Coordinates: 51°18′58″N 0°33′40″W / 51.3162°N 0.561°W / 51.3162; -0.561

Woking
Woking Town Square before its improvement
Woking  Woking shown within Surrey
Population	62,796
OS grid reference	TQ003584
- London	23 mi (37 km) NE
District	Woking
Shire county	Surrey
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	WOKING
Postcode district	GU21, GU22
Dialling code	01483
Police	Surrey
Fire	Surrey
Ambulance	South East Coast
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Woking
List of places: UK • England • Surrey

Woking ( /ˈwoʊkɪŋ/) is a large town and civil parish that shares its name with the surrounding local government district, located in the west of Surrey, UK. It is part of the Greater London Urban Area and the London commuter belt, with frequent trains and a journey time of approximately 24 minutes to Waterloo station.^[1] Woking is 23 miles (37 km) southwest of Charing Cross in central London. Woking town itself, excluding the surrounding district, has a population of 62,796,^[2] with the whole local government district (the borough of Woking) having a population of 92,400 (mid 2009 estimate).^[3] Currently, Woking is a Conservative constituency, with Jonathan Lord as Woking's Member of Parliament.

In literature, Woking is where the Martians first land in H. G. Wells' science fiction novel The War of the Worlds. In music, "Town Called Malice" was written about Woking by Paul Weller and recorded by his band, The Jam. The song reached No. 1 in the UK Charts.^[4]

History[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Woking Palace

Though Woking's earliest written appearance is in Domesday Book, it is 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 was formed in the area to the south of the Basingstoke Canal (opened in 1794) around the railway station, built in 1838 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 1 mile to the south-east, on the River Wey, became known as "Old Woking". Later, Woking Crematorium at St John's became the first crematorium in the United Kingdom.

Shah Jahan Mosque, the oldest in the UK

The first purpose-built mosque in the UK, the Shah Jahan Mosque on Oriental Road, 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 mosque has given rise to the town's significant Asian community.

The setting for the novel The War of the Worlds (1898), by H. G. Wells, is Horsell Common north of Woking. This is an early science fiction novel which describes an invasion of Earth 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 in the United States 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[link]

The constituency of Woking has historically been a Conservative safe seat, with the Liberal Democrats being the principal opposition in the last five general elections. Its current Member of Parliament is Jonathan Lord.

Elections to the borough council take place in three out of every four years, with one-third elected in each election. The latest election in 2011 gave the Conservatives an overall majority of seats for the first time in 20 years.^[5]

Cllr Ken Howard was elected the 38th Mayor of Woking in May 2011. He is the first non-religious mayor of Woking.^{[citation needed]}

Religion[link]

St Mary's Church, Horsell

Woking has a multicultural population. The main religions in the area are Christianity and Islam.

Woking has many old, and new, churches including St Mary's Church in Horsell. St. Peter's, in Old Woking has the oldest door in Surrey. It is likely that it is the third oldest door in the British Isles after being dated by dendrochronology.^{[citation needed]}

Just outside of Woking town centre is the Shah Jahan Mosque, the first purpose-built mosque in the British Isles and Western Europe. The mosque was completed in 1889.

Facilities[link]

Woking has a modern shopping centre called The Peacocks and an older shopping area, Wolsey Place. The Peacocks Centre underwent development work in 2010 to add a new facade in the town square. There was an extension that consisted of adding glass with coloured lights that change in sequence.^[6]

The main area for evening entertainment is around Chertsey Road^[7] which contains restaurants serving a number of cuisines and there are also numerous bars and pubs. The Ambassadors cinemas^[8] and New Victoria Theatre^[8] can be accessed via the top floor of The Peacocks.

Woking has an indoor swimming pool, "Pool in the Park",^[9] and a separate leisure centre which is opposite Pool in the Park. 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^[10] near to the town centre. Woking also has the largest public library in Surrey which is located in the town square.

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.^[11] Woking has many churches.

Woking is home to an arts and heritage centre called 'The Lightbox'.^[12] The modern structure, located next to the Basingstoke Canal, was designed by architects Marks Barfield,^[13] the architects of the London Eye. Woking is also to home to the Surrey History Centre. The Surrey History Centre contains much Historical Information, archives and Records on Surrey.

