St Mary's Church

Anglo-Saxon tower and the church Lewis Carroll preached in

The oldest building in Guildford, with an Anglo-Saxon tower from before the Norman Conquest. The body of the church is mostly 12th and 13th-century, with later medieval additions, and the interior is one of the most peaceful in town — small, dim, and almost untouched by Victorian restoration.

Lewis Carroll, a deacon of the Church of England, occasionally preached here while staying with his sisters at the nearby Chestnuts. The pulpit he used is still in the church, which makes this a quietly meaningful stop on any Carroll-themed visit to the town.

things to do sight
A story
The square stone tower of St Mary's, built in the late 10th or early 11th century, is the oldest surviving structure of any kind in Guildford. Lewis Carroll preached occasionally from a small pulpit inside the church while he was visiting his sisters at The Chestnuts; the pulpit is still in place.