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Guildford Museum

About Guildford Museum

Guildford Museum is located within historic buildings next to Guildford Castle Grounds. It's free to visit. The museum is home to a permanent collection of objects from Guildford and the surrounding areas, dating from prehistoric times to the present day. The museum also runs a variety of changing exhibitions.

History of Guildford Museum

Guildford Museum is formed of four main buildings, with various smaller additions. These buildings, Castle Arch House, 48 Quarry Street, the gallery extension and the Muniment Room, date from the mid-16th century to the 1920s. 

historic image

Castle Arch House is partly built using the walls from the gatehouse to the castle. The sheriff of Guildford Castle built the gatehouse in 1256. You can still see the remains of the arch that was part of the gateway. 

Guildford Museum Opening 1911
The museum buildings have had various uses over the years. Castle Arch House was a high-class family home but was later split into five cottages. For many years, a girls' school used 48 Quarry Street and where the Muniment Room was once a garage. 

Image Right: Watercolour of Museum front by Henry James Sage (1868 - 1953).

Image Left: Opening of new museum building 1911.

Watch this short video to find out more about the buildings that form Guildford Museum. The video was created with the help of our skilled volunteers.  

 

Visiting Guildford Museum

Opening times

Guildford Museum is open Wednesday to Saturdays, 12 noon to 4.30pm (last entry 4pm).

Address

Guildford Museum
Castle Arch 
Quarry Street
GU1 3SX

Admission

Free entry

Contact

Email: heritageservices@guildford.gov.uk
Phone: 01483 444751

Getting here 

Car

There are various car parks and on-street parking places in Guildford town centre. Find out more about Guildford's car parks and .

Blue Badge holders can park at the metered parking almost opposite the museum in Quarry Street. There is a dropped kerb at the junction with Castle Street. Find out more about Blue Badge parking in Guildford.

On Foot

Guildford Museum is about 200 metres from the bottom of Guildford High Street.

The High Street is pedestrianised between the following times:

  • Monday to Friday: 11am to 4pm
  • Saturday: 9am to 6pm
  • Sunday: 12noon to 5pm

Public transport

Bus

Guildford Museum is about 500 metres from the Friary Bus Station. There is a step-free route across two roads and through White Lion Walk shopping centre.

Train

Guildford Museum is about 750 metres from Guildford Railway Station, on the South Western Railway line from London Waterloo to Portsmouth. There is a step-free route from the station across the River Wey into the town centre but with several roads to cross. This can be partially undercover by walking through The Friary and White Lion Walk shopping centres.


View Guildford Museum in a larger map

Access Information 

Our access guide will help you plan your visit to Guildford Museum. It gives details on how we can make your visit easier and more enjoyable especially if you are disabled or have particular access needs. We also want to let you know in advance about the things that we haven't yet been able to change to improve access.

Read our Guildford Museum Access Guide

 

What's on at Guildford Museum

Explore our local history from the age of prehistoric man to modern life and times. Discover more about famous people connected with Guildford and Surrey. Including garden designer Gertrude Jekyll and author Lewis Carroll. Enjoy our unique collection of needlework and toys. As well as free displays and exhibitions, we have a programme of events and activities for all ages.

We are open Wednesday to Saturdays 12noon to 4.30pm (last entry 4pm).


On the Trail of Guildford's History 

Be a history detective! Search Guildford Museum, Quarry Street and Guildford Castle Grounds to find clues which tell us about the past.

Download the trail. (PDF, 1 MB) or pick up a copy from Guildford Museum.

Find out what's on in our other heritage venues


A Glimpse Over the Garden Wall - Opening the Door to Munstead Wood

Date: Friday 29 November 2024 to Saturday 22 February 2025

This exhibition gives a brief insight into the significance of Munstead Wood in Godalming, the Arts and Crafts home of garden designer Gertrude Jekyll. Learn how the property was saved by the National Trust in 2023 and how they are now exploring the best way to provide this unique property with a sustainable future.


