Woking
Categories: Towns in Surrey | Local government in Surrey
Image:Woking - Surrey dot.png Location within the British Isles | |
|---|---|
| Borough of Woking Geography | |
| Status: | Borough |
| Region: | South East England |
| Admin. County: | Surrey |
| Area: - Total | Ranked 287th 63.60 km² |
| Admin. HQ: | Woking |
| ONS code: | 43UM |
| Demographics | |
| Population: - Total (2003 est.) - Density | Ranked 250th 89,734 1,411 / km² |
| Ethnicity: | 91.3% White 5.8% S.Asian |
| Politics | |
| Image:Arms-woking.jpg Woking Borough Council http://www.woking.gov.uk | |
| Leadership: | Leader & Cabinet |
| Executive: | Conservative controlled in minority administration |
| MP: | Humfrey Malins |
Woking is a large town in the west of Surrey, England, about 30 minutes by train from London. Woking was formed around the railway station built over 150 years ago at the junction between trains to the south coast, the south-west of England and the necropolis railway to Brookwood Cemetery. This cemetery was developed by the London Necropolis Company as an overflow burial ground for London's dead. Later, Woking was home to the first crematorium in the United Kingdom (St Johns) and the first mosque in the UK (on Oriental Road).
It is now a dormitory town for commuters into London and Heathrow airport, and gives its name to a local government district with borough status.
Woking also plays a role in literature, it is the town in which the Martians landed in H.G. Wells science-fiction novel "War of the World".
Contents |
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. There are also numerous bars, several of which remain open later than the traditional UK closing time on Thursdays to Saturdays inclusive.
The Ambassadors cinemas and New Victoria Theatre can be accessed via the top floor of The Peacocks.
Woking has indoor swimming pools, "Pool in the Park", and a separate leisure centre. Outdoor facilities include a skatepark, tennis courts, five-a-side football pitches, bowling greens and a children's adventure playground. These leisure facilities are all located within the attractively landscaped Woking Park near to the town centre (map).
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.
History
Woking's History starts in 673AD or CE. Woking begins around about this time as a settlement of a Wessex tribe followers of Wocca. The name has been corrupted and was spelt as Woccingas, Wochinges, Wokynge, Wochynghe at different times.
775 Local Excerpt from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles - Remember that the year and data may be inaccurate ......
- "In the days of this same Offa was an alderman, of the name of Brorda, who requested the king for his sake to free his own monastery, called Woking, because he would give it to Medhamsted and St. Peter, and the abbot that then was, whose name was Pusa. Pusa succeeded Beonna; and the king loved him much. And the king freed the monastery of Woking, against king, against bishop, against earl, and against all men so that no man should have any claim there, except St. Peter and the abbot."
1272 Woking Royal Palace first recorded.
1485 Henry VII (7th) was King of England. (1485-1509) His mother (Lady Margaret Beaufort) lived at Woking Palace and Beaufort School in Goldsworth Park is named after her.
1490 Treaty of Woking signed by Henry VII with Austria at Woking Palace.
1620 Woking Palace ownership passed by James I to Sir Edward Zouch and it stops being a royal palace.
1651 Wey Navigation Canal opened for traffic from Guildford to the River Thames.
1661 James Zouch, grandson of Sir Edward Zouch, obtained the Market Charter for Woking.
1669 James Zouch from Woking was Sheriff of Surrey (1669-1670).
1760 James Turner bought from the Earl of Onslow, owner of Woking Manor, some land in the "Tithing of Goldings".
1791 Canal from the Wey Navigation Canal to Basingstoke opened as far as Horsell.
1792 Basingstoke Canal opened as far as Pirbright.
1830 In Woking Parish there was civil unrest.
1834 Guildford (affecting Woking parish) and Chertsey (affecting Horsell parish) Poor Law Unions formed. Parish rates on average drop due to economies of scale.
1838 London and Southampton Company railway opened as far as Winchfield. Woking Common Station opened (now called Woking Station).
1839 London and Southampton Company renamed London and South Western Railway.
1849 Necropolis (Cemetery) first proposed for Woking Parish by the Board of Health.
1851 Surrey Constabulary began policing rural Surrey.
1854 Brookwood Cemetery opened.
1856 First building in the 'New Woking', the Albion Hotel was built.
1862 Royal Dramatic College opened in Maybury (The current occupier of this site is the Lion Retail Park).
1864 Guildford (affecting Woking parish) and Chertsey (affecting Horsell parish) Highway Districts formed.
1872 Guildford (affecting Woking parish) and Chertsey (affecting Horsell parish) Rural Sanitary Authorities formed.
1874 Woking School Board formed.
1877 Royal Dramatic College closed.
1879 Woking Crematorium built.
1884 First cremation in the UK is performed at St. Johns, Woking Crematorium. Oriental Institute opens on the site of the Royal Dramatic College.
