page_title: Godalming
section_title: Town halls
hierarchical_section_title: Godalming / Landmarks / Town halls
caption_attribution_description: English: The southeast façade of the Borough Hall in 2016
context_page_description: Godalming is a historic market town, civil parish and administrative centre of the Borough of Waverley in Surrey, England, 4 miles SSW of Guildford. The town traverses the banks of the River Wey in the Greensand Ridge – a hilly, heavily wooded part of the outer London commuter belt and Green Belt. In 1881, it became the first place in the world to have a public electricity supply and electric street lighting.
  Godalming is regarded as an expensive residential town, partly due to its visual appeal, favourable transport links and high proportion of private housing. In 2006 it was ranked the UK's third most desirable property hotspot, and in 2007 it was voted the fourth best area of the UK in which to live. The borough of Waverley, which includes Godalming, was judged in 2013 to have the highest quality of life in Great Britain, and in 2016 to be the most prosperous place in the UK.
  Godalming is 30.5 mi southwest of London and shares a three-way twinning arrangement with the towns of Joigny in France and Mayen in Germany. Friendship links are in place with the US state of Georgia and with Moscow. James Oglethorpe of Godalming was the founder of the colony of Georgia.
context_section_description: The 19th century town hall, nicknamed 'the Pepperpot' due to its cupola, is a distinctive octagonal building on the High Street. Its unique design means has become emblematic of the town.  Built in 1814, the Town Hall replaced the medieval "Old Market House" that had occupied the site since the early Middle Ages. It was in this Market House (and its predecessors) that the local Hundred Court met and discussed matters of local importance for more than a thousand years. The upstairs rooms continued to be used for civic gatherings until 1908. The Pepperpot later housed the town museum, and continues to be used as a public function room. The arched area beneath the building, at street level, has been used as a marketplace. The successor town hall is called Godalming Borough Hall and has its main frontage on Bridge Street.
caption: The southeast façade of the Borough Hall in 2016
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