79-639: Woking Borough Council is the local authority for Woking in Surrey , England. The council consists of 30 councillors, three for each of the 10 wards in the town. It is currently controlled by the Liberal Democrats , led by Ann-Marie Barker. The borough council is based at Woking Civic Offices . The parish of Woking was made a local government district in 1893, governed by a local board. Such districts became urban districts in December 1894 under
158-403: A Section 114 notice after forecasting a deficit of £1.2 billion for the year ending 31 March 2024 due to losses on risky investments involving hotels and skyscrapers instigated by a former Conservative administration. Woking Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Surrey County Council . There are no civil parishes in the borough, which
237-469: A balcony ; there was a French door on the first floor and a pediment containing a clock and two oculi above. The other bays were fenestrated with mullioned and transomed windows. In the 1930s, with the increasing responsibilities of the council, the council leaders acquired a series of large houses in Guildford Road, Mount Herman Road and York Road to accommodate the extra staff. As part of
316-414: 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. Aerial photographs suggest that there may have been field systems on Horsell Common, Smarts Heath and Whitmoor Common in the same period, although
395-582: A consignment of timber to Woking, was made via the canal in 1947. By the mid-1960s, the canal was derelict, but between 1970 and 1976 it was purchased by Surrey and Hampshire county councils. Restoration of the canal was completed in 1991 and the canal is now open for navigation from the Wey to the eastern portal of Greywell Tunnel . The construction of the London and Southampton Railway began in October 1834 and
474-524: A hotel, as well as smaller deals including a £6.4 million loan to a local private school and £2m spent on acquiring pubs. The deals were financed partly with £1.3bn low interest borrowing from the Public Works Loan Board . Risky property deals, also carried out by other local authorities such as Thurrock , Croydon , and Slough over the previous 5 years, were attempts to offset the impact of UK Government funding cuts. Nonetheless
553-681: A junction in May 1845 when the branch to Guildford was opened. Three other railway stations were built in the present borough: Brookwood (opened in June 1864), Worplesdon (opened in March 1883) and West Byfleet (opened in December 1887 as Byfleet). The track through Woking station was quadrupled in 1904 and electrified in 1937. The London Necropolis Company was established by an Act of Parliament in 1852 to create Brookwood Cemetery . New burials had been banned in central London graveyards in 1850, and
632-496: A major railway junction as well as several Vickers factories making aircraft parts, made Woking an obvious target for enemy bombing. The most severe attack took place in January 1941, in which seven people were killed. By the end of 1944, the borough had experienced 58 air raids, during which around 25 houses had been destroyed and almost 2300 damaged. The final bomb attack on Woking, a V-2 rocket , fell on 2 March 1945. The town
711-511: A new factory, known as the Lion Works, on the site of the former Oriental Institute . By 1919, over 600 Buzzard biplanes had been produced in Woking, but following the end of the war, demand for aircraft declined, and the company closed in 1924. In 1926, the site of the Lion Works was purchased by James Walker, whose company specialised in the production of packaging materials. By 1939,
790-451: A royal property at the start of the 14th century. Edward II granted it to Piers Gaveston , but following Gaveston's downfall in 1312, it reverted to the Crown. Anne of Denmark , wife of King James I was the manor's last royal owner and thereafter it was held by a series of private individuals. The current manor house dates from 1686, but it was restored and extended in 1905. Pyrford
869-481: A wharf was provided at Horsell for the use of local farmers. In the first half of the 19th century, bricks were manufactured in the area now occupied by Goldsworth Road and were transported to London via a wharf adjacent to the Rowbarge pub. The canal declined sharply after the opening of the London and Southampton Railway in the late 1830s and traffic west of Woking had ceased by 1921. The final commercial delivery,
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#1732787378414948-577: Is a municipal building in Gloucester Walk, Woking , Surrey , England. It is in use as the headquarters of Woking Borough Council . Following significant population growth, largely associated with the creation of various local institutions including a dramatic college and an invalid prison , the area became an urban district in 1894. The new council initially established it offices in rented accommodation in The Broadway. However, after
1027-428: Is an unparished area . The council has been under Liberal Democrat majority control since 2022. Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows: The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Woking. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council . The leaders since 2006 have been: Following the 2024 election the composition of the council was: The next election
1106-578: Is based at the Civic Offices on Gloucester Square. The building was purpose-built for the council and opened in 1983. Woking Woking ( / ˈ w oʊ k ɪ ŋ / 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
1185-503: Is derived from the Old English - ingas and means "people of" or "family of". The Borough of Woking covers an area of 64 km (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
1264-461: Is due in 2026. Since the last boundary changes in 2016 the council has comprised 30 councillors representing 10 wards , with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with a third of the council (one councillor for each ward) elected each time for a four-year term of office. Surrey County Council elections are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no borough council elections. The council
1343-488: 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 . 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. 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
1422-646: 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
1501-501: Is in the parliamentary constituency of Woking and has been represented at Westminster since July 2024 by Liberal Democrat Will Forster . Councillors are elected to Surrey County Council every four years. The borough is covered by seven divisions, each of which elects one councillor. The seven divisions are: "The Byfleets", "Goldsworth East and Horsell Village", "Knaphill and Goldsworth West", "Woking North", "Woking South", "Woking South East" and "Woking South West". Elections to
1580-471: Is named for the business owned by the Stedman family, which operated from the 1860s until the 1910s. Byfleet Brewery, the largest in the modern borough, was active for much of the second half of the 19th century, but production was moved to Guildford after the company was taken over by Friary Ales in the 1890s. The multinational brewing and beverage company, SABMiller , was based in Woking from 1999 until it
1659-644: 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. The earliest surviving record of Woking
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#17327873784141738-711: The 'Jackmanii' and the 'Belle of Woking'. By 1900, horticulture was one of the most important industries in the area, but following the end of the Second World War, most firms closed or relocated, and their land was sold for housebuilding. Heavy industry arrived in Woking during the First World War with the establishment of the Martinsyde Aircraft Works on Oriental Road. The founders, H. P. Martin and George Handasyde were unable to expand their existing factory at Brooklands and set up
1817-475: 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 km (25 sq mi) and had a population of 103,900 in 2021. 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
1896-537: The Local Government Act 1894 , and so the local board was replaced by Woking Urban District Council. The urban district was significantly enlarged in 1907 when it absorbed Horsell parish and again in 1933 when it absorbed Byfleet and Pyrford parishes. The first woman elected to the council was Elizabeth Balfour in 1919. On 1 April 1974, the urban district became a non-metropolitan district, altering its powers and responsibilities, although keeping
1975-627: The Local Government Act 1894 , the Woking Local Board became an urban district council (UDC) . Byfleet, Horsell and Pyrford became part of the Chertsey Rural District, although the parish of Horsell was transferred into the Woking Urban District in 1907, It was not until 1933, when the Chertsey Rural District was abolished, that both Byfleet and Pyrford joined the Woking Urban District. The council
2054-586: 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 ,
2133-639: The Woking Convict Invalid Prison and Brookwood Hospital in the mid-19th century. Modern Woking began to develop between the mid-1860s and late-1880s, as the London Necropolis Company sold excess land that had not been used for Brookwood Cemetery. The High Street had been laid out by 1863, and a post office opened there in 1865. By 1869, the first houses had appeared on Ellen Street (now West Street), Providence Street (now Church Street) and Commercial Road. By
2212-468: The interwar period , and Old Woking is now contiguous with the main urban area of the borough. 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
2291-560: The reorganisation of local government in 1974, Woking became a borough for the first time. In this context, the council leaders decided to commission new civic offices where all the staff would be co-located: they considered various sites including one in Guildford Road, but eventually selected a location adjacent to the Basingstoke Canal . The new building was designed in the Brutalist style , built in concrete and glass and
