England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Guildford St Nicholas

The Parish

The city of Guildford lies in southwestern Surrey roughly 30 miles southwest of the city of London, it stands on the former route of the A3 road from London to Portsmouth, that road now bypassing to the west after skirting the north of Guildford. St Nicholas' parish occupies the western portion of the city, west of the River Wey and an adjacent area of rural Surrey as a true suburb. Guildford's history begins in Saxon times although its strategic position at the Wey's breach in the hogs-back ridge of the North Downs had undoubtedly made it a point for crossing that river along ancient track-ways. A Saxon cemetery discovered by archaeologists on the steep western slopes rising from the river has been dated to the 5th & 6th centuries, the proto-town then moved to the riverside by the 9th century. Guildford became the site of a royal residence for the Saxon kings being recorded as a bequest in the will of King Alfred the Great in 899. The early town was certainly protected by defenses as evidenced in the street names of North & South Ditch. By the time of the Conquest Guildford was already a major market town for the west of Surrey, the strategic position was enhance by the construction of a castle south of the High Street. The burgeoning town was granted its market charter in 1257 and the town acquired a Dominican friary about the same time. As well as being a market for the agricultural produce of both the North Downs and also much of the northern Weald Guildford also became a major centre for the textile industry, the wool came from North Downs sheep, the fuller's earth was local and the Wey powered enough flow to drive fulling mills. As the suburban parish St Nicholas also had a large area of the Downs and adjacent farmland within its acreage. Like many southern textile centres the trade began to become less profitable from the 17th century onwards and was finally removed by northern factory production. The town was saved by the canalisation of the River Wey from the Thames, part of a partially realised scheme to connect the Thames with the River Arun and thus the English Channel, avoiding the sweep of time required to exit the Thames and round Kent and eastern Sussex. Guildford thus became an inland port shipping to the Thames the grain, meat, timber and chalk & flints. Shortly after this the A3 became a turnpike and stage coaches required inns with stables to change horses which Guildford leapt to fulfill forming many of its largest inns which survive to this day as well as the breweries to serve them. The railway from London arrived in 1846 connecting Guildford not only with London & Portsmouth but also Reading and Reigate emphasising its regional importance and sparking some commuter growth. The 20th century has seen Guildford acquire its cathedral to become a city in 1927, the parish church of Holy Trinity receiving that status. it has also acquired its university swelling the term time population. Today Guildford is a city of over 80,000 inhabitants and together with its suburbs has spread out considerably north of the constraint of the narrow steep sided course of the Wey, its northern reaches stretch for almost 5 miles from west to east whilst to the south it remains a narrow corridor lining the Wey despite absorbing nearby Shalford. Guildford was historically divided into the two town parishes of Holy Trinity & St Mary whilst St Nicholas covered the area across the "wrong" side of the Wey and adjacent countryside, St Nicholas covered a little over 2,600 acres and would have supported a growing population which had reached around 1,350 parishioners. Guildford in Domesday times was held directly by King William and was one of the largest settlements in the land, its assets, like many such large settlements, were not specifically detailed in the Book but were undoubtedly substantial.

The Church

St Nicholas' church stands on the southern side of the High Street immediately west of the bridge across the Wey. Sadly the medieval church was almost totally replaced in late Georgian times leaving only the 15th century Loseley Chapel intact from its predecessor. The church that stands here today is thus not that in which these marriages were celebrated. The church that now stands here it a mixture of work of 1836/7 in the Commissioners' Gothic style and rebuilding done in 1875/6 in a more faux-Early English Gothic style. The church has a lengthy nave, a short stubby apsed chancel and a crossing tower which is far from central, to the rear of the church sits a modern concrete, flint & glass extension from the late 20th century functioning as a community centre. Like most urban churches St Nicholas is best visited on foot after finding a city car park. Its urban setting cramped by close-set neighbouring buildings presents the usual issues for photography.