Godalming Museum

Godalming is a market town and civil parish in southwest Surrey, England, around 30 miles (49 km) southwest of central London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, at the confluence of the Rivers Wey and Ock. The civil parish covers 3.74 sq mi (9.7 km2) and includes the settlements of Farncombe, Binscombe and Aaron's Hill. Much of the area lies on the strata of the Lower Greensand Group and Bargate stone was quarried locally until the Second World War. The earliest evidence of human activity is from the Paleolithic and land above the Wey floodplain at Charterhouse was first settled in the middle Iron Age. The modern town is believed to have its origins in the 6th or early 7th centuries and its name is thought to derive from that of a Saxon landowner. Kersey, a woollen cloth, dyed blue, was produced at Godalming for much of the Middle Ages, but the industry declined in the early modern period. In the 17th century, the town began to specialise in the production of knitted textiles and in the manufacture of hosiery in particular. Throughout its history, Godalming has benefitted from its location on the main route from London to Portsmouth Dockyard. Local transport links were improved from the early 18th century with the opening of the turnpike road through the town in 1749 and the construction of the Godalming Navigation in 1764. Expansion of the settlement began in the mid-19th century, stimulated by the opening of the first railway station in 1849 and the relocation of Charterhouse School from London in 1872. The town has a claim to be the first place in the world to have a combined public and private electricity supply. Several buildings in the town centre date from the 16th and 17th centuries. The distinctive Pepperpot was built in 1814 to replace the medieval market house and to house the council chamber. Among the notable former residents of the civil parish were Jack Phillips, the senior wireless operator on the RMS Titanic, and the mountaineer George Mallory. James Oglethorpe, the founder of the Colony of Georgia, was born in Godalming in 1696 and the town maintains a friendship with the U.S. state and the cities of Savannah and Augusta in particular.

St Edmund's Church (in full, The Church of St Edmund King and Martyr) is the Roman Catholic parish church of Godalming, a town in the English county of Surrey. It was built in 1906 to the design of Frederick Walters and is a Grade II listed building. The church stands on a "dramatic hillside site" on the corner of Croft Road just off Flambard Way close to the centre of the town. The Catholic Church had no presence in the ancient town of Godalming—known for its Protestant Nonconformity—until the end of the 19th century, and the parish of St Edmund's has always covered a large rural area of southwest Surrey. Since the church was founded in 1899 Mass has also been said at various other locations, from purpose-built churches to converted barns and halls, in the surrounding villages; and St Edmund's continues to support a daughter church at nearby Milford. Hospitals, convents and Catholic schools are also within the parish, and a large Polish community has been served by Polish-speaking priests for many years. The "fine, if austere" church is built of local stone and overlooks the town. It is one of several churches in the area designed by the prolific architect Frederick Walters. The interior decoration dates from various times in the 20th century and includes rare bas-relief Stations of the Cross, an ornate Lady chapel and stained glass by Hardman & Co.

The Church of St. Peter and St. Paul is a parish church of the Church of England in Godalming, Surrey. The parish is mostly urban and excludes rural outskirts, it includes another church, St Mark's, in which the joint clergy provide less formal and family services. The present building, the oldest in the town, was built in the twelfth century, replacing an earlier Anglo-Saxon church. Two medieval chapels are integrated into the present building. Its core is made from the local sandstone, Bargate stone from the nearby Greensand Ridge, which is found close to the town. Also found around the church is the old Lammas, or 'common', land. The church is set on the town centre thoroughfare, Church Street, in the urban part of the market town that doubles as a commuter and retirement town and is a Grade I-listed building.

The Borough of Waverley is a local government district with borough status in Surrey, England. The council is based in the town of Godalming. The borough also contains the towns of Farnham and Haslemere and numerous villages, including the large village of Cranleigh, and surrounding rural areas. At the 2021 Census, the population of the borough was 128,200. The borough is named after Waverley Abbey, near Farnham. Large parts of the borough are within the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The neighbouring districts are Guildford, Mole Valley, Horsham, Chichester, East Hampshire, Hart and Rushmoor.

The River Ock is a tributary of the River Wey in Surrey, England.

Godalming railway station is a stop on the Portsmouth Direct Line, 34 miles 37 chains (55.5 km) down the line from London Waterloo. The station, opened in 1859 to replace one on a different site, is situated at the edge of the town of Godalming, Surrey. The main station building is a Grade II listed building.

The Burys at Godalming, Surrey was used as the venue for nine first-class cricket matches between 1821 and 1830. It was used by the Godalming Cricket Club for all of its home matches and by Surrey teams.

Godalming Borough Hall is a municipal building in Bridge Street in Godalming, England. The building is the meeting place of Godalming Town Council.

The building formerly known as Godalming Congregational Church was the Congregational chapel serving the ancient town of Godalming, in the English county of Surrey, between 1868 and 1977. It superseded an earlier chapel, which became Godalming's Salvation Army hall, and served a congregation which could trace its origins to the early 18th century. The "imposing suite of buildings", on a major corner site next to the Town Bridge over the River Wey, included a schoolroom and a manse (now demolished), and the chapel had a landmark spire until just before its closure in 1977. At that time the congregation transferred to the nearby Methodist chapel, which became a joint Methodist and United Reformed church with the name Godalming United Church. The former chapel then became an auction gallery before being converted into a restaurant; then in 2018 the premises were let to the Cotswold Company to be converted into a furniture and home accessories showroom. In 1991 the former chapel was listed at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance.

Godalming College is a sixth form college, situated in Godalming, 31 miles (50 km) south-west of London and five miles from Guildford, Surrey. The college had been consistently oversubscribed in years prior to 2010. It is the successor to Godalming Grammar School, a state grammar school. The college retained its 'outstanding' Ofsted status in a December 2019 inspection.

Godalming United Church is a non-conformist church formed in 1977 of a union of the local Methodist and URC churches. Built in 1903, it is located between the fire station and the River Wey in Godalming. Godalming United Church is a registered place of worship for marriage, both of opposite-sex and same-sex couples. Godalming United Church is registered with the Charities Commission as a charity (number 1128613).

Charterhouse is a public school (English boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Godalming, Surrey, England. Originally founded by Thomas Sutton in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian monastery in Charterhouse Square, Smithfield, London, it educates over 800 pupils, aged 13 to 18 years. Charterhouse is one of the original nine English public schools reported upon by the Clarendon Commission in 1864 leading to its regulation by the Public Schools Act 1868. Charterhouse charges full boarders up to £44,220 per annum (2022/2023) and is among the most expensive Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC) schools in the UK. It educated the British Prime Minister Lord Liverpool and has a long list of notable alumni.