1887 Woking Police Station opened.
1889 Woking Football Club was formed. Surrey County Council formed and was under Conservative Control. Woking Mosque (alleged to be the first purpose built in the UK) opened. Sultan Shah Jahan, Begum of Bhopal donated money to help build it. It is now called the Shah Jehan Mosque in her honour.
1890 Woking obtained Electricity.
1892 Woking obtained Gas.
1894 Woking Local Board formed, first met in Goldsworth Hall with 18 councillors representing these wards, Knaphill, St Johns, Mayford, Sutton, Brookwood, Old Woking, Maybury and Central. 'Woking News' newspaper first published from offices in Chertsey Road, each copy cost 1 penny.
1895 Woking Urban District Council, replacing the Local Board (affecting Woking parish) and Chertsey Rural District Council (affecting Horsell parish) formed. Gustav Friedrich Wermig is the 1st Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1895-8. Horsell Parish Council is formed. Woking Fire Brigade is formed. Electric Street lighting in Woking. 'Woking Mail' newspaper first published from offices in Goldsworth Road, each copy cost 1/2 penny. It later merges with 'Woking News' to become the 'Woking News and Mail'.
1898 George Harris is the 2nd Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1898-1903. H. G. Wells wrote his book The War of the Worlds whilst living in Woking and many scenes from the story are set in Horsell, Woking and around.
1899 Woking obtained sewerage system. Victoria Hospital opened. Oriental Institute closed.
1900 The original Woking Open Air Swimming Pool was opened around this time.
1902 Gas Street lighting replaced Electric in Woking. Guildford and District Motor Services started a bus service in the Guildford and Woking area. Woking and Bagshot Light Railway proposed that would have run over what is now Goldsworth park on the Woking side of the Woking/Horsell parish boundary. By 1910 the project died out.
1903 William Burne was the 3rd Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1903/4.
1904 Henry William Gloster was the 4th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1904/5.
1905 Patrick Herbert White was the 5th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1905-9.
1907 Brooklands opened. Horsell merged into the Woking Urban District Council.
1909 Horsell obtained sewerage system. Sparkes Cornelius Knight was the 6th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1909/10.
1910 William Aird was the 7th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1910/1.
1911 James Hutchinson Driver was the 8th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1911-3.
1913 Henry Alfred Whitburn was the 9th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1913/4.
1914 Albert Hamilton Godfrey M.B.E. was the 10th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1914-20. First World War starts (called at the time the Great War).
1915 Guildford and District Motor Services bought by Aldershot and District Traction Company who eventually took over its services in the Guildford and Woking area. Martinsyde Aircraft factory built on the site of the Oriental Institute to increase production.
1917 Martinsyde Aircraft moved its head office from Brooklands to the Woking Factory.
1918 First World War finished.
1920 Harry Trevor Wilson was the 11th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1920/1. First Woking council house. Devastating fire at the Martinsyde Aircraft Factory, aircraft production stopped, though motorcycle production continued. In the 1920s/30s, on what was later to become the Goldsworth park playing fields, thousands of flint tools were found. Left probably by a small group of people, settled in the valley of Parley Brook (though there may be a small chance that the actual original location may have been somewhere else, if they had been moved by glacial ice).
1921 Albert Broderick was the 12th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1921/2.
1922 Frederick Rice was the 13th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1922/3. Martinsyde 1922 Woking Built 678cc Motorcycle.
1923 Alfred Hardy was the 14th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1923/4. Southern Railway formed. Ran most routes through Woking Station. Martinsyde stopped making motorcycles.
1924 'Woking Offers' free paper advertising local traders started. Assets of Martinsyde Aircraft passed to Air Disposal Company (Airdisco). Waterer's Park was left to Woking U.D.C. by Mr Anthony Waterer of Knaphill Nursery. Knaphill Football Club started in 1924 playing there. Philip Warren C.M.G was the 15th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1924/5.
1925 Henry Quartermaine was the 16th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1925/6.
1926 Martinsyde Factory Site passed to James Walker Engineering, and later renamed 'Lion Works'. William Harker was the 17th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1926/7.
1927 Walter Mathews Lt. Col. T.D. was the 18th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1927/8.
1928 'Woking Offers' renamed 'Woking Outlook'. Albert Foord was the 19th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1928/9.
