72-74 High Street, Guildford

Observation by D G Bird for SCC of refurbishment of medieval undercroft as tourist centre. The floor and steps from the street were carefully cleaned with the assistance of the Guildford Group of SyAS. The steps were shown to be much repaired but with an apparently original core; they survived best through the entrance where unfortunately they had to be removed except for a few centimetres to mark the original line. The floor was apparently of brick (probably to be dated to the 17th century) over the natural chalk; there was no sign of a medieval floor. The modern rear entrance steps were removed to allow for the emplacement of drying machinery and were found to have been placed over a brick shaft assumed to have been a cess pit. The original side entrance was examined as best as possible; it seems to have had a quarter turn to a staircase running up alongside the wall.
Year: 
1988-9
ID: 
1799
NGR: 
SU996494
Borough: 
Organisation: