Letter: Cathedral Memories on Its 65th Birthday

Published on: 18 May, 2026
Updated on: 18 May, 2026

Guildford Cathedral on Stag Hill designed by Sir Edward Maufe

From Anthony Mallard

I am reminded by the 65th birthday celebrations of Guildford Cathedral that I attended a church similarly modelled.

St Thomas the Apostle

The Church of St Thomas the Apostle in Boston Manor, a suburb of Ealing in Middlesex, now a London borough, was my local church and the parish within which I lived until I was 18 years old.

The architect was Sir Edward Maufe and in appearance it is mostly similar to Guildford Cathedral. In my time the choristers wore cassocks of a an ochre colour similar to those at the cathedral. It precedes Guildford in age by two years being completed in 1934.

I first came to Guildford in 1954 to spend summer holidays with my cousin who moved here on marriage and, like so many, I too purchased a brick, – made locally – two shillings and sixpence pre-decimal if my memory serves me correctly.

Sadly, unlike the late Queen and Prince Phillip, my brick isn’t on display. There were also available pin badges shaped in the ground plan of the Cathedral which added to the sum needed to complete the building. I had a couple of those too.

I am sure there will be many other Guildfordians, with others from further afield, who thank the then 5th Earl of Lord Onslow for his donation of the land in 1933 and Viscount Bennett who added to it and who will recall with affection the completion and subsequent dedication by the late Queen of ‘our’ Cathedral in 1961.

Hear about Guildford Cathedral’s architect here, in this podcast, by his granddaughter…