Guildford Snippets No.23

Published on: 26 May, 2019
Updated on: 26 May, 2019

By Nick Bale Guildford Town Guides

In Medieval times, most of Guildford’s buildings were timber framed. Only a few important buildings like the castle and the churches were built of stone.

Timber framed buildings are interesting as they can sometimes be dated quite accurately using a technique called tree-ring dating.

The Royal Oak pub in Trinity Churchyard, Guildford.

A few months ago, the Royal Oak public house in Holy Trinity churchyard was examined and dated using this technique.

As a result, we now know that this building dates from 1417, in other words it is just over 600 years old!

This was just a couple of years after the Battle of Agincourt when the English army under King Henry V defeated the French in 1415.

Although this building has only been a public house since Victorian times, there were at least two earlier Royal Oak’s in Guildford, the first was mentioned in a 1691 document.

My question this time is: Why is the Royal Oak such a common and long-standing name for a place offering beer and refreshment? What is “Royal” about the “Oak”?

If you know the answer and can add further details please leave a reply in the box below.

For those interested in the answer to the Snippet No. 22 about the bricks used to build Guildford Cathedral, the answer is that most were made from clay from Stag Hill on which the cathedral is built.

They were hand made locally at the Guildford Park brickworks at the bottom of the hill.

When the firm ceased production in 1958-59, bricks came from yards on the Surrey/Hants border to complete the upper section of the tower.

If you have questions or wonder what the town was like in the past, come and join one of our free guided walks.

Over the next few weeks, you have a choice of several themed walks: Victorian Guildford, Art and Artists, Military History, Ghosts and Legends, the Made in Guildford (the industrial history of the town) as well as several Guildford Story walks.

Information on our programme is available from the Guildford Tourist Information Centre or at www.guildfordwalks.org.uk.

Responses to Guildford Snippets No.23

Aubrey Leahy Reply

June 1, 2019 at 5:37 pm

Most pubs in Britain named “Royal Oak” or “The Royal Oak” are named after the tree which Charles II allegedly hid in one whilst escaping his pursuers in 1651.

A few, near dockyards, Plymouth, Chatham etc; are named after Royal Navy warships of that name. Odds of even money or less that others, Ripon. Lingfield etc, which are close to racecourses, have been named after the famous thoroughbred of that name.
John Perkins Reply

June 2, 2019 at 5:22 pm

Oak trees were venerated long ago by Celts, whose Druids were responsible for the rituals associated with the sacred groves.

Many an “Oak King” can be found in literature and lore, and there remained a “King of the Oak” at Nemi in Roman times, used by J.G. Frazier to bracket “The Golden Bough”.

So it seems likely that at least some oak trees have long been regarded as royal.

Later Christians, not comfortable with pagan titles, changed the names to “Holy Oak”, but the old names persisted in places.

A real test is whether or not anything held that name before the mid-17th century.