Little is known of the early history of Holy Trinity, Guildford. The church may have been founded before 1066 and certainly would have originally been the property of the king. It is probable that it was given by Henry I to the Augustinian canons of Merton before 1120 as its sister church St Mary's was. Only one picture survives of the mediaeval church (see above), but from this and excavated fragments of Norman stonework we can deduce that it looked almost identical with St Mary's. Holy Trinity is first mentioned in documents in the 1170s or 1180s, when the Bishop of Winchester confirmed its annual payments to Merton.
By the end of the 15th century, the timber-framed house to the south of the churchyard had been built as the rectory. Part of it is now the Royal Oak, and contains a fine crownpost roof. A brass plate of 1512, which still survives in the present church commemorates Henry Norbridge. He was a prosperous wool merchant, Mayor of Guildford several times and a churchwarden of Holy Trinity. The land he left in his will to pay for a chantry priest to pray for his soul is still called The Chantries.
Records from the reign of Henry VIII depict a wealthy borough church with several altars and rich vestments. There were at least two fraternities, of St James and St John the Baptist, which provided their members with support in sickness or misfortune, and a fitting funeral. Church ales were regularly held as fund-raising events to meet parish expenses, and included morris dancing by 1530. In 1540 Sir Richard Weston built a family chapel on the south side, the only part of the ancient building which survives today. However, the chantry he established there was not to last long, for the Reformation had already begun.
The Reformation affected Holy Trinity as every other church in the land. Merton Priory was dissolved in 1538 and Holy Trinity reverted to the King. The wall paintings were whitewashed over, the altars removed and a plain communion table installed. In 1547 the chantries were closed down and their property confiscated.
In 1633, George Abbot, Archbishop of Canterbury and a Guildfordian by birth, was buried in a beautiful tomb in the south transept. Abbot had been archbishop at a time when the English church was becoming increasingly polarised between puritans and traditionalists. This tension contributed much to the outbreak of civil war. Guildford was puritan and Parliamentarian by sympathy, and in 1645 the Rector of Holy Trinity was dismissed. The local roundheads accused Thomas Wall of drunkenesse and other misdemeanours, but it was probably his religious opinions they objected to. The collapse of the wool trade in the mid 17th century dramatically reduced local prosperity. By 1699 parish income was deemed insufficient to support a rector for both Holy Trinity and St Mary's, and the benefices were combined.
Disaster struck in 1740 when the tower fell, demolishing most of the church. Rebuilding progressed slowly, however, and it was not until 1763 that the new church was consecrated. Built of brick with some Portland stone detailing, its chief feature was a wide, flat ceiling that gave excellent acoustics for preaching. Only a small apse served as a chancel: the Georgians had little time for the sacraments and the emphasis was on the pulpit. The congregation sat in wooden box pews, and those reserved for the inmates of Abbot's Hospital remain. The wealthier townspeople sat in the body of the church with the lower classes in the galleries above. In 1869 the side galleries were removed leaving only the present west gallery.
The Victorian age saw increased emphasis on the sacraments and ritual. A larger chancel was needed, with room for a surpliced choir. In 1888 the present chancel and transepts were built, the earth removed for the foundations being piled in an L-shaped mound in the churchyard. The northern transept became the chapel of the Queen’s Royal West Surrey Regiment in 1902. In 1927, when the Diocese of Guildford was formed, Holy Trinity acted as the Pro-cathedral until the consecration of the Guildford Cathedral in 1961. The right to appoint the Rector passed from the crown to the Bishop of Guildford in 1930. Holy Trinity continues today as the civic church of the town, with a thriving congregation and as a venue for regular musical events.
Guildford Museum, Castle Arch, Guildford, Surrey
(01483) 444750
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