Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford

Our 46th wedding anniversary celebration today. We went to the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford, to see a production of Mansfield Park, with a meal at Zizzie’s afterwards.

The Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, the white building in the picture, opened in the 1960’s on the banks of the River Wey, in memory of the French actress who lived in the area. It’s one of my favourite theatres, more comfortable and friendly than some modernised places I’ve been to, and a lovely setting.

The red building to the left is the Mill Studio, an 80 seat intimate venue for Youth Theatre and specialist productions which wouldn’t otherwise get an airing. It’s thought there has been a mill working with woollen cloth on this site since before the Norman Conquest. In the 1600’s, it was donated to the town to provide income for the poor of Guildford. By the 1800’s it had become a water works and a hundred years later, was serving as a scenery store for the theatre. It wasn’t until 1993 that it became the successful venue we know today, giving Youth Theatre opportunities it would not have otherwise. The Yvonne Arnaud Theatre also has a hydro electric scheme based at the mill, providing electricity for around 50 houses. Enterprising.

Happy Anniversary!


T'is a thing which I remember;
To name it thrills me yet:
One day of one September
I never can forget."

Helen Hunt Jackson, ‘September’