Guildford Cathedral

Guildford Cathedral stands on Stag Hill in the Borough of Guildford, a modern Anglican cathedral designed by Edward Maufe between 1936 and 1961. Its red-brick outline rises above the Surrey landscape, visible for miles. The site was donated by Richard Onslow, Earl of Onslow, in 1933. Viscount Bennett, a former Canadian prime minister, later purchased the surrounding land as a memorial to soldiers billeted there during the Second World War. The cathedral shares the hill with the University of Surrey’s main campus. It is the last Church of England cathedral consecrated on a new site in the 20th century. The building’s construction involved a national fundraising campaign. After the Second World War, funds fell short of the original £250,000 estimate. The ‘Buy-a-Brick’ campaign raised money from over 200,000 contributors, including Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. Their signed bricks remain on display inside. The cathedral was consecrated in 1961 and completed in 1965. It is Grade II* listed and houses a 160-foot tower topped by a gilded angel that turns in the wind. The interior features pale Somerset limestone pillars and white Italian marble floors. Visitors find a calm, light-filled space with modern Gothic lines. The nave is broad and uninterrupted, with narrow passage aisles instead of flying buttresses. Three side chapels include the Children’s Chapel, holding a book of remembrance, and the Chapel of the Queen’s Royal Surrey Regiment. The cathedral displays works by 20th-century sculptors such as Eric Gill and Vernon Hill. Stained glass windows by artists including Moira Forsyth and Lawrence Lee soften the light. The organ, rebuilt from a 19th-century instrument, adds to the cathedral’s musical tradition.