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Guildford Heritage Open Days 2008 - A Great Success! Sponsored by mse

Pictured from left to right: Carol Humphries, Clr Jenny Jordan, Michael Ginsberg and Susan Stewart

 

Meldrum Salter Edgley, the oldest firm of Chartered Surveyors and Estate Agents in Guildford, was proud to sponsor this year’s Heritage Open Days in Guildford. This spectacular nationwide event was spread over three sunny days in mid September and organised by the Civic Trust, Guildford Borough Council and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.

To mark the opening of the event on Saturday 13th September, the Lady Mayor, Councillor Jennifer Jordan, conducted a tour of a number of participating venues, beginning at the Guildhall in Guildford, accompanied by her honoured guests: Carol Humphries, Head of Planning GBC, Susan Stewart, Guildford Society and Michael Ginsberg, Senior Partner of Meldrum Salter Edgley (sponsors).

Michael Ginsberg commented, “It was a privilege for me to experience the day from a different perspective, as a guest of the Lady Mayor. In addition to the interesting places and people we met, the tour gave me a real insight into the very demanding and valuable role that the Lady Mayor fulfils. I was exhausted by the end of the day but the Lady Mayor has schedules such as this virtually every day. I was particularly taken by the Lady Mayor’s personal connection with Guildford, which she is clearly devoted to”

After meeting at the Guildhall, a tight schedule commenced by visiting Rydes Hill Preparatory School, where the party was met by Tessa Forbes and treated to a fascinating and detailed account of the history of the building, built in the early gothic period, with a rich history both as a private mansion house and convent after the Second World War.

The next stop was at the mausoleum at St Martin’s churchyard in East Horsley where the party were met by Rosie and Keith Michel and shown the mausoleum, built in the 19th Century for the First Earl of Lovelace and recently restored by expert craftsmen.

Then quickly on to the third destination, the Museum at Shere, where volunteers have been busy rebuilding and cataloguing some 6000 exhibits of life in the village following a recent move to larger premises.

Lunch at Guildford’s Loch Fyne in Chapel Street, followed a tour of the premises, which dates back to 1801.

Post lunch, the Party went on to visit Manor Farm Craft Centre in Seale which demonstrates and sells a wide variety of crafts, art and music and finally on to the National Shooting Centre at Bisley Camp. Formerly based in Wimbledon, the NRA moved here in 1890 to protect the growing urban population from “accidental danger” and, at its height, was as fashionable and well frequented as Ascot, boasting some of the richest prizes and graced by the rich and famous including the Royal family. Today, the Queen is Patron and the Prince of Wales, President.

Hopes are high that Bisley will be selected to host the shooting events for the 2012 Olympic Games.

Michael Ginsberg went on to say, “although each place had its own unique merit, for me the high point was being shown around Bisley National Shooting Centre by Glen Algar the Secretary General of the National Rifle Association (NRA). The centre is set in 3000 acres of Surrey heathland and is the HQ of the NRA. The scale is extremely impressive and there is so much history surrounding the development of the sport, its Patrons and the connection with the military - especially the evolution of the muskets and rifles used in the sport. There is a museum which houses a wonderful and definitive selection of exhibits and for those like us, who were not familiar with the place or the sport; it was a great surprise to discover a world famous place so close to Guildford.”

Michael wrote a dissertation on the sustainability of listed shops in Guildford. “The heritage of Guildford and its surrounding villages is inseparable from the strong appeal of the area and these buildings and places contribute to the quality of life we enjoy on a daily basis. In practical terms, the presence of listed buildings has recently been proportionally linked to the value of houses”

“The Heritage Open Days are an important event raising awareness and giving people in the community their best opportunity to show off the buildings they cherish and a chance for others to explore. The heritage perpetuated through these places will only endure if it is valued within our society and, by allowing us to take notice Heritage Open Days, ultimately serves to protect the heritage it celebrates”