1929 Woking Library opened. Seymour Price-Williams M. Inst. C.C. was the 20th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1929/30.
1930 Henry Quartermaine J.P. was the 21st Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1930-2. Woking Civic Arms granted, the motto "Fide et Diligentia" means "By Faith and Diligence".
1931 Street lighting back to Electric from Gas in Woking.
1932 Arthur Campbell B.Sc., L.C.P. was the 22nd Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1932-4.
1933 'Woking Outlook' renamed 'Woking Review', which is believed to be the oldest free newspaper in Britain. Chertsey Rural District Council abolished. Most of Byfleet and Pyrford Parishes and part of Woodham tithing in Chertsey Parish and part of Bisley Parish were joined with Woking Urban District Council.
1934 Philip Easton Lt. Col. C.B.E., D.S.O. was the 23rd Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1934-6.
1935 The second Woking Open Air Swimming Pool was opened. Woking Swimming Club was formed.
1936 Small part of Byfleet, around the Mill, that had been joined with Walton and Weybridge in 1933, placed with Woking Urban District Council. (The new W.U.D.C. boundary in 1936, was mostly the same as the current Woking Borough boundary).
1938 Conrad Samuel J.P., C.C. was the 25th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1938-41.
1939 Second World War started for the UK, as it declares war on Germany. Woking Fire Brigade placed under the wartime control of Surrey County Council. Southern Railway placed under Government control due to the war. Surrey was divided into two emergency control areas. The West Emergency Area, comprised these councils, Bagshot RD, Caterham and Warlingham UD, Chertsey UD, Dorking UD, Dorking and Horley RD, Egham UD, Farnham UD, Frimley and Camberley UD, Godalming RD, Guildford B, Guildford RD, Hambledon UD, Leatherhead UD, Reigate B, Walton and Weybridge UD and Woking UD. East Emergency Area (later called = Group 9 London CD), comprised these councils, Banstead UD, Barnes B, Beddington and Wallington B, Carlshalton UD, Coulsdon and Purley UD, Croydon CB, Epsom and Ewell B, Esher UD, Kingston B, Malden and Coombe B, Merton and Morden UD, Mitcham B, Sutton and Cheam B, Richmond B, Surbiton B and Wimbledon B CB=County Borough, B=Borough, UD=Urban District and RD=Rural District
1941 Frederick Sowden was the 26th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1941-3.
1942 Reigate, Guildford and Surrey Constabularies all joined the Surrey Joint Police Force.
1943 Edgar Cook M.B.E. was the 27th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1943/4.
1944 Harry Herbert was the 28th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1944/5.
1945 Charles May M.C. was the 29th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1945/6. V2 rockets launched by Germany, one landed on Woking.
1946 Henry Cawsey C.C. was the 30th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1946/7.
1947 Professor C J Wrigley was born in 1947. He later attended Goldsworth School. Graham Wilson Capt., D.S.O., R.N. was the 31st Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1947/8. Surrey Fire Brigade formed. Southern Railway became part of British Railways. Kenwood started in Woking. Navigation on the Brookwood Canal stopped.
1948 Bertram Ralph-Brown was the 32nd Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1948/9.
1949 Guy Pritchett was the 33rd Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1949/50.
1950 Harold rett was the 34th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1950/1.
1951 Thomas Leam was the 35th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1951/2.
1952 Gerald Colpoys Capt. R.N. was the 36th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1952/3.
1953 Surrey Plan foresaw a Woking Urban District population of about 67,000 in the mid-1970s, but the 1961 Census figures exceeded that amount. Walter Darby was the 37th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1953/4.
1954 Robert Beldam M.A., A.C.A. was the 38th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1954/5. Woking Squash Club was formed.
1955 James Terry M.A. was the 39th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1955/6.
1956 Arthur Campbell B.Sc., L.C.P. was the 40th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1956/7.
1957 Frederick Sowden J.P. was the 41st Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1957/8.
1958 Leslie Cheeseman was the 42nd Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1958/9.
1959 Stanley Higgins was the 43rd Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1959/60.
1960 Dorothy Gale was the 44th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1960/1. James Walker Engineering opened a new site in Old Woking.
1961 Thomas Leam C.C. was the 45th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1961/2.
1962 Marjorie Richardson was the 46th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1962/3. Kenwood moved from Woking.
1963 Rhoda McGaw was the 47th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1963/4. The Winter of 1962-3 was the coldest on record since 1740. The Rolling Stones played a concert at the 'Atalanta' Ballroom in Woking. Mclaren Racing Team formed.
