Woking (/ˈwoʊkɪŋ/ WOH-king) is a town and borough in northwest Surrey, England,
around 23 mi (36 km) from central London. It appears in Domesday
Book as Wochinges, and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner.
The earliest evidence of human activity is from the Paleolithic, but the low fertility of the
sandy local soils meant that the area was the least populated part of the county in 1086.
Between the mid-17th and mid-19th centuries, new transport links were constructed,
including the Wey Navigation, Basingstoke Canal and London to Southampton railway
line. The modern town was established in the mid-1860s, as the London Necropolis
Company began to sell surplus land surrounding the railway station for development.
Modern local government in Woking began with the creation of the Woking Local
Board in 1893, which became Woking Urban District Council (UDC) in 1894. The urban
district was significantly enlarged in 1907 when it took in the parish of Horsell, and again
in 1933 when it took in the parishes of Byfleet and Pyrford. The UDC was granted a
coat of arms in 1930 and Woking gained borough status in the 1974 reorganisation of
local government. In 2022, a total of 30 elected representatives serves on the council,
each with a term length of four years.
The Borough of Woking covers 64 km2 (25 sq mi) and had a population of 103,900 in
2021.[2] The main urban centre stretches from Knaphill in the west to Byfleet in the east,
but the satellite villages of Brookwood, Mayford, Pyrford and Old Woking retain strong
individual identities. Around 60% of the borough is protected by the Metropolitan Green
Belt, which severely limits the potential for further housebuilding. Recent developments
have included the construction of two residential tower blocks in the town centre and the
conversion of former industrial buildings to apartments. There are six Sites of Special
Scientific Interest within the borough boundaries, of which three form part of
the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area.
Almost the entire town centre dates from the 20th and 21st centuries. Elsewhere in the
borough, there are several historic buildings, including the ruins of Woking Palace, a
royal residence of Henry VII and Henry VIII. Parts of St Peter's Church in Old Woking
date from the reign of William I and Sutton Place, built for Richard Weston c. 1525, is
one of the earliest unfortified houses in England. The Shah Jahan Mosque, constructed
in 1889, was the first purpose-built Muslim place of worship in the UK. There are
numerous works of public art in the town centre, including a statue of the author, H. G.
Wells, who wrote The War of the Worlds while living in Maybury Road. Much of the
novel is set in the Woking area.
Toponymy
[edit]
The front (left) and back faces of an Anglo-Saxon sceat coin, found at Pyrford in 1997 and minted c.
675 – c. 680.[4]
The earliest surviving record of Woking is from Domesday Book of 1086, in which the
manor appears as Wochinges. In the 12th century, it is recorded
as Wokinges, Wokkinges, Wokinge and Wochinga.[5] The "monastery at Wocchingas" is
mentioned in a c. 1200 copy of an early 8th-century letter from Pope Constantine to
Hedda, Abbot of Bermondsey and Woking.[6][note 1] The first part of the name "Woking" is
thought to refer to an Anglo-Saxon individual, who may have been called "Wocc" or
"Wocca". The second part is derived from the Old English -ingas and means "people of"
or "family of".[5][8][note 2]
Geography
[edit]
See also: Surrey § Climate
Borough of Woking
[edit]
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
Show Woking town centreShow Woking town centre, Horsell,
Mayford and Old WokingShow Borough of WokingShow all
The Borough of Woking covers an area of 64 km2 (25 sq mi) in northwest Surrey.
Woking town, the main population centre, is surrounded by smaller, distinct settlements,
such as West Byfleet and Byfleet in the east and Knaphill to the west. The villages
of Brookwood and Mayford retain strong individual identities and lie just outside the
primary built-up area of the borough.[13]
Around 60% of the land in the borough is part of the Metropolitan Green Belt, which
severely limits the potential for urban expansion.[14] Of the six Sites of Special Scientific
Interest, five are areas of heathland[13] and the sixth covers the majority of
the Basingstoke Canal.[15][note 3]
Woking town centre
[edit]
Victoria Square, Woking
Woking town centre is around 23 mi (36 km) from central London. It covers an area of
about 50 ha (120 acres) to the north and south of the station, although the primary
shopping and office spaces are between the railway line and the Basingstoke Canal.
[17]
The two main shopping centres, The Peacocks and Wolsey Place, adjoin Jubilee
Square.[18] A second public space, Victoria Square, was completed in 2022 as part of a
project to construct two high-rise residential apartment blocks and a 23-storey hotel. [19][20]
[21]
Old Woking
[edit]
Old Woking, around 1 mi (1.6 km) south of the town centre,[22] close to the River Wey, is
the location of the original settlement of the manor of Woking. The village is thought to
have grown as an unplanned settlement surrounding St Peter's Church, parts of which
date from the 11th century. The basic street layout is likely to have been established in
Medieval times,[23] and there was a period of strong growth following the grant of a
market in 1662.[22][23] The settlement expanded northwards during the interwar period,
and Old Woking is now contiguous with the main urban area of the borough. [24]
Hydrology and geology
[edit]
The majority of the borough is drained by the River Wey, which flows along the
southeastern boundary of the borough, from Jacobs Well to Byfleet. The Hoe Stream,
which joins the Wey near Pyrford Village, runs from Fox Corner through Mayford.[25][note
4]
The Basingstoke Canal runs from west to east, broadly following the course of the
partly culverted Rive Ditch, and the northern part of the borough is drained by the
tributaries of the River Bourne.[25] There have been major flooding events in Woking in
1968, 2000,[27] 2014[28] and 2016.[29]
The strata on which the borough sits were deposited in the Cenozoic. The
sandy Bagshot Beds are the main outcrop around the town centre and to the north.[30] In
the west of the