Woking

Sister cities

• Amstelveen
• Rastatt
• Le Plessis-Robinson

History

The earliest evidence of human activity in the Woking area is from the Palaeolithic. Flints dated to years before present (BP) have been found at Horsell, and knife blades from BP have been discovered at Pyrford. Two bell barrows and a disc barrow at Horsell are thought to date from the early Bronze Age. Pollen samples taken from the westernmost barrow suggest that the local environment at the time of construction was predominantly open heathland with some areas of deciduous woodland. The council was granted a coat of arms in 1930 and three years later it applied to the Privy Council for borough status, but without success. The parishes within the borough were abolished at the same time, making it an unparished area. A civil parish council for Byfleet was created in 1990, As of 2022, there are no parish councils in the borough. The unimproved River Wey is thought to have been used for the transport of goods and passengers from ancient times. In the early Tudor period, there was a wharf at Woking Palace and in 1566 there is a reference to a "certaein locke... between Woodham lands and Brook lande upon the water of the Weye". The River Wey Navigation was first authorised by an act of the Commonwealth Parliament in 1651. Twelve locks (including two flood locks), and of new cuts were constructed between the Thames and Guildford, of which three are in the borough. The opening of the new navigation had a modest effect on the local area, and, by the 18th century, flour produced by watermills at Woking was being shipped to London from a new wharf at Cartbridge near Send. The Basingstoke Canal was authorised by the Basingstoke Canal Act 1778 (18 Geo. 3. c. 75) and was intended to provide a route for the transport of farm produce and timber from Hampshire to London. The…

Geography

The Borough of Woking covers an area of in north-west 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. Around 60% of the land in the borough is part of the Metropolitan Green Belt, which severely limits the potential for urban expansion. Of the six Sites of Special Scientific Interest, five are areas of heathland Woking town centre is around from central London. It covers an area of about to the north and south of the station, although the primary shopping and office spaces are between the railway line and the Basingstoke Canal. The two main shopping centres, Victoria Place and Peacocks Shopping Centre, adjoin Jubilee Square. 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. Old Woking, around south of the town centre, 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, and there was a period of strong growth following the grant of a market in 1662. 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. The Basingstoke Canal runs from west to east, broadly following…