Everything about Woking totally explained
Woking is a large town and
civil parish that shares its name with the surrounding
local government district, located in the west of
Surrey,
England. It functions as a
dormitory town of the
London commuter belt and is located 23 miles (37 km) south west of
Charing Cross in
central London. Woking town itself, excluding the surrounding district, has a population of 62,796, and the
civil parish, which covers part of the urban area inclusive of
Sheerwater and
Knaphill, has a population of 30,403. It should be noted that this population shouldn't be confused with the local government district (
the borough of Woking), which has an approximate population of 90,700 (2006 estimate).
Woking also plays a role in literature: it's the town in which the Martians landed in
H. G. Wells science fiction novel
The War of the Worlds. It also features in
Douglas Adams's The Meaning of Liff, as the word for when you go to the kitchen but forget why.
Twin towns
History
Though Woking's earliest written appearance is in
Domesday Book, it's mentioned as the site of a monastery in an 8th century context, as
Wochingas. In Domesday Book it appears as
Wochinges, being held in 1086 by King
William the Conqueror, Walter FitzOther,
constable of Windsor Castle, and Ansgot and Godfrey from
Osbern FitzOsbern, then
bishop of Exeter.
Modern Woking formed around the
railway station, built over 150 years ago at the junction between lines to London, the south coast, and the
south-west of England, and the private railway to
Brookwood Cemetery, which was developed by the
London Necropolis Company as an overflow burial ground for London's dead. As a result, the original settlement became known as "Old Woking". Later, Woking was home to the first
crematorium in the United Kingdom (St Johns), and the first
mosque in the UK (on Oriental Road). The Shahjehan Mosque was commissioned by
Shahjehan,
Begum of
Bhopal (1868-1901), one of the four female Muslim rulers of Bhopal who reigned between 1819 and 1926.
The War of the Worlds (1898), by H. G. Wells, based in Horsell common in Woking is an early science fiction novel which describes an invasion of England by aliens from Mars. It is one of the earliest and best-known depictions of an alien invasion of Earth, and has influenced many others, as well as spawning several films and radio dramas, and a television series based on the story. The 1938 radio broadcast caused public outcry against the episode, as many listeners believed that an actual Martian invasion was in progress, a notable example of mass hysteria.
Politics
The
constituency of Woking has historically been a
Conservative party safe seat, with the
Liberal Democrats the principal opposition in the last two
general elections. Its current
Member of Parliament is
Humfrey Malins, who has a majority of around 6,500. The borough council is currently run by the Conservatives.
Facilities
Woking has a modern shopping centre called
The Peacocks and an older shopping area, Wolsey Place.
The main area for evening entertainment is around Chertsey Road which contains restaurants serving a number of
cuisines and there are also numerous bars and pubs. The Ambassadors cinemas and
New Victoria Theatre and a separate leisure centre. Outdoor facilities include a
skatepark,
tennis courts,
five-a-side football pitches, a
cricket pitch (during the summer),
bowling greens, a
crazy golf course, and a children's adventure playground. These leisure facilities are all located within the attractively landscaped Woking Park near to the town centre. Woking also has the largest public library in Surrey.
The scene at St Peter's Church, Old Woking is an inspiration for many local artists, as is another local beauty spot at the lock at St John's Lye.
Woking is home to a new arts and heritage centre called 'The Lightbox'. The modern structure, located next to the Basingstoke Canal, was designed by architects Marks Barfield, the architects of the
London Eye.
There is also a
Hawker Hunter jet fighter painted silver and mounted on a pole roughly ten metres tall outside the 'Big Apple' family entertainment complex. This was used to promote the previous 'Planets' family entertainment complex, designed to look like a space craft, and has never been removed. However, originally the craft was black with various logos and livery on it. These were removed when the Planets complex was taken over.
Energy policy
» See related article: Energy policy of the United Kingdom
Woking council is one of country's leaders in adopting greener energy technologies. Several
combined heat and power stations provide
district heating and
electricity, and electricity is also provided by a combination of
hydrogen fuel cells and
solar cells dispersed throughout the borough. These are linked via an innovative private electricity distribution system operating completely off the public
power grid.
In order to do this the local government laid new power lines to all locations on the Woking
sustainable community energy system (due to
Department of Trade and Industry regulations). Should the public power grid fail, central Woking would continue to have an energy supply.
