History Of The Guild

The Guild was founded in 1950 by seven guides who met at the historic George Inn in Southwark, a stone’s throw from our present headquarters.;

Known then as The Guild of Guide Lecturers, its emblem depicted London Pride, the small plant that flourished on bomb sites.

These guides were trained by the British Travel and Holidays Association to interpret to visitors a capital recovering from the ravages of war. Many tourists came to London in 1951 to visit The Festival of Britain.

The Guild office has recently moved into bright new offices in the heart of historic Southwark, moments away from London Bridge Station. Our office contains a meeting room and lecture theatre with the latest AV equipment to enable us to offer meetings in person and via Zoom, lectures and training courses. A wonderful contrast to the chaos outside caused by the building of the Jubilee Line extension.