By Tim Lambert
Early Woking
Woking began as a Saxon settlement. It was Wocca ingas, which measn the people of Wocca. By the time of the Domesday Book, in 1086 Woking probably had a population of about 350. By the standards of the time it was a large village. It had a church and a watermill.
By the 13th century Woking had weekly markets. Woking also had a manor house. In the early 16th century Henry VIII converted it into a royal palace. However for centuries Woking was a tiny market town.
Basingstoke Canal, which runs through Woking was completed in 1794.
Modern Woking
In 1801, at the time of the first census Woking still only had a population a little over 1,300. However in 1838 the railway reached Woking. The railway transformed the little town as it made it much easier to reach London. As a result it grew rapidly and by 1901 it had a population of over 16,000. It continued to grow rapidly during the 20th century.
Amenities in the town improved. Woking gained a piped water supply in 1882 and in 1890 an electricity supply. In 1885 the first modern crematorium in Britain opened in Woking. Christchurch in Woking was consecrated in 1893. Woking Park was established in 1902. The Pool in the Park was built in 1989. Woking War Memorial was built in 1921.
In the 20th century Woking continued to flourish. A new Woking Library opened in 1975. Woking College opened in 1977. Woking Civic Offices opened in 1983. Woking Theatre opened in 1992. The Woking Martian sculpture was built in 1998. Surrey History Centre opened in 1999.
In the 21st century Woking continued to develop. Lion Retail Park opened in 2006. The Living Planet Centre in Woking opened in 2013. A new fire station opened in the town in 2016. Victoria Place Shopping Centre opened in 2022. Today Woking is a commuter town. The population of Woking is 105,000.
