Stoke next Guildford

Guildford
The Guildhall in Guildford
Guildford
Guildford shown within Surrey
Population	137,200 ^{(2011 Census)}
OS grid reference	SU9949
District	Guildford
Shire county	Surrey
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	GUILDFORD
Postcode district	GU1-4
Dialling code	01483

Police	Surrey
Fire	Surrey
Ambulance	South East Coast

EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Guildford
List of places UK England Surrey 51°14′11″N 0°34′13″W / 51.2365°N 0.5703°W / 51.2365; -0.5703Coordinates: 51°14′11″N 0°34′13″W / 51.2365°N 0.5703°W / 51.2365; -0.5703

Guildford /ˈɡɪlfərd/ ( listen) is a large town in Surrey, England, located 27 miles (43 km) southwest of central London on the A3 trunk road midway between the capital and Portsmouth.

The town has a population of just over 137,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford which had an estimated 146,100 inhabitants in 2015.

Guildford has Saxon roots and historians attribute its location to the existence of a gap in the North Downs where the River Wey was forded by the Harrow Way. By AD 978 it was home to an early English Royal Mint. On the building of the Wey Navigation and Basingstoke Canal Guildford was connected to a network of waterways that aided its prosperity. In the 20th century, the University of Surrey and Guildford Cathedral, an Anglican cathedral, were added.