A Hawker Hunter jet fighter mounted on a pole roughly ten metres tall is situated outside the 'Big Apple' family entertainment complex. This is the last Hunter built and was used to promote the previous 'Planets' family entertainment complex. Originally black, the plane is now finished in all-over silver.

Energy policy[link]

Woking council is one of country's leaders in adopting greener energy technologies.^{[citation needed]} 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.^[14] 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.^[15]

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.^[15] By March 2004 the initiatives had also cut the borough's carbon emissions by 17.24%, and those of the council by 77.4%.^[16]

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.^[17]

On 23 March 2007, Prince Charles opened a climate change exhibition in Woking. The exhibition, which was 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[link]

Rail[link]

Woking railway station, Platform 5 (south) side

Woking railway station is on the Alton Line, Portsmouth Direct Line, South Western Main Line and West of England Main Line. There are frequent trains to and from London Waterloo (via Clapham Junction), a journey taking approximately 25–30 minutes. There is also a twice hourly Waterloo–Woking stopping service that calls at many stations between Waterloo and Woking.

Class 33 Number: 33008 passes through Woking

Gatwick Airport can be accessed via Guildford railway station or Clapham Junction. London Heathrow Airport has no direct train services from the south west of England, so a Railair service operates between Woking and Heathrow.

A canopy costing £2.8 million 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. The project included landscaping and the provision of a new way to the town from the railway station.^[18]

Rail Accident Investigation Branch has one of its two operational centres in Woking.^[19][20]

Roads[link]

Woking is accessible from the M25 motorway (junction 11), the M3 motorway (junction 3) and the A3.

The main access road is the A320 between Guildford and Staines, which passes through the town centre and connects to the M25 to the north, and to the A3 to the south at Guildford.

Bus and coach[link]

A Railair coach service is run by National Express, connecting Woking railway station and London Heathrow Airport, in the absence of a direct train link to Heathrow. The bus services in Woking are mainly operated by Abellio Surrey, Arriva and Countryliner. The Bustler community transport service, which operates from bases Westfield and St John's, uses a fleet of minibuses to serve people with a transportation disadvantage.^[21]

Arriva Guildford & West Surrey passing through Woking

Canal[link]

The Basingstoke Canal, completed in 1794, passes through the north of the town and is crossed by several footbridges and road bridges. The Lightbox, an Art Gallery, is sandwiched between the canal and Victoria Way, a dual carriageway. The canal underwent restoration in the 1960s and 1970s and 1980s with the restoration completed on 10th May 1991.

River and navigation[link]

The River Wey and Wey Navigation also runs through the Borough of Woking

Law[link]

Woking has a Magistrates Court and a Police Station, which is housed in a former school. In the area there are smaller police stations. Nearby, in Guildford and Surrey Heath there are two prisons: a Category C and a women's prison.

Demographics[link]

Woking is a multicultural town. There has long been a large tightly-knit Italian community in Woking, most of whom originated from the Sicilian town of Mussomeli.^[22] The majority of the original arrivals worked in the Britax factory in Byfleet. Others worked on the mushroom farms in Chobham or for the James Walker company. Many started their own landscaping or ice cream businesses. St Dunstan's Catholic Church in Woking holds masses in Italian.

There is a large Pakistani population in Woking, centred around the suburbs of Maybury and Sheerwater,^[23] near the Shah Jahan Mosque. This partly originates from workers at the then nearby Sorbo Rubber factory.^{[citation needed]}

Woking has recently seen an influx of eastern European immigrants, mostly from Poland.^[24] Many Nepalis are also now settling in the suburbs of Woking as part of the Aldershot overspill.

Projects[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2010)

Woking 2027[link]

This is a Council sponsored project to improve Woking by 2027. There are 6 main objectives.

1. A strong community spirit with a clear sense of belonging and responsibility.
2. A clean, healthy and safe environment.
3. A transport system that is linked and accessible, recognising Woking's potential as a transport hub.
4. Access to decent affordable housing for local people and key workers.
5. A community which values personal health and well-being.
6. Provide opportunities and encourage people to participate in learning throughout their lives so they progress and reach their full potential.

