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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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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).
There are times when we're working hard to changeover our exhibitions, and this might mean that some spaces or displays may be closed. If you're visiting to see a specific display, you can call us on 01483 444751 to check that it's open.
Family Fun! Eggciting Easter Trail!
Date: Saturday 5 to Saturday 19 April
Join our fun free trail around the museum looking for Easter themed clues.
Drop-in, suitable for ages 4+.
Playtime!
Date: Saturday 29 March to November
It's Playtime! at Guildford Museum! Enjoy our fun learning exhibition for all the family.
Explore our display of vintage toys and games from our museum collection and try out Playtime! for yourself and get hands-on with a selection of toys and games available during your visit.
To accompany our Playtime! exhibition we have a range of family fun activities planned. See below:
Playtime Fun! Teddy's Day Out Craft and Storytime
Date: Friday 11 April, 10.30am until 11.15am
Listen to teddy bear stories and make a mask to wear, inspired by the old teddy bear on display in our Playtime! exhibition. All teddy bears welcome!
First come, first served, suitable for ages 2+.
This event will also run at Guildford Library on Wednesday 23 April,10.30am until 11.15am.
Playtime Fun! Toy time!
Date: Friday 11 April, 2pm until 3pm
Join our team as we explore the toys in our Playtime! exhibition. There will be lots of old-fashioned toys to play with including spinning tops and a huge doll's house.
Drop-in, suitable for ages 3+.
Playtime! Relaxed Opening
Date: Wednesday 16 April, 10.30am until 11.30am
Enjoy our Museum outside of normal opening hours. You'll have a chance to see our Playtime! exhibition, play with some old-fashioned toys and make a flextangle, a colourful paper toy.
Pre-booking required.
Suitable for families with children who have an autism spectrum condition or any other sensory needs, aged 5 to 12.
Join the Flextangle fun, making these colourful paper toys inspired by our Playtime! exhibition.
Drop-in, suitable for ages 5+.
Playtime Fun! Moving Pictures
Date: Wednesday 28 May, 12.30pm until 2.30pm
Before films and video games, there were optical toys. Make your own moving image thaumatrope, like the one in our Playtime! exhibition, and play with a zoetrope, another old optical toy.
Drop-in, suitable for ages 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
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.
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.
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.
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.
Guildford Games Collection Project
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.
Discover Guildford's history from home with our online exhibitions.
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.
