To spot the Rodboro Buildings, look for a large, curved corner building with rows of tall, grid-patterned windows and a mix of brown and red bricks-it's right at the junction of Bridge Street and Onslow Street, and its bold “The Rodboro Buildings” sign makes it hard to miss!
Welcome to the very heart of Guildford’s industrial adventure-where history and horsepower meet! Take a moment to look up at this impressive building, with its brickwork glowing orange-brown in the daylight and its rows of gigantic windows gleaming like the eyes of an old, friendly giant. Imagine the year is 1901: the air outside is thick with the scent of coal smoke and the nervous excitement of invention. Here you stand, where John Dennis and his brother Raymond decided that Guildford was the perfect place to build… well, just about everything on four wheels.
Back then, the Dennis brothers were running a bustling car and cycle workshop, but apparently, they were more cramped than a pair of socks after a tumble in the dryer! So, what did they do? They built this very factory-one of the world’s very first purpose-made car factories. That’s right, you’re looking at the origins of motor manufacturing magic and a proud, Grade II listed beacon of British ingenuity.
Now, let your imagination wander inside. Down in the basement, crates were stacked high with spare parts and anticipation. On the ground floor, serious men with starched collars argued over engine parts, while across the curved corner (just where the building bends snugly with the street), shiny cars gleamed in the showroom, each whispering promises of adventure and speed. Electricity, still a novelty at the time, was pumped through the building by a Crossley engine and dynamo humming in the background. Let’s not forget the fantastic lift at the south-eastern end-every car’s first ride, before it ever hit the road!
By 1902, Dennis was making 300 vehicles a year. Mind you, in those days, seeing one car was a surprise-imagine watching rows of them assembled floor by floor, only to be whisked away by lift, ready for the world outside. It was inside these walls that something quietly remarkable was invented: the worm-driven rear axle. Sounds like something a cunning earthworm might dream up, but trust me, it changed cars forever-out went the rattling chains, in came smooth rides.
But the story picks up speed: by 1904, Dennis wasn’t just making cars anymore. Buses and vans joined the line-up; soon enough, in 1908, the very first Dennis fire engine rolled out these very doors, ready to take on the blazes of Britain! Demand was so high that the operation eventually moved up to Woodbridge Hill, and though production shifted away by 1913, these sturdy walls became the nerve centre of the company’s operations.
Now, if you think the Rodboro Buildings were going to settle down after their automotive heyday, think again. In 1919, a boot and shoe company took over, importing skilled workers and putting the “rod” and “boro” into local legend. The name stuck. By the 1930s, the building had more stories than a double-decker bus: trolley manufacturing, a pet shop, a barbers, and even a car showroom! During World War II, it thumped with urgency once more, with Red Cross parcels packed for POWs and munitions assembled for the war effort.
Post-war, cricket sweaters for national heroes were knitted here, sweets were stacked to the rafters for wholesale, dancers twirled on shiny floors, and the beat of nightclubs pulsed into the small hours. By the 1980s, it nearly met the wrecking ball, but in a plot twist worthy of any movie, English Heritage gave it protected status in 1986, saving it forever for us to enjoy.
Today, as you look in, you might catch some live music or the clink of glasses from the pub-a far cry from the whir of engines, but every bit as lively. And upstairs? The Academy of Contemporary Music keeps the creative spirit alive. So, if these walls could talk, I bet you’d need to pull up a chair and order a drink-it’s a tale that would last well into the night!
