Woking Walk: Town Centre【4K】

Located in the county of Surrey, and around 25 miles southwest of central London, is the town of Woking.

The name 'Woking' means '[settlement belonging to] Wocca's followers', where Wocca was a Saxon chieftain, presumably the same person to whom Wokingham in Berkshire is named after. The first recorded reference of Woking dates back to the 8th century as the site of a monastery. It appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as 'Wochinges'.

By the 13th century there existed a manor house by the River Wey in what is today referred to as Old Woking, around two miles southeast of the town centre. It was here in 1490 that Henry VII signed the Treaty of Woking, which was a pact between Henry and Maximilian of Austria against their common enemy, the French, to prevent them from dominating Europe. In 1503 the manor house was converted into a palace, with extension work taking place during Henry VIII's reign. Woking Palace fell into ruin sometime around the 17th century.

Between 1651 and 1653 the River Wey Navigation was created. This was one of the first rivers in England to be made navigable, i.e. widened to accommodate commercial traffic. The River Wey and River Thames became connected, providing Woking merchants with a direct route to London, as well as Guildford to the south, and later Godalming following extension works in 1764. In 1794 the Basingstoke Canal opened, which linked up with the Wey Navigation, giving Woking a further connection, in this case with Basingstoke as the name suggests.

In 1838 the railway arrived in Woking, courtesy of the London and Southampton Railway, who were renamed the London and South Western Railway the following year. Today the station is situated along multiple lines with direct services to London Waterloo, Portsmouth, Weymouth and Exeter to name a few. Services to London Waterloo are extremely frequent, taking under an hour to arrive, and in some cases under half an hour depending on stops. For this reason, among others, Woking is a popular commuter town for those working in the capital.

In 1895 author H. G. Wells moved to Woking. From here he wrote some of his most iconic titles. Of particular note is The War of the Worlds, where much of the events unfold in Woking. The first martian landing takes place on Horsell Common, about a mile north of the town centre.

Woking is represented in sport by Woking Football Club. Founded in 1887, they are nicknamed 'the Cards' (from the Cardinal red of the red and white halves). They have played their home games at the Kingfield Stadium since 1922.

Famous people from Woking include celebrity cook Delia Smith, musicians Rick Parfitt and Paul Weller, comedian Harry Hill, and Susie Dent of Countdown's Dictionary Corner. Mod revival band The Jam formed in Woking in 1972. Paul Weller has stated that the song Town Called Malice refers to Woking and his teenage experiences there. Weller would go on to form The Style Council in 1982.

Finally, those random sculptures dotted around the town were created by Woking-born artist Sean Henry.

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Filmed: 2nd April 2022

Link to the walk on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/1vphT3NPQHvwRE93A

Filmed on a Sony FDR-AX700 with a Zhiyun Crane 2 and a Sony ECM-XYST1M Stereo Microphone.

TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 Goldsworth Road
1:18 Prince Andrew's favourite pizza joint
1:30 Goldsworth Road
4:24 High Street
7:19 Sean Henry Sculpture: The Wanderer
7:24 Chertsey Road
10:50 Church Street East
12:40 The Woking Martian (from War of the Worlds)
12:49 Church Street East
14:09 Jubilee Square
14:55 Mercia Walk
16:38 Jubilee Square
17:28 Mercia Walk
17:56 Commercial Way
20:01 Sean Henry Sculpture: Walking Woman
20:10 Commercial Way
21:02 Sean Henry Sculpture: Lying Man
21:08 Commercial Way
21:24 Sean Henry Sculpture: Lying Man