Godalming Museum, 109a High Street, Godalming - 01483 426510 managervisitsurrey@gmail.com

Godalming is regarded as an expensive residential town, partly due to its visual appeal, favourable transport links and high proportion of private housing. In recent years it has been ranked the UK's third most desirable property hotspot, and 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.

The town has existed since Saxon times, and probably earlier. It is mentioned in the will of King Alfred the Great in 899 (where it and Guildford are gifted to Alfred's nephew, Æthelwold) and the name itself has Saxon origins, 'Godhelms Ingus' roughly translated as "the family of Godhelm", and probably referring to one of the first lords of the manor.

Godalming grew in size because its location is roughly halfway between Portsmouth and London, which encouraged traders to set up stalls and inns for travellers to buy from and rest in.

Godalming Parish Church has an early Saxon chancel and a Norman tower.

Godalming appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as Godelminge. It was held by William the Conqueror. Its domesday assets were: 2 churches, 25 ploughs, 40 acres of meadow, woodland worth 103 hogs. Its population was roughly 400 people. At the time, its manor belonged to the King, but a few hundred years later, ownership transferred to the Bishop of Salisbury, under a charter granted by King Edward I of England.

Godalming came to world attention in September 1881, when it became the first town in the world to have installed a public electricity supply, which made electricity available to consumers. It was Calder & Barnet who installed a Siemens AC Alternator and dynamo which were powered by a waterwheel, located at Westbrook Mill, on the river Wey. There were a number of supply cables, some of which were laid in the gutters, that fed seven arc lights and 34 Swan incandescent lights. Floods in late 1881 caused problems and in the end Calder & Barnet withdrew from the contract. It was taken over by Siemens. Under Siemens the supply system grew and a number of technical problems were solved. But later on in 1884 the whole town reverted to gas lighting as Siemens failed to tender for a contract to light the town. This was due to a survey they undertook in the town that failed to provide adequate support to make the business viable. Siemens had also lost money on the scheme in the early years, but was prepared to stay on in order to gain experience. Electricity returned to the town in 1904.

Godalming Town Council contains has 138 listed buildings, of which 82 are within the town centre rather than any of the named adjoining neighbourhoods, and 18 of which are monuments. These include Tudor timber framed buildings, 17th-century brickwork buildings and a wider selection of buildings are on the locally listed buildings register. One of its most famous landmarks is 'The Pepperpot' which is Godalming's old town hall.

Other significant buildings in the town include Edwin Lutyens's Red House, and a significant English public school, Charterhouse, which stands 0.7 mi (1.1 km) from the town centre, on the top of Charterhouse Hill, which is half-separated from Frith Hill by a steep ravine. Its main building is grade II listed and the chapel built by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott is Grade II* listed.

Winkworth Arboretum, with its collection of rare trees and shrubs, is a few miles to the south.