Coronavirus Update

We are working hard to keep the spirit of The Guildford Institute alive during these unprecedented times and, thanks to the efforts of our excellent team of tutors, we are now offering most of our autumn term courses online! To make sure you don’t miss out on learning opportunities, keep an eye on our Online Courses section.

We are pleased to announce that The Guildford Institute building is now open Monday – Friday, 9.30am – 5pm. Things will look a little different as we have introduced a one-way system, hand sanitiser stations and increased cleaning routines to ensure your safety. We are excited to welcome you back for one of our face-to-face courses, a visit to V Café, or a browse at the Library.

V Café is open Wednesday – Friday, 9.30am – 3pm. Chefs Nick and Ian would love to see you pop in for a coffee or delicious vegetarian lunch. If possible, we encourage you to book a table ahead of your visit.

The Institute’s Library & Archive is open Tuesday – Friday, 10am – 2pm. Whether you’re looking to browse, borrow or research, our volunteers will be happy to help. As part of our safety measures, newspapers will not be available.

Room hire is available Monday – Friday, 9.30am – 5pm. We have introduced new measures such as socially distanced tables, hand sanitiser stations and thoroughly clean each room before use to ensure your safety. ⁠

In an effort to keep our users safe our Visits and Special Events will not take place for the time being. We are trialing our new Window on the World talks with a Halloween special on 23 October. We hope to have a limited audience at the Institute, alongside an online audience for those unable to attend in person.

We would like to thank you for all your support and understanding whilst we have worked to make our courses available online. We are especially thankful to all who have made the generous decision to donate their event fees or to make special Donations to help us during this difficult time. We are working hard to ensure that we are still here for you all during this time and beyond.

The office team, trustees and volunteers look forward to welcoming you back fully to The Guildford Institute when it is safe for our activities to resume. If you have any queries, please pop into Reception or phone us on 01483 562142. We will continue to update our website on a regular basis, so please check here to view all the latest news and updates.