The cost for providing this is approximately
UK£0.01/
kWh less than for public electricity. It has been reported that the
borough saves UK£974,000 a year in energy costs if the installation costs are ignored.
Woking Station Canopy, which was approved by Woking Councillors in March 2004, was built in 2007. It is equipped with photovoltaic cells to collect sunlight and convert it into energy.
On Friday 23rd March 2007, Prince Charles opened a climate change exhibition in Woking. The exhibition, which is a joint venture by Business in the Community and BCSC and endorsed by the Climate Group, featured display stands with information on issues like recycling, energy use, transport, waste reduction and food sources. He also inspected work on the Albion Square canopy. After the launch, the prince took lunch at Auberge. He then gave a speech to introduce Al Gore’s film An Inconvenient Truth, which was being viewed by local business leaders.
Transport
Rail
Woking railway station is situated on the
Alton Line,
Portsmouth Direct Line,
South Western Main Line and
West of England Main Line. Accordingly, there are frequent trains to and from
London Waterloo (via
Clapham Junction), a journey taking approximately half an hour. There is also the twice hourly
Waterloo/Woking stopping service that calls at many stations between Waterloo and Woking.
A canopy has been built between the station and the main shopping area of the town. It stretches from the railway station entrance (town - platform 1 - side) to Albion House and includes landscaping of the area which, along with the canopy, creates a new entrance to the town from the railway station.
Road
Woking is accessible from
M25 motorway,
M3 Motorway & the
A3.
A320, the main access road, passing through the centre of town connects to the
M25 junction 11 to Woking's north and to the
A3 to its south at
Guildford.
M3 Motorway Junction 3 connects to Woking either via
Chobham (B3046) or A322 & A324.
Bus
A
RailAir coach service connects Woking and London
Heathrow airport. The service runs approximately every 30 minutes from the railway station main entrance to the airport bus station and terminal 5.
Gatwick Airport can be accessed via
Guildford railway station or
Clapham Junction.
The bus services in Woking are mainly operated by
Arriva,
Countryliner and
Travel Surrey. The main bus terminal is just outside the station and provides services to
Byfleet and
West Byfleet,
Camberley,
Guildford,
Kingston,
Ripley and
Staines.
The
Bustler community transport service operates in and around Woking, serving people with a transportation disadvantage.
Suburbs
Woking has several suburban districts including :-
Horsell, Hook Heath, Mount Hermon, Barnsbury, Maybury, Sheerwater,
Goldsworth Park, St Johns,
Pyrford, Kingfield, Westfield, Ridgway and
Old Woking.
The adjacent village of
Knaphill is often considered outer suburbs of Woking.
Old Woking is cited as a separate village.
Mayford and
Sutton Green are to the south on the border between Woking and
Guildford
Sport
Football
Woking has a
non-League football club,
Woking F.C., that competes in the
Nationwide Conference (tier 5). The origin of the club's
nickname, the "Cards", is disputed. One attractive proposal is that the name was acquired because Cardinal
Thomas Wolsey, after whom the smaller of the two shopping centres is named, was staying with
King Henry VIII at
Woking Palace (the remains of which can be seen near the
River Wey at Old Woking) when he heard he'd been made a
cardinal by
Pope Leo X in 1515. A more prosaic alternative is that the Cards are so named because of the
cardinal red in one half of their home strip. It is interesting to note that this colour was chosen because of the town's link to Cardinal Wolsey.
Rugby
Woking has a
rugby union club that competes in Surrey League 3 (Level 11).
Chobham Rugby club won their league in 2006/07 and now play in London 2 South (Level 6) and have over 1200 members. They have recently had Dan Frazier (prop) signed by NEC Harlequins from their Youth Development system.
Hockey
Woking Hockey Club women's first XI compete in the English
Hockey League Women's League 1 (tier 2); the men's first XI compete in a regional league. The club has two
AstroTurf pitches at a clubhouse based in
Goldsworth Park.
Cricket
Woking also has a number of cricket clubs including Old Woking CC, Woking & Horsell CC, and Westfield CC.
Motor Racing
The
McLaren Formula One motor racing team is based near to the town, as is
Räikkönen Robertson Racing, begun by Ferrari driver
Kimi Räikkönen.
Korfball
Woking Korfball Club
has been active for 25 years, training and playing in the Woking area. It continues to thrive in the London league, challenging for titles every season and with 2 or 3 teams of players appearing regularly for the club. In the Season 2007/2008 Woking was second in the London & District Korball Association's Senior Premier League.