Hoe Valley Scheme[link]

This is a £40 million to take hundreds of Woking homes away from the flood plain of the Hoe Stream. It will also provide new community facilities and roads. Woking Borough Council have been planning this scheme, which was approved in September 2010, for over 20 years. It is being run in conjunction with the Environment Agency.

The main objectives are to:

• Remove nearly 200 residential properties from the flood plain and protect the gardens of over a further 60 properties.
• Provide new facilities outside the flood plain for nine community groups.
• Protect Westfield School from flooding.
• Clear up approximately 5 hectares (12 acres ) of contaminated land.
• Extend and enhance Woking Park with footways and cycle paths joining Barnsbury and Westfield with the town centre.
• Improve the highway infrastructure at Westfield Avenue/Kingfield Road.
• Rebuild Elm Bridge and three other bridges across the Hoe Stream.
• Provide two new training pitches in Woking Park.
• Provide around 150 new homes for sale, all free from flooding.

The Council will receive finance from: the Public Works Loan Board; a number of grants, including £3.7 million from the Environment Agency; proceeds from the sale of new homes and of other assets. The Council expects the scheme to be fully funded by 2014 with no ongoing costs incurred by the Council. The Council hopes the scheme will be completed by 2012.^[25]

The Moor Lane Development[link]

The Moor Lane Development is a development Woking Borough Council are trying to do. The Development will provide affordable housing inside the Borough. This has led to local protests and organisations set up that want the development to be scrapped.

The land where the development, if allowed to go ahead, will take place is owned by Surrey County Council. The Development will affect it will affect the residents of Westfield Common, Moor Lane, Balfour Avenue and Quartermaine Avenue.

Woking Town Centre development[link]

Woking Town Centre development is a development where the The Peacocks shopping centre, Wolsey Walk shopping centre and the library are all being expanded.

The Peacocks Centre expansion has finished. The front of the shopping centre was expanded with a glass frontage with LED lights that change colour.

Wolsey Walk is also being expanded with a similar glass frontage, which will add two shop units.

The library front will be expanded and adding a new cafe. The library will also expanded from the side to make up space lost by adding the cafe.

Suburbs[link]

Woking has several suburban districts, including: Bisley, Horsell, Hook Heath, Mount Hermon, Barnsbury, Maybury, Sheerwater, Goldsworth Park, St John's, Pyrford, Kingfield, Westfield, Ridgway, West Byfleet and Old Woking. The adjacent village of Knaphill is often considered an outer suburb 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.

Barnsbury[link]

The Barnsbury Estate is a housing estate of approximately 400 households.^[26] Begun in 1936, it is a self-contained estate of bungalows, housing and flats mostly built in the 1950s along with several small shops. Barnsbury is bordered by the Hoe Valley and is located to the south of Woking on the A320.

As part of Woking's proposed Priority Homes PFI submission, back gardens of a significant number of houses were at risk of development.^[27] From January to September 2007 this resulted in an extensive community engagement to see if and how these back gardens could be used for development.^[26][28] The scheme was eventually cancelled.^[29]

Starting in August 2009, Ypod Extra (formerly The Barnsbury Project) on Ash Road is open to all young people on Barnsbury estate every Monday between 6.30 and 9pm. It is run in conjunction with Woking Borough Council and is partly funded and supported by the local police.^[30]

Barnsbury also has a Primary School. Many of Barnsbury's Students attend Woking High for their secondary education.

Notable buildings and structures[link]

Export House, Woking's tallest building

The tallest building in Woking is Export House, known locally as 'The BAT Building', from the initials of its first tenant, British American Tobacco.^[31] It is 73 metres tall (240 feet),^[32] and has Peregrin Falcons nesting on top.^[31]

New Central and Centrium in January 2011.

