The remains of the Norman castle in Guildford give no real impression of what was, for the early medieval kings, one of their most important residences. There was a Saxon hunting park at Guildford and at the conquest the Conqueror erected a motte on which was a great stone tower. By the 1160s there were also some stone chambers belonging to the king. Guildford was almost exactly half way between Westminster and Winchester, the two most important royal towns in the early middle ages. A day’s ride from London, near a large hunting park, it became a popular place to spend New Year.
It was Henry III who expanded and embellished the residential complex within the castle walls at a total cost of £1,800 – a very considerable sum. £770 of this was spent between 1253-6 in what must have been a major building campaign. What were described as ‘the king’s houses’ were entered through a gatehouse (probably the surviving arch) and centred on a great hall. There was a first-floor great chamber with a chapel closet and a privy nearby for the king, this was linked to another room ‘the new chamber’. The queen had a similar arrangement and both sets of lodgings were furnished with cellars and their own private gardens. There were ancillary buildings, a household chapel, kitchens, stables and various store rooms.
After Henry III died Guildford was held by his widow, Eleanor of Provence and thereafter by other queens consort. Although Edward II spent some money on the place in 1317, and it was well maintained into the 1350s, by the 1370s the houses were being dismantled and the castle and royal residence were abandoned by the crown. Some parts were thoroughly demolished – the great Tower was used as a prison. The site finally passed out of royal ownership in 1611.