Although there are no documents about the early years of Guildford castle, it is almost certain that it was built shortly after 1066. William the Conqueror built castles in all the important towns to prevent rebellion and to strengthen his hold on the country. Guildford would have been chosen because it was the only town in Surrey (apart from Southwark) and later became the county town. It was also on an important route between London and the south coast and the west of England. The first structures at the castle would have been the motte, or mound, surrounded by a ditch, and an adjoining bailey, defended by a wooden palisade. The bailey boundary ran along Castle Street, South Hill, the edge of what is now Racks Close and along a line parallel with Quarry Street but to the east. It may have used part of the Saxon borough boundary. The bailey was probably divided into an inner and outer bailey, partly by the line of the path between the Bowling Green and the castle grounds.
There was probably a wooden tower on the motte at first, for a look-out post for the garrison of mounted soldiers. At a date probably in the early 1100s a chalk wall, or shell-keep, was built around the top of the motte. Later, perhaps in the 1130s, a keep, or great tower, was built to one side of the motte, probably over part of the shell-keep and also using the natural chalk below the artificial motte to take the weight of the tower. It was built of Bargate stone from the Godalming area rather than the local chalk, because Bargate is stronger. It had a ground floor and first floor, with the door on the first floor for defence and for status. It was probably built as the king's private apartments. The walls were finished with crenellations, and presumably a wall-walk for sentries. The first floor consisted of the main chamber, a chapel, and a wardrobe chamber with a latrine. Not long afterwards a second floor was added. This had a two-seater latrine, showing that more people were using the building. The roof of the tower was of lead, and the walls were plastered and whitewashed. In the later 12th century the tower became the headquarters of the sheriff and the county gaol for Surrey and Sussex. The king moved to better apartments in the bailey, with all the other domestic buildings.
The great hall was probably on the site of the two houses at the bottom of Castle Hill. It was of stone, with wooden aisle posts painted to look like marble. The main buildings in the bailey would have been built in the 12th century, such as the hall, the king's and queen's apartments and their chapels. In the 13th century Henry III made many improvements, which caused the castle to be referred to as a palace. His queen had a new window in her rooms, made as large as possible, with two Purbeck marble columns. The great hall was given windows with coloured glass, and wall-paintings, including the story of Dives and Lazarus, to remind the king to be charitable. A screen by the passage leading to Henry's private chambers was painted with the legend of Edward the Confessor and St.John. Henry's bed-chamber was painted green, with gold and silver stars, and he had a garden made surrounded by a cloister with marble columns. In 1254 a fire damaged the hall and other buildings but the improvements continued.
In 1245 Henry purchased land to extend the bailey, which was presumably the land along Quarry Street. He built a set of rooms for his son Edward, the heir to the throne, in 1246 when the boy was seven. The ruins at the end of Castle Cliffe Gardens are probably the remains of this. In 1256 the gate on Quarry Street was built, overseen by John of Gloucester the king's master mason, and Alexander the king's carpenter, who were in charge of all royal works south of the Trent. The original gate to the castle must have been on the other side of the bailey, opposite Tunsgate, but there is no trace of it today. The new gate suggests that Henry had altered the whole focus of the castle. He later built more sets of rooms in this area, for his daughter-in-law Eleanor of Castile, and for his queen's knights.
Although the castle was used mainly as a dwelling, it was strongly defended and was used as a mustering point for Edward I's foreign wars. It was never attacked, though it was strengthened in 1173-4 during the rebellion of Henry II's son, and the heightening of the great tower may be linked to the civil war of Stephen's reign. In 1216 the castle was given up to the forces supporting the barons against King John, led by the French king's son Louis, without a fight. There was no fighting during Simon de Montfort's rebellion either. However, Edward, Henry III's son, captured a rebel, Adam Gurdon, in single combat at Alton and brought him to Guildford. It is said that Edward's wife, Eleanor of Castile. pleaded for Adam's life, and he was spared, to become a loyal servant of the crown.
In the 14th century Guildford, and other inland castles, were no longer needed and fell into disrepair. By 1379 everything at Guildford had fallen down except for the king's great chamber. The moated hunting lodge in the royal park was improved from the 1360s, so that royalty could stay there. The park was across the river, and was used for hunting deer for sport, and to provide food for the royal household. There was also a rabbit warren, when rabbits were still a fairly new introduction. Horses were bred in the park, and oxen were grazed. The trees provided timber for building, and fuel for fires and for lime kilns which produced lime for building work.
The great tower continued to be the county gaol. The sheriff had a building next to it, probably of timber, from 1247. The gaol was moved to Southwark in the early 16th century and in 1544 John Daborne was made keeper of the castle garden. His family were involved with the castle for the rest of the 16th century, and it would have been they who put the brick windows and the fireplaces in the tower, perhaps using it as an official residence. In 1611 the castle estate was granted to Francis Carter and he or his son built the house at Castle Arch soon after. (It used to be thought that they tried to convert the keep.) The tower was unroofed in about 1630, and was used as a cockpit. Parts of the grounds were farmed, and rented out to different people. In 1885 Lord Grantley of Wonersh, who owned a large part of the castle, sold it to Guildford Corporation. The tower and other walls were restored, and the grounds were opened to the public in 1888 as pleasure gardens. In 2003-4 the great tower was conserved, during which the original crenellations and other features were discovered. A roof and floor were re-instated at first floor level, and the ground floor now houses a display on the castle.
Guildford Museum, Castle Arch, Guildford, Surrey
(01483) 444750
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