Tallest buildings[link]

1. Export House-240' (73m) Completed: 1974 and Ready for Tenants: 1976

2: New Central-Nearing Completion

3: Centrium-Commonly known as the 'Boat' or the 'Ship' as it looks like a ships bridge

The New Central project has two towers and many other buildings around it. The main tower over-took Centrium making it the second tallest building in Woking.^{[citation needed]}

Public art[link]

Woking has a Wellsian Martian Tripod, created by Michael Condron, which was unveiled in April 1998. The tripod celebrates H.G. Wells' book, The War of the Worlds, which was written in Woking. The Tripod is 7m (23') tall. The legs are 17cm (7") in diameter.

There are three parts of the sculpture: The Tripod, Bacteria (Which led to the downfall of the aliens in the book) and the cylinder the tripods came to Earth in. The Martian is also shown advancing from Horsell Common.

Woking also has an art gallery called the Lightbox. This is between the Basingstoke Canal and Victoria Way. The Lightbox contains many hands hanging from the ceiling, a brief history of Woking and many exhibitions. Notable exhibitions include a Wallace and Gromit exhibition and a Leonardo da Vinci exhibition. The Lightbox also has the Ingram collection on a long-term loan.

The Woking Martian

Sport[link]

Football: Woking has a non-League football club, Woking F.C., that competes in the Conference South (tier 6). The origin of the club's nickname, the "Cardinals", is disputed.^{[citation needed]} One possibility 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 had been made a cardinal by Pope Leo X in 1515. Alternatively the Cards are so named because of the cardinal red in one half of their home strip. The colour was chosen because of the town's link to Cardinal Wolsey. A third theory is that Woking F.C. used to play next to a pub called The Cardinals when they played in York Road, Woking.^{[citation needed]} The pub has since been renamed. The Borough also supports three clubs playing in The Combined Counties Football League Division 1 (tier 10), these being Knaphill FC, Sheerwater FC & Westfield FC. There are many smaller clubs in the area.

Gymnastics: Woking Gymnastics Club provides professional gymnastics coaching for all ages (babies to adults). The club has a purpose-built facility (refurbished in 2008) next door to the Football Club.

Rugby: Woking has a rugby union club that competes in Surrey League 4 (Level 11). Since the 2006/07 season they have run two teams. They train on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at Byfleet Recreation Ground. The club originated from British Aerospace RFC and were originally based at the Astra sports club.

Another club outside the borough of Woking, Chobham Rugby Club has 6 senior teams, the 1st XV, 2nd XV (Cannons), 3rd XV, 4th XV (Devils), 5th XV (Crusaders)& Veterans (Martyrs).

The 1st XV played in London Division 1 South (Level 6), however having not won a game in the league all season have found themselves relegated. The Cannons (2nd XV) play in the Canterbury Shield 4 having won Surrey Premier in 08/09. The 3rds, Devils and 5ths play in the John O'Neil and Partners Surrey Reverse leagues. The Devils won their league cup in the 2006/7 season.

Chobham won London 3SW in 2006/07.

In 2008/09 The Cannons won Surrey Premier League; the 3s won Surrey Combination League 1; the Devils came runners up in Surrey Combination League 2 and the Crusaders won Surrey Combination League 4. The 1st XV played in the National EDF Cup for the first time in their history.

The Senior Club won the Surrey Presidents Award 2008/09 for the most successful club in the county.

There is also a large junior and mini section with many County and Divisional players. One of the products of the youth system, Dan Frazier, has just signed with NEC Harlequins at 18 and is on loan at Esher in National Division 1.^[when?]

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 next to a clubhouse based in Goldsworth Park.

Kingfield Stadium, the home ground of Woking FC

Cricket: Woking also has a number of cricket clubs including Old Woking CC, Woking & Horsell CC, and Westfield CC.

It is also home to Pyrford Cricket Club. Founded in 1858, Pyrford is one of the oldest cricket clubs in Surrey^{[citation needed]}. Well known former PCC players include former Zimbabwe captain Tatenda Taibu, New Zealand wicketkeeper Gareth Hopkins and Sky Sports presenter Charles Colvile.

Motor racing: The McLaren Formula One motor racing team is based near to the town, as is Räikkönen Robertson Racing, begun by former Ferrari driver and former F1, 2007 World Champion Kimi Räikkönen.