2370-897: The 11th Battalion of the South Eastern Home Guard . Training was carried out at Mizens Farm, Horsell, and included a mock battle with Canadian, Polish and Free French troops in 1941. Dedicated Home Guard units were responsible for guarding the Woking Electric Supply Company power station, the GQ parachute factory and the Sorbo Rubber Works. Woking railway station was defended by troops operating light anti-aircraft artillery. Air raid shelters were opened on Commercial Road and at Wheatsheaf Recreation Ground in 1939, followed in 1941 by further shelters, including at Victoria Gardens. The presence of
2449-420: The 1890s, most of the land to the north of the railway line had been sold, but the London Necropolis Company had been unable to find a buyer for Hook Heath, to the south. The company decided to develop the area itself and divided it into plots for large, detached houses. A golf course was built on part of the heath to attract residents and visitors. The first council housing in Woking was constructed following
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2528-399: The 1944 Greater London Plan , Pyrford and Byfleet were identified as areas for overspill development and homes for 3,250 former London residents were expected to be built in the borough. In 1947, London County Council purchased 230 acres (93 ha) at Sheerwater and by 1951 had constructed 1,279 houses and flats for new tenants. In 1965, much of the remaining open space in the borough
2607-474: The Crown until 1189, when Richard I granted it to Alan Basset , who later received the manor of Sutton from King John . Woking was inherited by his descendants until it passed, through marriage, to Hugh le Despenser . It remained in the Despenser family until 1326 when it was granted to Edmund Holland, the fourth Earl of Kent . In the mid-15th century, the manor was inherited by Margaret Beauchamp . It
2686-590: The London terminus was bombed. Construction of St John's , the only significant area where housebuilding was directly stimulated by the opening of the Basingstoke Canal, began in the first decades of the 19th century. In the 1790s, there had been a few scattered smallholdings and squatters' cottages to the south of Knaphill, but the opening of a wharf to serve the nurseries and new brickworks attracted new workers, requiring more extensive accommodation. By
2765-759: The Peace were expanded to take greater responsibility for law and order in the area. Following the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 , the parish of Woking was included in the Guildford Poor Law Union, whilst the parishes of Byfleet, Horsell, and Pyrford were included in the Chertsey Poor Law Union. These unions then formed the basis for the rural sanitary districts established in 1872, which gradually took on more local government responsibilities. Surrey County Council
2844-503: The Weye". The River Wey Navigation was authorised by Act of Parliament in 1651. Twelve locks (including two flood locks), and 9 mi (14 km) 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
2923-489: The borough council take place in three out of every four years. A total of 30 councillors serve at any one time, ten of whom are elected at each election. The council is led by an executive committee consisting of the Leader and six portfolio holders. Each year, one of the councillors serves as Mayor of Woking for a period of twelve months. The role of mayor is primarily ceremonial and the post has little political power. Among
3002-475: 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
3081-456: The borough on a daily basis. According to the 2015–2016 Annual Population Survey, 85% of the working-age population are in employment (compared to the Surrey average of 80%) and 14% are self-employed (compared to the county average of 12%). However, economic prosperity is not spread uniformly across the borough; two areas of Sheerwater are the most deprived parts of Surrey. In the mid-2010s,
3160-512: The company was able to purchase 2,268 acres (918 ha) of common land in the Woking area in 1854. The cemetery was consecrated by the Bishop of Winchester in November 1854. Coffins were transported to Brookwood by train and the cemetery was served by a short single-track branch line with two stations . The company ran funeral trains to Brookwood at least twice a week until April 1941, when
3239-561: The course of the partly culverted Rive Ditch, and the northern part of the borough is drained by the tributaries of the River Bourne . There have been major flooding events in Woking in 1968, 2000, 2014 and 2016. 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. In the west of the borough, around Knaphill and Brookwood, are
