Join The Guildford Institute for a special weekend celebrating local history! Based in its beautiful Grade II listed building on Ward Street since 1892, the Institute is a small charity providing cultural education to the local community and beyond.

On Saturday, the Institute’s historic Library will be open with an exhibition featuring treasures from its Theatre Collection. Guildford has a long, vibrant history of theatre dating back to the Guild Merchants’ Mysteries in the early 17th century. See a selection of its eye catching playbills dating back to 1830! Run by the Institute’s knowledgeable Library volunteers, they will be happy to answer any questions.

On Sunday, local historians David Rose and Geoff Burch will be giving an illustrated talk starting at 2:45pm, ‘When the Railways Came to Guildford’, which will delve into the history of the railways coming to Guildford in 1845 and its impact on the town. A tremendous selection of photos are included! To accompany the talk, there will be a display with materials on Guildford’s railways from the Institute’s Archive, put together by their library volunteers.

Library open: 10am – 4pm

Talk and accompanying Display: 2pm – 4pm