Korfball: Woking Korfball Club has been active for 25 years, training and playing in the Woking area. It operates 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 of which uses Woking Leisure Centre while the other (Shinkick) has its own premises in Old Woking.

Cycling: In 2009 Woking played host to a round of The Tour Series on 2 June, a new championship of televised town and city centre criterium-style races, established by the organisers of The Tour of Britain bike race. The race took place on a Tuesday evening on a circuit centred on Victoria Way. There are two charity bike rides each year- Woking Bikeathon and Pedal4Charity.

Basketball The Woking Blackhawks basketball club was founded in 1999. They won their first title in 2004, the U-16 Surrey Central Venue League and Cup 2003/4. In 2008 they were voted Surrey Sports Club of the year. They currently have 10 squads with over 150 players, male and female, aging from under 10s up to adult level.

Scuba diving: Surrey Aquanauts is the local scuba diving club and is a branch of the British Sub-Aqua Club. Surrey Aquanauts has existed since 1967 and offers training for new divers and an active diving programme for already qualified divers.

Education[link]

Primary schools[link]

Infant and junior schools in the area include: Goldsworth Primary School, Hoe Bridge School, Kingfield, Knaphill Junior School, Knaphill Lower School, Horsell C of E Aided Junior School, Horsell Village School,the International School of London in Surrey (Private primary & middle school), St Hugh of Lincoln Catholic Primary School, St. Dunstan's Catholic Primary School, Barnsbury Primary School, Westfield Primary School, The Hermitage Junior School, The Oaktree School, Beaufort Primary School, St John's Primary School, Greenfield School and Bisley C of E Primary School. In 2004 Sythwood Primary School received the Surrey School of the Year Award for all-round achievements.

Secondary schools[link]

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.

Other schools[link]

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.

The Surrey campus of the International School of London is located in Woking^[33]

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,^[34] the UK's oldest established professional cookery school.^[35] According to the Woking News and Mail, it has now been bought by famous chef Gordon Ramsay who intends to set up his own catering college.

Healthcare[link]

Woking comes under Surrey PCT (Primary Care Trust), administered and run by the NHS. Group of GPs together with Woking Community Hospital^[36] serve a minority^{[citation needed]} of local residents' primary healthcare needs with its walk-in centre but mostly works in the areas of community rehabilitation and neuro-rehab in the Ted Bradley Unit. Specialist hospitals nearby are St Peter's Hospital, Chertsey (for A&E) and Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford.

For private healthcare needs, Nuffield Hospital^[37] mainly serves Woking's local residents.

Woking used to have its own hospital with maternity and A&E amongst other departments. Woking Victoria Hospital^[38] was situated on the corner of Victoria Way and Chobham Road, right by the Basingstoke Canal, from 1950 until the mid-'80s.

Notable people[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2011)