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3318-512: The early 21st century, Woking has a strong economy relative to the rest of the UK; the borough was awarded first place in the UK Vitality Index of Local Authorities, compiled by Lambert Smith Hampton in 2021, and was placed in the top 20% of all Local Authorities for economic vibrancy by Grant Thornton in 2016. University graduates comprise more than 60% of the workforce, although around 53% of all working residents commute out of
3397-532: The end of the First World War, and by the summer of 1921, around 100 families had moved into new properties in Old Woking, Horsell, Knaphill and Westfield. In the same year, Chertsey Rural District Council developed their own schemes in Byfleet and Pyrford, and, in the two decades to 1939, Woking UDC constructed a total of 785 houses. Following the end of the Second World War, the borough council began to build estates at Maybury, Barnsbury and St Mary's Byfleet. In
3476-466: The factory was the largest employer in Woking and, in the mid-1950s, 8% of the local workforce was working for the company. Manufacturing ceased in Woking in 1993, but the company headquarters is still based in the town. The factory site was redeveloped into the Lion Retail Park. The Sorbo Rubber Works opened in 1920 on the site of the former steam laundry on Maybury Road. It specialised in
3555-430: The first train ran between Nine Elms and Woking on 12 May 1838. When it opened, Woking station was surrounded by open heath and was 2 km (1.2 mi) from what is now the village of Old Woking. Nevertheless, it quickly became the railhead for west Surrey and the main entrance was positioned on the south side of the tracks for the convenience of those travelling by stagecoach from Guildford. The station became
3634-492: The former Unwins' Print Works at Old Woking into the Gresham Mill apartment complex. Until the mid-19th century, the local economy was dominated by agriculture, although large areas of the modern borough were covered by infertile waste land. Acts of Inclosure were passed for Byfleet, Sutton and Pyrford in 1800, 1803 and 1805, respectively, allowing landowners to rededicate land for pasture and growing crops. Inclosure
3713-483: The headquarters of the group, was formally opened by Elizabeth II in 2004. The 50 ha (120-acre) site, to the north of the town centre, includes the McLaren Production Centre, the primary manufacturing facility for McLaren Automotive . In 2013, McLaren was the largest employer in the borough. During the Second World War, the defence of Woking and the surrounding area was coordinated by
3792-405: The importance of manorial courts and the day-to-day administration of towns became the responsibility of local vestries . By this time, the modern Borough of Woking was divided between four parishes: Woking, Byfleet, Horsell and Pyrford. The vestries appointed constables, distributed funds to the poor and took charge of the repair of local roads. From the 17th century, the roles of Justices of
3871-416: The industries providing the largest number of jobs in the borough were information technology , food and beverage services , and motor vehicle design and manufacture . Woking also has a significant cluster of companies operating in the oil and gas industries , financial and business services industry , as well as the environmental technologies sector . Woking Civic Offices Woking Civic Offices
3950-461: The late 1830s, the new village, initially known as Kiln Bridge, was large enough to support the construction of a chapel dedicated to St John the Baptist . The chapel was replaced by a larger church , designed by George Gilbert Scott and consecrated in 1842, and the surrounding area acquired the name "St John's" at around the same time. Further expansion in the area continued with the opening of
4029-495: The local soils are relatively infertile and could not have sustained the farming practices of the time for very long. Roman occupation in the borough appears to have been concentrated in the Old Woking and Mayford areas. The sites excavated to date show evidence of low-status dwellings, possibly connected to iron working and pottery making. Roman tiles can be found in the lower part of the tower of St Peter's Church. The earliest documented reference to Woking suggests that there
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#17327873784144108-483: The manors had two mills and one church, and the settlement was among the largest 20% of those recorded in the country in 1086. Three other manors in the modern borough are listed in Domesday Book: Byfleet and Pyrford were held by the abbeys of Chertsey and Westminster respectively; Sutton was held by Durand Malet as lesser tenant and by Robert Malet as tenant-in-chief . Woking was held by
4187-540: The manufacture of rubber sponges but also made toys for children. Production moved to Arnold Road in 1922, and during the Second World War, the company made self-sealing aircraft fuel tanks for the Royal Air Force . The company was acquired by its competitors, P. B. Cow Ltd, in 1948. The first known brewery in the area was founded in Old Woking in 1715 and continued to trade until 1890. Brewery Road in Horsell
