Secret Guildford - Marion Field

Guildford is a fascinating town dating from Saxon times. William I built the Norman castle overlooking the town from where his soldiers could dominate his Saxon subjects. By the twelfth century Guildford had become a wealthy town as a result of the flourishing wool trade. The austere castle was transformed into a luxurious palace visited by kings and queens over the following centuries.The seventeenth-century Abbot's Hospital was probably the first 'sheltered housing' in the country. The Angel in the High Street, a posting house and livery stables, was visited by many famous people from Sir Francis Drake to Oliver Cromwell, who billeted his soldiers there during the Civil War. There is a reminder of another resident, Lewis Carroll, in some delightful 'Alice' sculptures by the River Wey. The twentieth-century cathedral built high above the town was the first to be built since the Reformation.Over the centuries Guildford has played host to a number of colourful characters, has survived dramatic events and continues to flourish in the twenty-first century. Secret Guildford incorporates many of the little-known stories of these characters
and reveals its hidden past in this fascinating book full of quirky anecdotes and lesser-known facts.

Marion trained as a teacher and and finished her teaching early to concentrate on writing. She has authored previous books on the history of Woking and other areas of Surrey, as well as writing magazine articles, biographies and books on the English language. She also gives creative writing workshops. She is an active member of her local Anglican Church and in her spare time she enjoys acting, playing tennis and travelling.