Editing Guildford (section)

===Transport and communications===
The east{{endash}}west route along the [[North Downs]] has been in use since ancient times. In the late 19th century it was dubbed the [[Pilgrims Way]], but there is no convincing evidence of its use by pilgrims. The route consists of multiple parallel tracks and [[sunken lane|hollow ways]] running along the top of and beneath the North Downs escarpment and is typical of other [[ridgeway (road)|ridgeway]] routes in the UK and Europe.<ref>{{harvnb|Chamberlin|1982|pp=5–6}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Hindle|2001|pp=46–47}}</ref> Similarly, the path alongside the River Wey, running broadly north{{endash}}south, is also likely to have been used since antiquity. By the Tudor period, this route had become an important military supply line, linking London and [[Chatham Dockyard|Chatham]] to [[HMNB Portsmouth|Portsmouth]].<ref>{{harvnb|Corke|1990|loc=Chapter: Hogs in the High Street}}</ref> A [[turnpike trust|turnpike road]] through Guildford, between London and Portsmouth, was created in 1749<ref>{{harvnb|Rose|2000|p=14}}</ref> and nine years later the roads across the Hog's Back and towards Leatherhead were also turnpiked. The present Farnham Road was built {{circa|1800}}.<ref>{{harvnb|Alexander|2001|pp=39–40}}</ref> The most recent major change to the local road network was the opening of the [[A3 road|A3]] Guildford Bypass in 1934.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=  New by-pass in Surrey |date= 1 September 1934 |page= 9 |issue= 468138 }}</ref>

[[File:Wey Navigation, Guildford.jpg|thumb|right|Onslow Bridge, [[Wey and Godalming Navigations|River Wey Navigation]]]]
The River Wey has been used for navigation since ancient times and during the Medieval period, there is thought to have been a wharf at Millmead.<ref name=EUS/><ref>{{cite journal |last1= Bird |first1= D. G. |last2= Crocker |first2= Glenys |last3= Maloney |first3= Cath |last4= Sinah |first4= Dinah |year= 1996 |title= Archaeology in Surrey 1992-3 |journal= Surrey Archaeological Collections |volume= 83 |pages= 187–228 |doi= 10.5284/1069217 |url= https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-379-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_83/surreyac083_187-228_bird.pdf |access-date= 8 August 2022 |archive-date= 21 August 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220821125506/https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-379-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_83/surreyac083_187-228_bird.pdf |url-status= live }}</ref> The [[Wey and Godalming Navigations|River Wey Navigation]] was authorised by [[Act of Parliament (UK)|Act of Parliament]] in 1651. Twelve [[lock (water navigation)|locks]] (including two flood locks), and {{convert|9|mi|km|abbr=on}} of new [[canal|cuts]] were constructed between the [[River Thames]] and Guildford, and the waterway opened in 1653.<ref>{{harvnb|Hadfield|1969|pp=118–119}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Vine|1973|pp=10–11}}</ref> The navigation had a positive impact on the economy of west Surrey. By the end of the 17th century, [[lumber|timber]] was being transported via the river from the county boundary with [[West Sussex]]<ref name=Vine_1973_p14>{{harvnb|Vine|1973|p=14}}</ref> and in 1724, [[Daniel Defoe]] wrote that corn from Farnham was being sent by barge to London.<ref name=Vine_1987_WeyNav>{{harvnb|Vine|1987|loc=Chapter: Wey Navigation}}</ref> The Act also allowed passengers to be transported via the Wey and the maximum one-way fare was capped at 1s, which was raised in 1671 to 1s 4d.<ref name=Vine_1973_p14/>

The Godalming Navigation was authorised in 1760 and was completed four years later.<ref name=Vine_1973_pp17-18>{{harvnb|Vine|1973|pp=17–18}}</ref> Four locks were built as part of the works and the Town Bridge was altered to allow barges to pass beneath it.<ref>{{harvnb|Vine|1987|loc=Fig. 50}}</ref> The period of the [[American Revolutionary War|American War of Independence]] (1775{{endash}}1783) was particularly profitable for the two waterways, and a total of 17,000 tonnes of cargo was transported in 1776.<ref name=Vine_1973_pp17-18/>{{refn|The [[Wey and Arun Canal]] between [[Shalford, Surrey|Shalford]] and [[Wisborough Green|Pallingham]] was opened in September 1816 and closed in July 1871. Traffic volumes were never high and the canal had little impact on the economic prosperity of Guildford.<ref>{{harvnb|Vine|1987|loc=Chapter: Wey and Arun Canal}}</ref>|group=note}} Traffic on the Wey and Godalming Navigations declined following the opening of the railway lines in the late 1840s.<ref name=Vine_1987_WeyNav/> The [[National Trust]] acquired the two waterways in the 1960s and have owned them ever since.<ref>{{cite web |title= River Wey Navigations – the back story |publisher= National Trust |url= https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/river-wey-and-godalming-navigations-and-dapdune-wharf/features/river-wey-navigations---the-back-story |access-date= 8 August 2022 |archive-date= 8 August 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220808140656/https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/river-wey-and-godalming-navigations-and-dapdune-wharf/features/river-wey-navigations---the-back-story |url-status= live }}</ref>

[[File:Guildford Station geograph-2663116-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg|thumb|right|[[Guildford railway station]] (1958)]]
The first railway to be constructed in Surrey was the [[South West Main Line|London to Southampton line]], which opened in stages from May 1838.<ref>{{cite newspaper The Times |title= Opening of the London And Southampton Railway |date= 14 May 1838 |issue= 4337}}</ref><ref name=Mitchell_Smith_1988_Intro>{{harvnb|Mitchell|Smith|1988|loc=Introduction}}</ref> [[Woking railway station]],{{refn|Woking station, initially known as Woking Common, was the terminus of the line from {{rws|Nine Elms}} until the section to {{rws|Winchfield}} opened in September 1838.<ref name=Mitchell_Smith_1988_Intro/>|group=note}} was built on the south side of the tracks for the convenience of those travelling by stagecoach from Guildford and quickly became the [[wikt:railhead|railhead]] for the western half of the county.<ref>{{harvnb|Wakeford|1987|pp=43–44}}</ref> [[Guildford railway station]] opened in 1845 as the terminus of a branch from Woking. Four years later, the line was extended to {{rws|Godalming}} and the [[North Downs Line|Reading, Guildford and Reigate Railway]] opened at the same time.<ref>{{harvnb|Mitchell|Smith|1985|loc=Introduction}}</ref> The final railway line, the [[New Guildford Line|line from Surbiton via Effingham Junction]] was opened in February 1888, with a new station to the northeast of the town centre, which was later named {{rws|London Road (Guildford)}}.<ref>{{harvnb|Mitchell|Smith|1990|loc=Historical Background, Fig. 101}}</ref>{{refn|The [[Cranleigh line|railway line from Guildford to Horsham via Cranleigh]] opened to passengers in October 1865 and closed in June 1965.<ref>{{harvnb|Oppitz|1988|pp=78, 81}}</ref>|group=note}}