This page combines information from several sources and also indicates how the society has evolved over time.
Society Name
Descriptions
From (year)
To (year)
Web site
Guildford Diocesan Guild
Was previously in the very large Winchester Diocesan Guild. [Research by John Harrison.]
Proposals to divide the old ecclesiastical Diocese of Winchester had been discussed as early as 1903 but it was not until 1924 that the decision was ratified by the Church Assembly and both Houses of Parliament. Soon after, suggestions that the bellringers' Winchester Diocesan Guild be similarly partitioned were discussed at Guild and District meetings, particularly the Guildford and Yorktown Districts. Firm moves towards the formation of the new Diocese of Guildford Guild were finally made with a proposal put before the Guildford District of the Winchester Guild at a meeting on 12th November 1926. The area to be included in the new diocese was nominally covered by the Guildford and Yorktown Districts. However, many towers, particularly in the east of the new Diocese, were not affiliated to the Winchester Guild and the two Districts between them only represented 28 of the 57 towers in the new diocesan area, many of the rest having strong ties with the Surrey Association. In December 1926 five members from each District met at Woking and this was followed by a Special General Meeting of the Yorktown District in January 1927, when it was agreed to support the Guildford District Plan for the new Guild. A Committee was then set up, comprising the District representatives together with others invited from towers not affiliated to the Winchester Guild. The Guild Central Committee acknowledged the wishes of the Guildford and Yorktown Districts to form a separate Guild, and at an Annual General Meeting of the Winchester Guild, held in Guildford on 2nd July 1927, terms for the separation were agreed. The new Diocese came into being on 1st May 1927. A preliminary General Meeting of the new Guild was held in Guildford on 19th November 1927, attended by nearly 200 prospective members from 42 towers in the Diocese. The Inaugural Meeting of the Guild was held in Guildford on 31st December 1927, and here the motion to create the Guild was unanimously accepted. [Research and observations associated with the Council Library Certificates Collection by Chris Ridley.]
founded 1927 [Research and observations associated with the Council Library Badge Collection by Chris Ridley.]
