Coordinates: 51°14′12″N 0°34′13″W / 51.236538°N 0.570309°W / 51.236538; -0.570309
Guildford i/ˈɡɪlfərd/ is the county town of Surrey, England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford. It is situated 27 miles (43 km) southwest of London on the A3 trunk road mid-way between the capital and Portsmouth.
The town has Saxon roots, and likely owes its location to the existence of a gap in the North Downs where the River Wey is forded by the Harrow Way. The town grew enough in importance that by 978 it was home to the Royal Mint. With the building of the Wey Navigation and Basingstoke Canal Guildford was in the centre of a network of waterways that aided its prosperity.
The Guildford pub bombing by the Provisional IRA in 1974 killed five people including four off-duty soldiers from the local barracks. The subsequently arrested suspects became known as the Guildford Four.
It is believed that Guildford was founded by Saxon settlers shortly after Roman authority had been removed from Britain (which was c.410AD). The site was likely chosen because the Harrow Way (an ancient trackway that continues along Hog's Back) crosses the River Wey at this point, via a ford. This probably gives rise to the second half of Guildford's name. The root of the first part is gold rather than society or meeting place.[citation needed] The Saxon name would have been Gyldeford, meaning golden ford. It has been suggested[by whom?] that the gold may refer to golden flowers by the ford, or the golden sand, but this is not certain. There is an old coaching Inn on the Epsom Road previously called the 'Sanford Arms', which almost certainly derives from 'Sand Ford', so this adds weight to the suggestion that 'Guildford' is a corruption of 'Gold Ford', referring to the very distinctive golden sand showing on the banks of the River Wey where it cuts through the sandy outcrop just south of the town.[citation needed]
Zachary Robert Guildford (born 8 February 1989) is a World Cup winning New Zealand rugby union player who plays for the Crusaders in the Super 15. He also plays provincial rugby for Hawke's Bay and was selected for the All Blacks end of year tour in 2009 and the 2010 Steinlager Series. Guildford played for the All Blacks during the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
Zac Guildford was born on 8 February 1989 in Greytown, New Zealand. He is the son of Deborah and Robert Guildford. He has one younger brother, Victor. When Zac was 10 years old his family moved to Napier, Hawke's Bay where he went through the rugby academy system. He attended Napier Boys' High School. Zac's inclusion in the New Zealand All Blacks came after a remarkable national representative career with New Zealand Secondary Schools, Under 19 and two seasons with the New Zealand Under 20.
Guildford first represented New Zealand at the U19 World Cup in 2007. He then represented New Zealand at the JWC in 2008. In his final season at International age grade level the following year, Guildford again played for New Zealand, in that year's JWC hosted in Japan. Tragically, his father Robert died suddenly shortly after the conclusion of the Final against England.