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St Catherine’s ‘Village’ takes its name from the chapel pictured above. It is and has always been a distinct area of Guildford. Until the 1930s it lay outside the municipal boundary but its precise bounds (see map below) are informal. Though not officially a village (it has no church for one thing), many of us who live here like to think that it has, at least some, village characteristics; it has certainly been referred to as such since, at least, Victorian times. The chapel itself fell into disuse in the 15th century and the Post Office/shop closed in the 1970s but the sense of community survives. Perhaps it is the existence of the Village Association and the well used Village Hall that stops St Catherine’s being simply a residential suburb of Guildford. Maybe it is the pub, Ye Olde Ship Inn, still a centre for St Catherine’s social life or the shared appreciation of our rich local history. Perhaps it is that many of us prefer our local society to be on a smaller scale, somewhere we can recognise and acknowledge others who recognise and acknowledge us. Most likely, the proportions will depend on your point of view, it is a little of all these things.
Not that St Catherine’s residents would want to disassociate themselves from Guildford, for many it is the character and amenities of Guildford that contributed to their choice of location. St Catherine’s, laying as it does, on the southern edge of the town, enjoys both easy access, a ten to fifteen minute walk, to the Guildford High Street and, an even shorter walk, to our beautiful surrounding countryside, still fortunately, for the moment at least, protected by ‘Green Belt’ restrictions.
The View to Chinthurst Hill [Photo Lorimer Burn]
Historically, St Catherine’s owes its existence to its position, at the junction of an ancient east-west routeway with the River Wey. Certainly there is much local history to be enjoyed and yet more to discover, research and archive. For a summary of our local history please go to the Local History section by clicking on the appropriate button in the menu on the left.
The informal boundaries of St Catherine’s, as used by the Village Association, are shown on the map below:
