Hydro power is power that is generated by water. 

Guildford had hydro power before the Wey Navigation was constructed in 1653. The water mill alongside the Yvonne Arnaud theatre originally provided motive power for grounding flour. This is now the Mill Studio.

In 1930, the water mill was converted to pump water up to the Pewley Hill reservoir. 

In 1990, the turbine was redundant and was removed and donated to the National Trust and is now exhibited at Dapdune Wharf. Visit the National Trust website (this page opens in a new window).

Discover more historical information about the Toll House [PDF] (34k).

Some 50 years later, in 2006 a new turbine has been installed in the Toll House. A company called Gilkes had manufactured the original turbine and following a nationwide search an identical model was located in a field in Ireland that was in good condition but in need of some repairs and rebuild.

We appointed Derwent Hydro, a company who are experts in this field and have hands on experience to obtain and refurbish the turbine. They completed the work and provided the gearbox and generator.

Work commenced on Monday 10 July 2006 and took eight weeks to complete. We obtained listed building consent along with consent from the Environment Agency. 

To install the hydro turbine in the Toll House the rear roof had to be removed.

The turbine is using the power of the river Wey to generate electricity in an exciting and environmentally friendly way, producing enough energy to power 50 homes every year. The electricity produced by the turbine goes into the local network. Visit our climate change pages for more information on renewable technologies.

We are the first local authority to own a small scale Hydro in the South East of England.

For more information view a hydro fact sheet [PDF] (295k).

Climate Change Team
Guildford Borough Council
Millmead House
Millmead
Guildford
Surrey
GU2 4BB

Tel: 01483 444518
Email: hydro@guildford.gov.uk