1964 Victor Pearmund was the 48th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1964/5. Cranley Onslow (later Lord Onslow) was elected as Woking's Member of Parliament (1964-1997) replacing Harold Watkinson.
1965 Thomas Leam J.P., C.C. was the 49th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1965/6. Revised Plan foresaw a population of 97,000 by 1981 and proposed building 3 new housing schemes, one of which was known as 'Slococks', to be built on nurserylands owned by the Slococks.
1966 Bernard Robinson Cdr., R.N. was the 50th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1966/7.
1967 Ivor Gibson was the 51st Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1967/8.
1968 Bernard Emmett was the 52nd Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1968/9. Woking Archery Club was formed. Guildford flooded after heavy rain.
1969 Eric Bucksey was the 53rd Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1969/70.
1970 Land Commission abolished by the Conservative Government. New Ideal Homes and Woking Council agreed to a partnership to build 'Slococks'. Margaret Marshall C.C. was the 54th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1970/1.
1971 David Boorman was the 55th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1971/2. Wolsey Place Shopping Centre opens. About this time Centre Halls, Centre Pool and Woking Centre Library opened. Aldershot and District Traction Company renamed Alder Valley.
1972 Harry Keat L.R.I.B.A., A.R.I.C.S. was the 56th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1972/3. Cranley Onslow (Woking's MP) was given ministerial office (1972-1974) under Micheal Heseltine.
1973 Plan to build housing estate approved by the Government. Project first called 'Goldsworth Park'. Work started in Goldsworth Vale (phase one was Wilders Close e.t.c.), Planned to build approx. 4,500 homes for approx. 15,000 residents. It also planned for a lake, sports facilities, golf course, shops, swimming-pool, library, industrial estate, youth centres, pubs, churches, fire station and social facilities. David Robinson was the 57th and last Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1973/4. The new covered Woking Swimming Pool was opened (called the Centre Pool), near to where Toy's R Us and Peacocks Corner are now on the A320.
1974 The Jam played the first gigs in Woking. Woking Borough Council was formed, replacing the Urban District Council and is under Conservative Control. First home completed and first buyer moved in to Goldsworth Park! Christopher Mitchell was the 1st Woking Mayor for 1974/5.
1975 Terence (Terry) Molloy was the 2nd Woking Mayor for 1975/6.
1976 Ian McCallum was the 3rd Woking Mayor for 1976/7. British American Tobacco moved into Export House Tower.
1977 Around this time Marjorie Richardson (the former 46th Woking Urban District Council Chairman for 1962/3) opened a centre in Woking for retired people. Anthony Allenby was the 4th Woking Mayor for 1977/8.
1978 Gordon Brown was the 5th Woking Mayor for 1978/9.
1979 William Greenwood was the 6th Woking Mayor for 1979/80.
1980 Margaret Gammon was the 7th Woking Mayor for 1980/1.
1981 Francis Spanton was the 8th Woking Mayor for 1981/2.
1982 Dorothy Butler was the 9th Woking Mayor for 1982/3. Cranley Onslow (Woking's MP) was given minister of state at the Foreign Office (1982-1984) under Francis Pym.
1983 Woking twinned with Amstelveen in the Netherlands, though the Charter of Friendship was signed in 1989. Paul Blagbrough was the 10th Woking Mayor for 1983/4. Woking Civic Offices opened?
1984 John Jewson was the 11th Woking Mayor for 1984/5.
1985 Patricia Bohling was the 12th Woking Mayor for 1985/6.
1986 British Rail Southern Region rebranded as Network South East. Woking Borough Council switched from Conservative to No Overall Control. Anne Payne was the 13th Woking Mayor for 1986/7.
1987 Margaret Gammon was the 14th Woking Mayor for 1987/8. Great Storm.
1988 Alexander Grayson was the 15th Woking Mayor for 1988/9.
1989 Anne Cartwright was the 16th Woking Mayor for 1989/90. The second Woking Covered Swimming Pool was opened at Pool in the Park. Byfleet Parish Council re-formed.
1990 Alder Valley South Buses sold to London Country. Rhodney Lofting was the 17th Woking Mayor for 1990/1.
1991 Brookwood Canal formally reopened along its whole length following renovation by volunteers. Richard Williams was the 18th Woking Mayor for 1991/2.