Guildford's Quilt: Your Stories Stitched into History

Date: From Saturday 28 September 2024 to Saturday 15 March 2025

A display of embroidered panels made by local people illustrating the thoughts, feelings and acts of kindness that helped them through the COVID-19 pandemic. Assembled by Stitch Together, the hangings now serve as a touching reminder of an unusual time that everyone went through together.

stitch together


Nature, Stitched with Style by Stitch Together

Date: From Saturday 28 September 2024 to Saturday 15 March 2025

In this display, we invite you to celebrate the skill of embroiderers, and to share their joy in the natural world which inspires their work. Flowers, foliage, fungi, and fruit are skilfully re-created with needle and thread. There are embroidered mice clamber, short quotes from poems and books are paired with detailed plant drawings made with stitches, reminding us of their powers to heal and soothe.

nature stitched mice


Family Fun! Museum Christmas Trail

Date: Saturday 30 November to Saturday 4 January 2025

A fun trail around the museum looking for clues to different Christmas carols and songs.

Suitable for ages 6+


Family Fun! Make a Christmas Cracker or Decoration

Date: Saturday 21 December 12pm until 2pm

Join us to get ready for the big day and craft a handmade cracker or a decoration to hang on the tree.

Drop-in, suitable for ages 4+


Family Fun! New Year, New Choices

Date: Friday 3 January 2025 12pm until 2pm

Help friends and family choose their New Year's resolutions with this fun craft activity.

Drop-in, suitable for 5+


Family Fun! Wheels of Time

Date: Ongoing

Join Roamin' Rex as he travels through time (and around Surrey)! Collect a badge from each participating museum, including ours. For more details, visit Surrey wheels of time. (opens new window)


Soldiers of Surrey: A display from the Surrey Infantry Collection

A pair of binoculars on a glass counter
Dates: available during opening hours

Free entry

June 6, 2024, is the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings. It was the largest seaborne invasion in history. Surrey Infantry Collection display D-Day +80 commemorates this anniversary of the Normandy landings. Explore the role of Surrey men in the Allied D-Day landings through personal artifacts and technical objects.

Image courtesy of the Surrey Infantry Collection

 

 

 

Museum from home

Don't worry if you can't visit us, you can still have fun, learn and be inspired by Guildford's heritage at home! Take a look at our #MuseumFromHome activities below.

Make your own bag

Make your mini-museum

Make your own tulip in a pot

Make your own virtual Victorian jigsaw

Art inspired meditation

Enjoy our Scullery Playroom

Scullery Playroom
A relaxed environment where pre-school children can have fun and develop key skills. Children can learn communication, language, numeracy, gross motor and fine motor skills.

In the Scullery playroom children can:

  • role play with the toy kitchen complete with colourful fabric food
  • make a pizza and lay a table for dinner
  • try washing the Victorian way
  • join in with the traditional nursery rhymes printed on the walls
  • colouring and activity sheets with pencils and crayons
  • relax on a beanbag and read a washing or cooking themed book
  • view our display of old cooking equipment

Children should be supervised in the room.

The Scullery Playroom at Guildford Museum is supported by the European Regional Development Fund and HM Government through the Welcome Back Fund.

Logo European Regional Development Fund
   
Logo HM Government

Guildford Games Collection Project

Guildford games blog
We are running a project to collect as many video games made by gaming studios within the borough as we can. These will be added to our permanent collection.

Download the list of games we are collecting. (Excel doc, 19 KB) Do you have any you would like to donate? 

 To find out more read our blog. 

Online exhibitions

Discover Guildford's history from home with our online exhibitions. 

Georgian women online exhibition

Georgian Women Portraits by John Russell 

Guildford Borough Council's Heritage Service holds over 35 original works by John Russell, including 19 female portraits. This online display features all the female portraits. 

View the Georgian Women exhibition (opens new window)


Guildford Streets 
Guildford Streets exhibition

Dip into Guildford Heritage Service's collection of photographs of Guildford taken over 100 years ago. 

View the Guildford Streets exhibition (opens new window)