Thai Boxing
Woking has two Muay Thai (or Thai Boxing) clubs one (Woking Thai Boxing http://www.wokingthaiboxing.co.uk/) of which uses Woking Leisure Centre while the other (Shin Kick http://www.wokingmas.co.uk/gym/) has its own premises.
Education
Infant and junior schools in the area include: Goldsworth Primary School, Knaphill Junior School, Knaphill Lower School, Horsell CofE Aided Junior School, Horsell Village School, The
Prins Willem-Alexander school (Dutch private primary school), St Hugh of Lincoln Catholic Primary School, St. Dunstan's Catholic Primary School, Barnsbury Primary and Infant School, Westfield Primary School, The Hermitage Junior School, Sythwood Primary School and The Oaktree School, Beaufort Primary School and St John's Primary School.
Secondary schools in the area include:
Bishop David Brown School,
St. John the Baptist School,
St Andrew's School The Winston Churchill School, and
Woking High School.
Woking College is located in Old Woking and provides post-16 education.
There are also private sector schools. There are several private preparatory schools in Woking: Hoe Bridge, St Andrew's, Greenfield, Oakfield School and Ripley Court are all mixed, while Halstead School is girls only.
Peer Productions, a large theatre company, is based at the Woking Youth Arts Centre in
Knaphill. It provides dramatic education for students of all ages.
Woking is also home to the
Tante Marie cookery school, the UK's oldest established professional cookery school. According to the Woking News and Mail, it has now been bought by famous chef
Gordon Ramsey who intends to set up his own catering college.
Healthcare
Woking comes under
Surrey PCT (Primary Care Trust), administered and run by
NHS. Group of GP's together with Woking Community hospital serves the local resident's primary healthcare needs.
Specialist hospitals near by are St Peter's Hospital,
Chertsey (for
A&E) and Royal Surrey County Hospital in
Guildford.
For
Private healthcare needs, Nuffield Hospital mainly serves Woking's local residents.
Woking used to have its own hospital with maternity and A&E amongst other departments. Woking Victoria Hospital was situated on the corner of Victoria Way and Chobham Road, right by the Basingstoke Canal, from 1950 until the mid-80's.
Notable residents
Woking was home to
author H.G. Wells, who had the
Martians in
The War of the Worlds land on
Horsell Common, close to the town centre. There is a large sculpture of a (Wellsian)
Martian Fighting Machine in the town centre commemorating Woking's fictional destruction.
The English composer Dame
Ethel Smyth (
1858-
1944) lived and died in Woking.
The Jam are from Woking, and its singer/songwriter
Paul Weller (who later, together with
Mick Talbot, formed
The Style Council) was born there in
1958. The song
A Town Called Malice was written about Woking, and Weller's
1995 solo album,
Stanley Road, is named after the street in which he was born and lived.
Kazuo Ishiguro studied at Woking Grammar School.
Other notable people who were born in Woking include:
Ian Ogilvy, actor,
1943;
Ron Dennis, CEO/Chairman of the
McLaren Group,
1947;
Liz Lynne,
Liberal Democrat politician,
1948;
Rick Parfitt, guitarist for
Status Quo,
1948;
Douglas Pearce,
musician behind
Death in June,
1956;
Carl May,
sociologist, 1960;
Sean Lock,
comedian, 1963;
Susie Dent, a
lexicographer and the dictionary expert on
Countdown,
1964; and
Harry Hill,
comedian,
1964.
McLaren driver
Lewis Hamilton also live in Woking.
Matt Willis; band member of
Busted and winner of
I'm A Celebrity... lived in Woking attending Woking High School.
Dennis Wise, the English Football player for
Chelsea and current manager of
Leeds United also lived in Woking; so did
Peter Davison (
Doctor Who) both attending
The Winston Churchill School (Woking).
Literature
Douglas Adams describes Woking in
The Deeper Meaning of Liff (ptcbl. vb.) as:
» Standing in the kitchen wondering what you came in here for.
Emergency services
Woking is served by these emergency services:
Surrey Police.
South East Coast Ambulance Service as of 1 July 2006, is the local NHS Ambulance Services Trust. The Surrey Ambulance Service, Sussex, and Kent Ambulance services have all merged, and have now ceased to exist.
Surrey Fire & Rescue Service.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Woking'.
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