1992 Peacocks Shopping Centre, Library, Town Gate, Cinema and New Victoria Theatre and the Leisure Lagoon at Pool in the Park opened. Centre Halls, Centre Pool and Woking Centre Library had been demolished to make room for them. London Country bus services from Woking renamed Guildford and West Surrey. Woking twinned with Le Plessis-Robinson in France, though the Charter of Friendship was signed in 1993. Woking Borough Council switched from No Overall Control to Conservative Control. Leslie Pescodd was the 19th Woking Mayor for 1992/3.
1993 Rosie Sharpley from Goldsworth Park was the 20th Woking Mayor for 1993/4. 14 December - An explosion on the railway lines between Woking and West Byfleet disrupted rail traffic and forced the closure of 9 stations in the area. Surrey Constabulary renamed Surrey Police.
1994 Woking Football Club won FA Trophy. Woking Borough Council switched from Conservative to No Overall Control. David Thornton was the 21st Woking Mayor for 1994/5. Woking's STD telephone code changed from 0483 to 01483 along with most areacodes in the UK on Phoneday. Between 1989 and 1994 it had changed from 04862 to 0483 (If you can remember the actual year please email us). The original reason for this was that 04862 was a RING code of GUILDFORD and actually meant 0GU62. British Telecom decided to move most UK RING codes to their related CORE codes (Guildford CORE code 0483 actually stood for 0GU3).
1995 Woking Football Club won FA Trophy. Neville Hinks was the 22nd Woking Mayor for 1995/6.
1996 The Planets Entertainment complex was completed. John Coombe was the 23rd Woking Mayor for 1996/7. South West Trains won the franchise for most rail routes through Woking Station (the former BR Network South East/South West Division). Guildford and West Surrey Buses sold to Cowie Group (Arriva).
1997 Woking Borough Council News Archive for 1997 Woking Football Club won FA Trophy. Irene Matthews was the 24th Woking Mayor for 1997/8. Humfrey Malins was elected as Woking's Member of Parliament. Cranley Onslow is made Lord Onslow.
1998 Woking Borough Council switches from Liberal Democrat to No Overall Control. Rosemary Johnson was the 25th Woking Mayor for 1998/9.
1999 Woking Borough Council Wards changed. Ian Fidler was the 26th Woking Mayor for 1999/2000. Woking twinned with Rastatt in Germany, though the Charter of Friendship was signed in 2001. Surrey History Centre officially opened by HRH Charles, The Prince of Wales. Ian Eastwood became Deputy Mayor. McLaren to build new Mercedes SLR. South East Regional Assembly set up covering Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Surrey, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.
2000 Elections for the new wards in Woking Borough Council. Ian Eastwood from Goldsworth Park was the 27th Woking Mayor for 2000/1.
2001 Woking twinned with Rastatt in Germany in 1999, though the Charter of Friendship was signed in 2001. Barry Pope was the 28th Woking Mayor for 2001/2. C+A closed its Swiftflow distribution depot on Goldsworth Park Trading Estate. Telewest moved into Export House Tower.
2002 Arriva's Woking (Goldsworth Park Trading Estate) Bus Garage closed. Mehala Gosling was the 29th Woking Mayor for 2002/3.
2003 A new bigger warehouse was built on the site of the old C+A warehouse in Kestrel Way. Richard Sanderson was the 30th Woking Mayor for 2003/4.
2004 Graham Cundy was the 31st Woking Mayor for 2004/5.
2005 Ian Johnson is the 32nd Woking Mayor for 2005/6.
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 a minority Conservative administration.
Transport
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.
There is a RailAir coach every 30 minutes between the terminus immediately outside the railway station and Heathrow Airport, using the M25 motorway. Gatwick Airport can be accessed via Guildford railway station or Clapham Junction.
Principal roads include the A320, which connects to the M25 to Woking's north near Chertsey and to the A3 to its south at Guildford. The A320 is frequently very congested at peak hours.
The Basingstoke Canal passes through Woking.
Sport
Woking has a non-league football club, Woking F.C., that competes in the Nationwide Conference. 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 had 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.
The McLaren Formula One team is based near to the town.
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 statue of a (Wellsian) Martian in the town centre commemorating Woking's fictional destruction. There is also, inexplicably, a Hawker Hunter jet fighter, painted silver and mounted on a pole roughly 10 metres tall.
The Jam are from Woking, and its singer/songwriter Paul Weller (who later became a member of The Style Council) was born there in 1958.
Other notable people who were born in Woking include:
- Ron Dennis, team principal of the McLaren Formula One team, 1947
- Harry Hill, comedian, 1964
- Sean Lock, comedian, 1963
- Rick Parfitt, guitarist for Status Quo, 1948
- Delia Smith, celebrity chef, 1941