Guildford
High Street - Photo Doug Scott
Most visitors come to see Guildford's High Street
with it's iconic granite setts overlooked by the historic Guildhall
clock. Many are unaware that Guildford has an equally historic
Navigation and owes its existence to the
river Wey.
The exhibition "Guildford from the River Wey" was organised by the
Guildford Society, working
with the Guildford Photographic
Society and Guildford House.
It was open in the Brew House from June 16th through June 23rd with a
Private Viewing and reception with the Mayor of Guildford, Michael
Nevins on Monday June 18th.
The theme for
2007 was “Different Perspectives”. The exhibition looked at
Guildford from the River Wey. It illustrated how the River Wey has
influenced the Town, from its earliest roots as a gap cut through
the North Downs, to the Mills which provided power for grinding corn
and weaving cloth,
to
the
commerce and
industry brought by the Navigation and finally to become a focus for
leisure. Each of these has left its mark upon the layout of the town
and the buildings that we see around us. To take a virtual tour
of the exhibition click here
Exhibition
Accompanying the
exhibition, there were talks on Guildford’s Green Projects,
including Hydro Electric Power, the History of the Wey and Guildford
High Street. There were also guided walks around the University and
along the river. To see the History of the River Wey click here
History of the River Wey
Prior to the
exhibition a number of mystery photographs were published in the
local press. These showed views of objects in Guildford High Street
and along the river from “Different Perspectives”, Readers were
invited to identify the mystery objects. The mystery photos and the
answers were on display in the exhibition and can be seen here
Mystery Photos
