. On the 8th une in that year the Dauphan of France, who had been invited over by the barons rebelling against King John, took - or rather occupied - Guildfod Castle. it is fairly clear that no resistance was offeredto the French as they had taken Reigate castle the day before, and took Farnham a few days later. The French forces stayed only a few months, withdrawing after John's death later in the year.

While it is convenient to consider the keep on its motte and the buildings in the bailey as being the castle at Guildford, it is important to emphasise that they wee two quite seperate establishments as far as the king's administration was concerned. The keep, or "castrum", constituted the castle as far as the military and financial arrangements were concerned, whereas the "king's houses" or "domus" was the group of buildings within the outer wall of the castle in the bailey. This outer wall would at first have been a wooden palisade but was subsequently rebuilt as a high flint and chalk wall.

The palace was a popular residence for royalty in the 13th century; it was convenient for hunting in Guildford park across the river, part of the Forest of Windsor,and Guildford was only a days journey from Westminster. King John was at Guildford on at least 19 occasions and Henry III even more frequently. It was Henry's extravagant character that made Guildford, for a time, one of the most luxurious royal palaces in England.

The life of the palace would have centred around the Great Hall, a large aisled room open to the roof with wooden posts forming arcades on either side - the carved wooden capital of a post of similar dat can be seen in the hall of Farnham Castle. There were royal apartments, made very comfortable with glass in the windows, wooden panelling on the walls and penty of fireplaces. Some had elaboratley painted ceilings and walls, and there was stained glass in the hall. There were suites of rooms for the king, the queen, the royal children and court officials. St Stephen's chapel was the king's, St Katherine's the queen's and there was another chapel for the Prince's wife and yet another in the keep. There buildings were probably arranged irregularly with the royal apartments, chapels, kitchen and other domestic buildings clustered around the hall, with gardens and courtyards in between. A fire in the summer of 1254 seriously damaged many of the buildings, and John of Gloucester, Henry III's master mason, was employed in the rebuilding.Among other works, in 1256, he built a fine gateway that still remains, now known as Castle Arch. Or at least this is probably the gate he built; it is very rare for an English castle to have more than one gate the size of castle arch but other positions for additional gates have been suggested During this rebuilding William lorentyn was employed to paint murals in the castle and he may also have executed the wall paintings in St Mary's Church nearby, which were revealed by alterations in 1825. Only a fragment of these now remain.

In 1266, Guildford Castle was the scene of a dramatic incident, Prince Edward had personally captured Adam de Gurdon, a supporter of Simon de Montfort. He brought his prisoner to Guildford Castle where the rebel might expect to be condemned to death. However, Edward's wife, Eleanor of Castile, interceded on deGurdon's behalf and successfully gained him a reprieve.

perhaps this is the point to introduce another far more romantic and far less reliable legend associated with Guildford Castle. Sir Thomas Malory in his Morte d'Arthur asserts that Guildford was once known as Astolat and that it was here that Elaine, the Fair Maide of Astolat, pined away and died for love of Sir Lancelot. It is ardly necessary to add that this tale is completely fictional and that there is no evidence at all that Guildford was ever called Astolat.

When Henry III died in 1272, the castle was held in dower by his wife Eleanor of Provence. She founded the Dominican friary north of the town, probably as a memorial to her grandson, little Prince henry, who died at Guildford in 1274. He was buried in Westminster Abbey, but his heart was given to the friars at Guildford.

Later History

In the 14th century, Guildford castle became increasingly neglected. A survey of 1332 lists all the buildings in the castle and the repairs needed, but by 1379 all except the king's great Chamber had fallen down. It is reasonable to assume, therefore, that the substantial ruins near Castle Arch formed part of the king's private quarters. When royalty now came to Guildford they preferred to stay at the moated hunting-lodge across the river in what is now Manor Farm.

In 1347 Lewes Castle became the county gaol for Sussex, and the keep at Guildford continued as a prison for urrey only. The building became dilapidated and was the cause of frequent complaints by the gaolers and in 1391 fourteen prisoners escaped "in consequence of its want of repair". At that time the county of Surrey reached as far as the Thames at Southwark and a large proportion of the prisoners would have come from this populous suburb. The building of the White Lion and Marshalsea prisons there in Tudor times reduced the pressure on Guildford and by the early 17th century the keep had fallen into disrepair, a smaller House of Correction being built in Quarry street.

