Some Illuminating Facts About Guildford’s Sparkling Christmas Lights

Published on: 24 Dec, 2015
Updated on: 24 Dec, 2015

The Christmas lights in Guildford town centre are once again displaying all their festive sparkle – but does anyone know how many there? What does it take to make them work and who is involved?

View looking up the High Street. Click on each picture to enlarge in a separate window.

The Guildford Dragon NEWS put some illuminating trivia questions to the borough council who organises the annual spectacle – and took these night-time pictures with some creative settings on the camera!

Looking from the High Street towards the Upper High Street.

How many strips of lights are there? 

There are 22 lines with approx 70 separate decorations.

Santa on his sleigh in lights in the Upper High Street.

Adding all that up, how many individual lights are there, and for example bulbs or LEDs?

There are approximately 1,000 metres of rope light, 3,000 metres of fairy lights, 1,000 festoon bulbs and 10,000 cable ties.

The statue of George Abbot appears to hold out a hand to a bright star.

When are lights put up and when will they be taken down? 

We start to put up the lights on October 28 and their removal starts on January 4.

Lights in North Street with the Guildford Institute on the right.

How many people are involved in this task?

Six people are involved repairing, erecting, maintaining and removing the lights. They include Paul Puttock and Aran George, along with other members of the borough’s housing repairs team. Paul said: “It can be stressful getting everything ready for the switch on, but it’s a good feeling when it all goes well.”

Looking down the Upper High Street.

For how many years have the current lights in the High Street and Upper High Street been used?

They were first used in 1999.

In the High Street.

How are they wired up? 

A cable to switch them all on runs from the bottom of the High Street all the way to the top. And the power to run the decorations comes from the street lighting.

Looking towards Swan Lane from the High Street.

Where do the cables run to as they appear to be well hidden? 

The cables run at high level over the roof tops.

Column wrap lights around lamp-posts in Epsom Road opposite G Live.

Where are they controlled from? 

They are controlled from an electrical box by the Guildhall.

A view looking up Angel Gate towards the High Street.

Is there a master switch?

The master switch is only installed for the switch-on night. It is fixed to the balcony on the Guildhall.

North Street lights.

Does someone have to switch them on and off every day, or are they on a timer?

After the switch-on night the master switch is removed and the lights are wired into a time clock.

Lights in Market Street.

There are additional lights now in Market Street, Swan Lane and North Street, who supplies these?

Experience Guildford supplied the Market Street and Swan Lane and the column wraps (lamp-posts). The North Street are supplied by Guildford Borough Council and have been the same since 1999.

Upper High Street.

Was has been the decision to install more lights?  

We are trying to extend the “festive cheer” beyond the very centre of the town. The idea being that if you were to drive around Guildford without actually going up the High Street or North Street you would see the lights and hopefully be enticed back into Guildford to do some Christmas shopping!

Lights in Pheonix Court.

Of these new ones, how many lights are there?

More than 300 metres of festoon and 1,000 LED bulbs.

One of the column wraps in Onslow Street.

How are they wired up, for example: are they connected to all the others? 

These are controlled by time clocks fed from the street lights.

Lights beside the Three Pigeons pub in the High Street.

From which makers or suppliers are the lights sourced?

The existing lights are from Balchere, Fife, Scotland; The Festive Lighting Company, Wellington, Somerset, for some of the column wraps supplied by Experience Guildford. Balchere also supplied the lights for the Market Street, Swan Lane and some other column wraps.

Lights in the High Street with the Surrey Scholar statue in the foreground.

How much has been spent on the lights this year? 

The cost for lights to date is £19,305. The cost of the electricity for the lights in both the High Street and Upper High Street is approximately £2,700 for the season.

The Guildhall also lit up for the festive season.

Is there a ‘green’ initiative (low energy bulbs, etc) factor of the lights? 

The bulbs used are low energy on the original lights. For the new lights which Experience Guildford has supplied these are all LED low energy, long life bulbs.

In the High Street with the lights on the Chritmas tree outside Holy Trinity Church to the right.

Does a maintenance team make regular checks, or do they all function perfectly?

Weekly maintenance visits are carried out.

Light fantastic in the town centre.

Does any funding come from elsewhere, such as traders or Experience Guildford making contributions? 

All lights are funded by Guildford Borough Council apart from the column lamp-post wraps lights and the Market Street, Swan Lane lights.

These were provided by Experience Guildford, Guildford Borough Council hung them and pays for the electricity.

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