Paul Weller

Robert Green

Harry Hill

• H.G. Wells, author who used the town as a setting for his novel The War of the Worlds and was staying in the town when he wrote it.^[39] A large sculpture of a (Wellsian) Martian Fighting Machine (above) was installed in the town centre to commemorate Woking's links with the story.^[40]
• Dame Ethel Smyth (1858–1944), composer and the first woman suffragette^[41]
• Kazuo Ishiguro, novelist^[41]
• Paul Weller, singer-songwriter and guitarist, The Style Council, The Jam.^[41] "Town Called Malice", which was written by Paul Weller and recorded by his band, The Jam, is about Woking. The song reached No. 1 in the UK Charts.
• Rick Buckler, drummer with The Jam, (1955)^[41]
• Bruce Foxton, bass player with The Jam, (1955)^[41]
• The Spice Girls, pop group, started their careers at a Knaphill studio^[41]
• Peter Cox (musician), solo artist and lead singer of the 1980s pop group Go West (band)^{[citation needed]}
• Nick Waplington, artist and photographer^{[citation needed]}
• Robert Green, West Ham United, and former England Goalkeeper^{[citation needed]}
• Rufus Hound, attended The Hoe Bridge School (Woking).^{[citation needed]}
• Ian Ogilvy, actor, 1943^[42]
• Richard Benson, Italian guitarist, 1945^{[citation needed]}
• Ron Dennis, CEO/Chairman of the McLaren Group, 1947^[41]
• Liz Lynne, Liberal Democrat politician, 1948^[43]
• Rick Parfitt, guitarist for Status Quo went to school in Sheerwater and has family in the area, 1948^[41]
• Brian Hooper, Olympic pole vaulter^[41]
• Douglas Pearce, founding Neofolk musician behind Death In June and Crisis (band), 1956^{[citation needed]}
• Carl R May, sociologist, 1960^{[citation needed]}
• Susie Dent, a lexicographer and the dictionary expert on Countdown, 1964^[44]
• Delia Smith , best selling cook, was born in Woking in 1941^[41]
• Ben Charles Edwards photographer/filmmaker^[45]
• Andy Heath, Times journalist, (1981)^{[citation needed]}
• Sean Henry, sculptor
• Harry Hill, comedian, was born in Woking (1964).^[41]
• Sean Lock was born in the area. (1963)^[41]
• Matt Willis; band member of Busted and winner of I'm A Celebrity… lived in Woking and attended Woking High School.^[41]
• Peter Davison, actor, best known for his role in (Doctor Who) attended The Winston Churchill School (Woking).^[41]
• Albert Jack, bestselling author, attended The Winston Churchill School (Woking).^{[citation needed]}
• Ken Wood, founded the Kenwood company in Woking.^[41]
• Adelina de Lara, concert pianist, lived and worked in Woking.^[41]
• Derek Griffiths, children's entertainer, born in Woking.^[41]
• David Sproxton, co-founder of Aardman Animations, attended Woking Grammar school.^[41]
• Peter Lord, co-founder of Aardman Animations, attended Woking Grammar school.^[41]
• Neil Wayte, professional angler (1961), was born and raised in Woking
• Sir Alan and Erec Bedser, England Cricketing Twins^[41]
• Lady Emma Hamilton, lover of Horatio Nelson. Hamilton lived in Pyrford.^[41]
• John Paul Getty^{[disambiguation needed ]}, Lived in Sutton Green.^[41]
• Lady Margaret Beaufort, Mother of King Henry VII, lived in Woking Palace for 5 years.^[41]

Literature[link]

HG Wells was living in Woking when he wrote War of the Worlds and the town features prominently in the story, not least in its destruction in an early chapter. The Martians first land on Horsell Common and much of the early story is set in the area.^[40]

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[link]

Woking is served by these emergency services:

• Surrey Police.
• SURSAR.
• 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.
  • 2 x Water Tender Ladder

McLaren and the Technology Centre[link]

Woking is home to the McLaren Group, an umbrella organisation that includes:

• McLaren Racing, which fields the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula One racing cars (driven by world champions Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton); and
• McLaren Automotive, builder of the McLaren F1 and Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren supercars.

During 2010 and 2011 the McLaren technology centre had work on it to add an extension, with the completed pice costing £50million. David Cameron opened this new extension.

Gallery[link]

• 

  Victoria Arch

• 

  St. Peter's Church, Old Woking. The Church has the oldest door in Surrey and the third oldest in the British Isles.

• 

  Woking Station

• 

  A view of the Centrium

• 

  Export House Christmas Tree

• 

  War Memorial and Church

• 

  The Civic Offices (Woking Borough Councils HQ)

• 

  Woking Fire Station

• 

  Horsell High Street

• 

  Shops at Westfield

• 

  Knaphill High Street

• 

  Guildford road, with Export House in the distance

• 

  A model of a Hawker Hunter outside the Big Apple entertainment centre

• 

  Part of the Centruim development

• 

  Inside the Peacocks Shopping Centre

• 

  Woking Park fuel cell with the Pool in the Park's flumes in the background

• 

  Wych Hill, Hook Heath

• 

  Part of Horsell Common

• 

  Buses outside Woking Station, with Centruim in the background

• 

  The French Market in the town square

Twin towns[link]

• Rastatt in Germany
• Amstelveen in the Netherlands
• Le Plessis-Robinson in France^[46]

See also[link]