4266-577: 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. The Italian population in Woking, including second- and third-generation members, numbers between two and three thousand. There is a large Pakistani population in Woking, centred on Maybury and Sheerwater. In
4345-511: 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, The Peacocks and Wolsey Place, 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 1 mi (1.6 km) south of
4424-762: The people and organisations to have received the Freedom of the Borough are Howard Panter , Rosemary Squire and the Army Training Centre Pirbright . Woking is twinned with: Amstelveen , Netherlands (since 1989); Le Plessis-Robinson , France (since 1993); Rastatt , Germany (since 2001). In December 2014, the borough council announced that it would establish a task group to explore potential twinning opportunities with towns in Brazil , Russia , India , China and South Africa . In 2021,
4503-522: The policy of the borough council has been to permit high-density residential development in this area, exemplified by two residential towers completed in Spring 2022 as part of the Victoria Square project. Elsewhere in the borough, the conversion of former industrial land to residential use is encouraged in preference to building on greenfield sites. Recent examples include the redevelopment of
4582-509: The population of the Borough of Woking was 103,900. According to the 2011 Census , 83.6% of the inhabitants were white , 11.6% were of Asian descent and 2.4% were mixed race . There has long been a large Italian community in Woking, most of whom originated from the Sicilian town of Mussomeli . The majority of the original arrivals worked in the Britax factory in Byfleet and others on
4661-455: 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 and the sixth covers the majority of the Basingstoke Canal . Woking town centre is around 23 mi (36 km) from central London. It covers an area of about 50 ha (120 acres) to
4740-518: 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
4819-508: The rented accommodation was destroyed in a fire, the council moved to better accommodation in Commercial Road. New offices, designed in the neoclassical style , were built there in brick with ashlar stone dressings and completed in 1905. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of five bays facing Commercial Road. The central section of three bays featured a round headed doorway with a fanlight flanked by pilasters supporting
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#17327873784144898-420: The review advised the council to borrow an additional £300m to avoid a fire-sale of assets. The Minister for Local Government, Lee Rowley , announced in May 2023 that the council was to be overseen by a team of expert commissioners until the council could "address their commercial and financial challenges, and make transformative change across its entire operations." On 7 June 2023, Woking Borough Council issued
4977-472: The same area. The reformed district was also awarded borough status at the same time, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor, with the council thereafter being called Woking Borough Council. In May 2023, a government review revealed that the council would have debts of £2.4 billion by 2026, 100 times the size of its annual £24 million budget, largely attributed to unsuccessful investments in two skyscrapers, one residential and one
5056-508: 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 settlement expanded northwards during
5135-543: The works expanded following the opening of a wharf at Kiln Bridge. Although the local soils were unsuitable for large-scale agriculture, nurseries were established on the Bracklesham Beds in the 1790s, to satisfy the increasing demand for ornamental garden plants from the growing middle class in London. The Clematis specialist, George Jackman , was among those who established nurseries at Mayford and Goldsworth Park. Cultivars first grown by his firm include
5214-661: The younger Bracklesham Beds . The Bracklesham Beds have a higher clay content than the Bagshot Beds, and brickmaking has historically taken place at Knaphill. The River Wey primarily runs across alluvium and the settlements of Old Woking and West Byfleet are built on river gravels. The earliest evidence of human activity in the Woking area is from the Paleolithic . Flints dated to c. 13000 years before present (BP) have been found at Horsell, and knife blades from c. 12000 – c. 11000 BP have been discovered at Pyrford. Two bell barrows and
5293-488: Was granted a coat of arms in 1930 and three years later it applied to the Privy Council for borough status , but without success. A similar request made in 1955 was also declined. It was not until the 1974 reorganisation of local government that Woking finally became a borough. The parishes within the borough were abolished at the same time, making it an unparished area . A civil parish council for Byfleet
