Opinion: Should We Want A New Guildford Museum or a Surrey County Museum

Published on: 20 Aug, 2015
Updated on: 24 Aug, 2015

By Gavin Morgan

Gavin Morgan is a member of the Surrey Archaeological Society, the Guildford Society and is a friend of Guildford Museum. He has worked under former curator Matthew Alexander, spent 12 years at the Museum of London and is also is the author of the book: The Guildford Guy Riots (published by Northside Books).

Should Guildford Museum, founded by the Surrey Archaeological Society, aspire to be a county museum? The museum has always had a Surrey focus but any ambition for official “county” status is at stake during the current Guildford Borough Council review of the museum’s future.

Some people say it should be the county museum. After all, we are the county town. Henry III’s charter of September 7, 1257, stated that: “the county court of Surrey shall be held in the said town of Guildford forever.”

Other people, say Guildford, as a local borough, should not foot the bill for a countywide resource.

Who is right? Well both sides have a point but I believe the main issue is how we see ourselves as a town and how we wish to present ourselves.

It makes sense that we should not foot the bill for a county wide resource. But it might be in our interests as the county town to run a Surrey museum. Has anyone looked into it? Surrey County Council might be open to a dialogue about this.

Of course a museum dedicated to the whole of Surrey is a big undertaking. However, there is a difference between a Surrey museum – with a policy of collecting every aspect of Surrey’s history – and a museum with a Surrey focus – which is what Guildford has always been.

We already have the collections of the Surrey Archaeological Society and as the county town of Surrey it makes sense that we should be the town that displays them. We also have other collections relating to Surrey, such as items from the Surrey Iron Railway.

Furthermore, you cannot look at the history of Guildford properly without referencing the history of Surrey. We are on a junction of the North Downs and River Wey, London to Portsmouth Road and a railway junction. These are all Surrey features that are also very much part of our history. Our borough also includes many villages so all aspects of Surrey rural life are also an integral part of Guildford life.

The importance of Guildford as the county town is very apparent when you look at the history of the county. Most of Surrey and Sussex was forest for centuries and much of Surrey still is.

The main towns were either close to London e.g. Kingston upon Thames and Southwark, or were along the coast. Guildford was unique in being a large down in the heart of Surrey because it stood on the junction with traffic going east-west along the North Downs and north-south between London and Portsmouth.

William the Conqueror passed through the town as he encircled London after the Battle of Hastings and our castle was one of the earliest built. In fact our castle was the only royal castle in Surrey.

Even in the 19th century, Guildford grew faster than other towns. However, with the growth of London it became a satellite town to London. Woking also arrived as a major town as the railway spread out of London.

When Surrey County Council was set up in 1889, Kingston was chosen as the home of the Surrey County Council. This became a strange choice when the boundaries were changed in 1963. Now Surrey County Council is still in Kingston but Kingston is no longer in Surrey.

Since the 1960s Guildford’s economy has grown largely as a result of the University of Surrey and we are arguably Surrey’s leading town both economically and culturally.

Woking is always snapping at Guildford’s heels but Guildford will always be the county town that Henry III recognised.

So should we have a museum with a county focus or just have a borough museum? The answer depends on how we see ourselves and how much civic pride we have. Are we just a small country town next to a large and growing university are we proud to be the county town of Surrey and keen to fulfil that role?

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