Editing Guildford (section)

===Guildford Castle===
{{main|Guildford Castle}}
[[File:Guildford Castle.jpg|thumb|right|Guildford Castle]]
Guildford Castle is to the south of the modern town centre. Although it is not explicitly mentioned in Domesday Book, it is possible that it was included in one of the areas of land held by Ranulf Flambard.<ref name=Alexander_2006_pp8-9/> The date of its original construction is uncertain, but the consensus among historians is that it was built as a [[motte-and-bailey castle]] soon after the [[Norman Conquest]].<ref name=NHLE_Castle>{{NHLE|num=1012340|desc=Guildford Castle|fewer-links=yes}}</ref><ref name=Alexander_2006_p14>{{harvnb|Alexander|2006|p=14}}</ref>{{refn|The earliest surviving written reference to Guildford Castle is in the pipe rolls of 1173-74.<ref name=Alexander_2006_p14/>|group=note}} A polygonal stone [[shell keep]] was built in chalk and flint rubblestone around the top of the motte in the early 12th Century, the remains of which are still visible.<ref>{{NHLE|num=1177988|desc=Remains of shell keep at Guildford Castle|grade=I|fewer-links=yes}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Alexander|2006|p=19}}</ref>

The square [[keep]], known as the Great Tower, was constructed in the mid-12th century from [[Bargate stone]].<ref name=NHLE_Keep>{{NHLE|num=1377881|desc=The castle Keep|grade=I|fewer-links=yes}}</ref><ref name=Alexander_2006_pp24-26>{{harvnb|Alexander|2006|pp=24–26}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Alexander|2006|p=33}}</ref> Originally built with only two floors, it was a "solar keep" and functioned primarily as a private residence, rather than as an administrative centre. At an unknown later date, a third storey was built directly on top of the crenelations, to bring the structure to its present height.<ref name=Alexander_2006_pp24-26/> Part of the keep was in use as a prison by the end of the 12th century and new, royal apartments were constructed in the 13th century in the southwestern corner. Henry III commissioned the rebuilding of the castle following a fire in the mid-13th century, converting it into one of the most luxurious palaces in England.<ref name=NHLE_Keep/> In 1245, he bought land to extend the castle grounds and Castle Arch was constructed on his orders in 1256.<ref>{{harvnb|Alexander|2006|p=42}}</ref>

The castle ceased to be a royal residence in the [[Tudor period]] and it was leased from the Crown by Francis Carter in the reign of [[James VI and I|James I]].<ref>{{harvnb|Alexander|2006|p=51}}</ref> A Parliamentary survey in 1650 noted that the keep was still habitable,<ref>{{cite journal |last= Bax |first= Alfred Ridley |year= 1903 |title= Parliamentary survey of Guildford Castle in 1650 |journal= Surrey Archaeological Collections |volume= 18 |page= 9 |url= https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-379-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_18/surreyac018_009-010_bax.pdf |access-date= 3 August 2022 |archive-date= 21 August 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220821125511/https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-379-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_18/surreyac018_009-010_bax.pdf |url-status= live }}</ref> although the associated outbuildings are thought to have been ruinous by this time.<ref>{{harvnb|Chamberlin|1982|p=65}}</ref> In 1885, the borough purchased the castle grounds and opened them to the public three years later.<ref>{{harvnb|Rose|2001|p=117}}</ref>