• Brookwood Cemetery, Woking
• Horsell
• Goldsworth Park
• Knaphill
• Energy use and conservation in the United Kingdom
• Westfield, Woking, Surrey
• Woking, Alberta, Canada

Notes[link]

Further reading[link]

• Guardian article: Woking to teach London to be a world leader in tackling climate change
• Crosby, Alan "A History Of Woking" (Phillimore, 2003)

External links[link]

• Woking Borough Council
• Woking - Information Site
• Aerial photographs of Woking
• Photographs of Woking
• Woking 2027 Information
• BBC news McLaren Extension Information
• Guardian McLaren Extension Information
• The Moor Lane Development Information
• Aerial Photos of Woking and the Borough
• The Woking Martian Information
• More Woking Martian Information

Other[link]

Neighbouring areas of Woking

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Paris Declan Joseph Cowan-Hall (born 5 October 1990) is an English footballer who plays for Football League Two side Plymouth Argyle.

Having started his career as a youngster at Portsmouth, he went on to play in the Football League for Grimsby Town and Scunthorpe United before playing in the Conference National for Rushden & Diamonds and Conference South with Woking.

Career[link]

Portsmouth[link]

Cowan-Hall joined Premier League side Portsmouth from non-league outfit Rushden & Diamonds in 2007. Before he joined Pompey, he previously spent time on trial with Manchester United and Chelsea as a 16 year old. He made his way into the Portsmouth reserve side where he made success and flew out with the Portsmouth first team to Portugal in their 2009 pre-season, where he made an appearance against Vitória. On 2 January 2010, Cowan-Hall joined Grimsby Town on loan,^[2] making his first appearance as a late substitute in injury time against Bury.^[3] The following week, Cowan-Hall missed the league clash with Cheltenham Town due to tonsillitis, and several days later he was forced to cut short his loan spell after contracting glandular fever.^[4] On 27 January 2010, Cowan-Hall re-signed for Grimsby for a second loan spell, this time until the end of the 2009–10 season.^[5] However in March 2010 he returned to Portsmouth early with a hamstring injury after making only two substitute appearances in his second spell at Blundell Park.^[6] He was released by Portsmouth in July 2010 after the clubs relegation from the Premier League.^[7]

Scunthorpe United[link]

Following his release from Portsmouth, Cowan-Hall had trials at Burnley,^[8] Hull City,^[9] Brighton & Hove Albion,^[10] Derby County^[11] and Oldham Athletic.^[12]

In October 2010, Cowan-Hall made an appearance for Scunthorpe United reserves on trial. After impressing he was invited back to their reserve match the next week. He scored the only goal of the game against Leeds United reserves at Elland Road.^[13] Following this performance, in October 2010, he was offered a place at Scunthorpe United on non-contract terms until the end of the 2010–11 season.^[14] In February 2011, Cowan-Hall returned to Rushden & Diamonds on loan. On his return to Irtlingborough, he scored on his debut against Eastbourne Borough. Cowan-Hall was released by the Iron in May 2011.^[15]

Woking[link]

In July 2011, Cowan-Hall appeared for Gillingham on trial, scoring once against Erith & Belvedere. In August 2011, Cowan-Hall appeared for Newport County on trial, scoring once against Welsh Football League side Undy.

Cowan-Hall signed for Woking in August 2011,^[16] going on to win both October and November player of the month for the club.

Plymouth Argyle[link]

On 29 May 2012, Cowan-Hall signed for Plymouth Argyle after rejecting an offer from Woking.^[17] Cowan-Hall will join the Home Park side on the 1st of July. Despite his move to Plymouth, the club will have to pay a compensation fee due to his age (by 21).^[18]

Notes[link]

1. ^ Soccerbase's stats for the match between Grimsby Town and Bury on 2 January 2010 (which happen to be his senior debut) fail to include the appearance by Cowan-Hall.^[3] Therefore, until and unless they correct it, he should have one more appearance for Grimsby than given on his Soccerbase page.

References[link]

http://www.pafc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10364~2787815,00.html

External links[link]

• Paris Cowan-Hall career stats at Soccerbase