5372-532: Was a religious foundation in the area in the early 8th century. Around this time, the settlement was the administrative centre for northwest Surrey, with its western border as the watershed between the Rivers Mole and Wey and its southern border as the North Downs . By 775, there was a minster in Woking, which may be the forerunner of St Peter's Church and by the mid-late 9th century, the settlement
5451-520: Was being shipped to London from a new wharf at Cartbridge near Send . The Basingstoke Canal was authorised by an Act of Parliament in 1778 and was intended to provide a route for the transport of farm produce and timber from Hampshire to London. The section between the Wey Navigation and Horsell opened in 1791 and the canal was finally completed in 1794. Although the route was too far from Old Woking for it to have an effect on its development,
5530-585: Was bought by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV in 2016. As part of the takeover deal, several former SABMiller brands, including Peroni and Grolsch , were purchased by the Japanese firm, Asahi Breweries . As of 2022, the UK headquarters of Asahi Breweries is in Woking. The McLaren Group was founded in 1981 by Ron Dennis following his acquisition of the McLaren Formula One team . The McLaren Technology Centre , designed by Foster + Partners as
5609-418: Was briefly held by the Crown before it was passed to her daughter, Margaret Beaufort , in 1466. On her death in 1509, Woking was inherited by her grandson, the future Henry VIII . James I sold the manor to Edward Zouch , but it reverted to the Crown in 1671. In 1752, it was bought by Richard Onslow, the third Baron Onslow and remained in his family's possession until the mid-19th century. Byfleet became
5688-458: Was created in 1990, but was abolished in April 2010. 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
5767-496: Was established in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888 to operate as a higher-tier authority alongside the sanitary districts. In 1893 a separate local board was established for the parish of Woking, making it its own urban sanitary district, independent from the Guildford Rural Sanitary District. After elections, the first meeting of the Woking Local Board was held on 4 October 1893. Under
5846-465: Was held by Westminster Abbey until the dissolution of the monasteries when it became the property of the Crown. Elizabeth I granted the manor to Edward Clinton, the first Earl of Lincoln in 1574 and it was sold repeatedly until the mid-17th century. In 1677, Richard Onslow, the first Baron Onslow purchased Pyrford, and it was owned by his family until 1805. Reforms during the Tudor period reduced
5925-435: Was not completed at Woking until the London Necropolis Company purchased the common land in 1854. No Act was passed for Horsell, and the large area of common land to the north of Woking remains free of development as a result. The opening of the Basingstoke Canal in 1794 enabled new industries to be established in the west of the borough. Brickmaking had been taking place on a small scale at Knaphill since at least 1709, but
6004-449: Was officially opened by the Duke of Gloucester on 20 April 1983. The council moved its staff into the new building in June 1983. The design involved a six-storey rectangular wing adjacent to Victoria Way with a similar but shorter wing extending southeast from the northeast corner of the main wing. The two wings formed a pedestrian courtyard known as Gloucester Square. The main structure
6083-482: Was placed into the Metropolitan Green Belt , restricting the potential for future development of greenfield land . Nevertheless, housebuilding continued in the 1970s, including the 20 ha (49-acre) Lakeview development and the construction of 440 homes on the former Inkerman Barracks site. Redevelopment has resulted in the demolition of the majority of the Victorian buildings in the town centre. Since 2012,
6162-453: Was supplemented by an octagonal formation containing the council chamber, which was cantilevered out to the southwest, and allowed vehicular access at ground floor level. The borough coat of arms was installed on two of the external walls of this structure. Internally, the principal room was the council chamber which featured a stained-glass window behind the mayor's chair. The stained glass recalled various aspects of local history including
6241-565: Was the centre of a royal vill . Towards the end of the Saxon period, Surrey was divided into hundreds , of which Woking Hundred was one. Woking appears in Domesday book as Wochinges . In 1086, it was partly held by William I and partly by two lesser tenants of the Bishop of Exeter . Together the two holdings had sufficient land for 15 + 1 ⁄ 2 ploughteams, 46 acres (19 ha) of meadow and woodland for 160 swine . Between them,
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