Guildford, diocese of

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Guildford, diocese of. The see, created in 1927, comprises most of Surrey. Because the area was poor agriculturally, economic development was weak and the population small, until road improvements in the 17th and 18th cents. and the advent of the railways knit Surrey closely to London. Because of this only half the parish churches date from before 1830, but Chertsey abbey, founded c.960, was significant enough to be Henry VI's original burial place before his final interment at Windsor (1484). John Wesley preached his last sermon at Leatherhead in 1791. The massive increase in population in the early 20th cent. necessitated the creation of a new bishopric which was carved out of the Winchester diocese. The cathedral, designed by Sir Edward Maufe and built between 1936 and 1961, is in a simplified Gothic style.

Revd Dr William M. Marshall

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