In 1611, James I leased the castle and the grounds to Francis Carter, the keeper of Guildford Park. Carter became a Freeman of the borough three years later, but in 1625 he was expelled for being "refractory to the good government of this town".He seems to have converted the keep as his private residence; all the brickwork dates from this period, including new windows, fireplaces and a garderobe. However, an old mediavial prison was hardly the most comfortable of homes and in about 1630 he built a fine new mansion at Castle arch. The keep was then unroofed and became used as a cock-pit. In 1633 the castle was bought by Francis's son, John Carter and it remained in the family until the 18th century. Subsequently the estate passed through several hands, until it was sold by Lord Grantley to Guildford Corporation in 1885, Henry Peake, the Borough Surveyor, laid it out as pleasure gardens, which was opened to the public in 1888. The ruins of the mediaval castle were retained as features of this attractive park.

The keep

The most impressive of the ruins of Guildford Castle is the great square keep, standing on its mound. Built mainly of bargate stone, brought from near Godalming, the keep is approximately square in plan with pilaster buttresses at the corners and in the centre of each side. It slopes outwards at the base, partly as a way of deflecting the blows of battering rams.

Some flint and chalk is used and there are decorative bands of stone laid herringbone fashion although the outer walls would have been originally heavily white-washed.

The original entrance was at first floor level, where a high narrow passage in the west wall leads into the hall. (The modern doorway at ground level is merely a crude hole that has been knocked through in later centuries). The purpose of this arrangement was that a wooden stair or ladder leading up to the door could be withdrawn or destroyed by the defenders and thus prevent the besiegers reaching the entrance with their rams.

The keep has now lost its roof and floors but offsets in the inside walls show where these once were. The ground floor would have been intended as storage for the provisions needed to withstand a siege. It would only be lit by the narrowest of slits, too small to allow an attacker to enter. A ladder would have connected this with the floor above, which wouldhave been the main hall. In the massive stone walls are a fireplace and deep window embrasures, and in the westen and southern walls small chambers have been constructed. The chamber in the south-western corner was very probably a chapel; it is barrel vaulted and has blind arcading with carved capitals in the Norman style. The chalk walls are covered in garaffiti some of which may possibly be the work of mediaeval prisoners. Crude modern inscriptions however have done much to deface these. Adjoining the chapel is a chamber whose square framed window almost certainly dates from Francis Carter's time. From it one can see across the Wey valley to the ruined 14th century chapel on St. Catherine's Hill.

The second floor was reached by a spiral stair in the nort-west corner and would have provided further accomodation. above that a flat lead-covered roof would have been surrounded by battlements from which the defenders could throw missiles down upon any attackers. It is important to remember that the keep was only ever intended to be used as a refuge in time of siege. As we have seen, it became exclusively as a prison and at no time would the royal family or their court have actually stayed in this building. A Victorian cage now encloses the space at the head of the stairs from which the visitor has a clear view over the Wey gap and the town of Guildford nestling in it. High on Stag Hill, across the river, can be seen Guildford Cathedral, completed in 1961. It can be appreciated just how effectively the castle dominates the town.

Castle Arch

The gateway leading to Quarry street was very probably built by John of Gloucester in 1256. The slot in which the portcullis slid up and down is still visible on the inner face, and on either side of the entrance can be seen the front walls of the two flanking gate towers. One to the north has been incorporated in the end wall of the mansion built in the 1630's by Francis Carter, or possibly by his son John. It is of the standard Jacobean 'hall and cross wings' plan with the upper floor subsequently hung with tiles in the local fashion. A wing was added to the rear in 1672 but by the mid 18th century this once substantial gentleman's house had been sperated into seperate tenements. In 1898 it became the headquarters of the Surrey Archaeological Society and a museum. To the east of the house stand substantial ruined walls, which may possibly have formed part of the king's private apartments.

Castle Cliff Gardens

The chalk walls in the present Castle liff gardens contain traces of a large fireplace, doubtless part of the domestic buildings of the castle. It should be noted the bargate stone walls beyond are all Victorian. The garden had become a paddock after the castle was sold until bought by William Stevens, the proprieter of the Wey Navigation, in 1897. He built Castle Cliff House which has now been converted into old peoples flats. The house with the prominant blue door on Castle Hill is The Chestnuts, built in 1861. It was rented in 1868 by the Reverend C.L. Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll, whose "Alice in Wonderland" had been published three years earlier. His six unmarried sisters lived at The Chestnuts and Dodgson spent many vacations there. He died there in 1898 and is buried on The Mount, across the river.

Taken from the official guide written by Matthew Alexander MA AMA
The official guidebook is available from Guildford Tourist Information Centre