The Angel whose story stretches back to the Middle Ages is a fascinating timber-framed building in the centre of Guildford's Historic High Street. It occupies two of the plots laid out in Saxon times; however at some time in the fifteenth century the properties were combined under one ownership.

The oldest part of the hotel is the stone vaulted undercroft that dates back to the 1300s and still has the remains of the original spiral staircase. Private dining and banquets are held in this unique setting.

The earliest documentary evidence for the building is in a deed from Pancras Chamberlyn of 1527 when Sir Christopher More bought the building called the Angel for £10.00. His son and heir who was a favoured minister of Queen Elizabeth, and who built nearby Loseley House (open to the public), sold the lease in 1545. The new owner was John Hole, a shoemaker but the details of rooms and stabling suggest it was an inn by this time. The roof of this period still remains and from the inn you can see the northern gable which conceals curious timbers.

In 1606 John Astret left this "Hospitio" (inn) to his son and it may have been at this time that the inn was largely rebuilt. The splendid Jacobean woodwork and panelling is very much a feature of the hotel as is the massive brick fireplace, although this would have been built earlier.

By the main staircase hangs an original"Parliamentary" clock which would have reminded travellers when their coaches were due to depart.

Since Guildford was on the main road from London to Southampton, Winchester and Portsmouth throughout the centuries numerous travellers would have passed through the town, especially soldiers and sailors.

Guests brought prosperity to the Angel; however due to compulsory billeting of soldiers, the inn was bankrupt in the late 1770's.

The next owners were local brewers, firstly Frances Skurray and then in 1819 the Elkin family. It was in the height of the coaching era and they probably added the present frontage. A stucco facade was applied to the old timber-framed building and the signs added: POSTING HOUSE to indicate that fresh horses could be hired here, and LIVERY STABLES to show that customer's horses could be cared for in their absence. Another reminder of this period is the hoist from the hayloft at the right of the inn yard.

The arrival of the railway in Guildford in 1845 brought an end to the lucrative coaching trade, when in the High Street alone there were six coaching inns and over 30 beer houses.With the exception of The Angel, all the great coaching inns have disappeared over the years.

One famous guest who stayed here in 1876 was the young Prince Imperial of France who was later killed in the Zulu Wars. The shadowy spectre of another foreign soldier of this time has been seen occasionally in one of the timber-beamed bedrooms.

In 1989 The Angel was sold to property developers who wished to convert it into shops, but after a great public outcry planning permission was refused and the hotel was saved.

In 1990 the hotel was sold to professional hoteliers who took great care in refurbishing the inn, retaining much of the original structure and atmosphere of this important centre of hospitality for many generations.