400,000 |
BC |
Earliest evidence of man living in Surrey -
flint handaxes found on upper river terraces near Farnham |
150,000 |
BC |
Start of continuous period of settlement.
After the last Ice Age (180,000-110,000 BC), hunters moved back into the
Surrey area |
c. 20,000 |
BC |
Flint tools, from late Upper Palaeolithic era, found in Littlewick area |
c. 3000 |
BC |
Flint handaxes, from neolithic or early bronze age, found in Maybury area (in
the Lightbox collection) |
c. 2000 |
BC |
One disc barrow and two bell barrows constructed on Horsell Common
(early Bronze Age) |
|
c. 675 |
|
Monks of Medehamsted found daughter-house
at Woking |
|
c. 710 |
|
Earliest reference to Woking in a letter
from Pope Constantine |
|
1086 |
|
Woking recorded in Domesday Book as
'Wochinges' |
|
1100 |
s |
Chapel built on site of Horsell church |
|
1200 |
|
King John granted manor of Woking and manor
of Sutton to Alan Bassett |
|
1260 |
|
Manor of Woking passed to Hugh le Despenser |
|
1272 |
|
Royal residence (Woking Palace) sited by
River Wey |
|
1416 |
|
Alice, Duchess of Kent, bequeaths manor of
Woking to Margaret Beaufort, Duchess of Somerset |
|
1485 |
|
Lady Margaret Beaufort (dau of the Duchess)
granted manor of Woking by Henry VII |
11 Sep |
1490 |
|
Treaty of Woking (a non-aggression pact)
signed by Henry VII with Maximilian of Austria |
|
1509 |
|
Manor passes to Henry VIII |
|
1515 |
|
Thomas Wolsey, at Woking Palace, made a
Cardinal |
|
1521 |
|
Manor of Sutton granted to Sir Richard
Weston |
|
1530 |
ish |
Sutton Place built |
|
1561 |
|
Elizabeth I grants a charter for a market |
Nov |
1620 |
|
James I grants manor and lordship to Sir
Edward Zouch |
Jun |
1634 |
|
Woking manor and lordship passes to James Zouch |
|
1645 |
|
Woking manor and lordship passes to James Zouch's 5 year old son, Edward |
|
1658 |
|
Edward Zouch dies and the manor and lordship passes to his brother, James |
|
1653 |
|
Wey Navigation opened |
|
1665 |
|
James Zouch obtains charter for weekly Woking market |
|
1665 |
|
James Zouch builds Woking market house |
|
1708 |
|
James Zouch dies |
|
1713 |
|
Woking manor sold to John Walter |
|
1718 |
|
Brew-house built |
|
1724 |
|
Defoe describes the Surrey commons as "a
vast tract of land which is not only poor, but even steril … horrid and
frightful to look on … much of it is a sandy desert, and one may
frequently be put in mind here of Arabia Deserta" |
|
1736 |
|
Woking manor passes to Abel Walter on death of his father John Walter |
|
1752 |
|
Abel Walter sells Manor and Lordship sold to Richard Onslow |
|
1760 |
|
Goldsworth Nursery established by James
Turner |
|
1788 |
-94 |
Building of Basingstoke Canal started |
|
1791 |
|
Basingstoke Canal open to Horsell |
|
1795 |
|
Knaphill Nursery established by Michael
Waterer |
|
1808 |
|
Enclosure of Sutton completed |
|
1811 |
|
Horsell Common Baptist chapel built |
Nov |
1830 |
|
Civil unrest in Woking parish over tithe
payments |
|
1834 |
|
London-Southampton Railway construction begins |
|
|
|
Guildford and Chertsey Poor Law Unions
formed |
21 May |
1838 |
|
Woking Common Station opened |
|
1840 |
|
Railway Hotel built (later Cardinal,
Sovereigns) |
|
|
|
Building work starts on St John's Church
(as a chapel of ease) |
|
1845 |
|
Guildford Branch railway opened |
|
1848 |
|
Church Street School built |
|
1849 |
|
Necropolis proposed for Woking parish by
Board of Health |
|
|
|
First Westfield School built |
|
1854 |
|
London Necropolis Company buy Woking common
land |
|
1855 |
|
Act for permission to sell surplus
Necropolis land |
|
1856 |
|
Albion Hotel built |
|
1858 |
|
Kemishford bridge built |
|
1859 |
|
Invalid Prison built at Knaphill |
|
|
|
Proposal to pump London sewage to Woking
Common, which might have prevented development of modern Woking |
Apr |
1859 |
|
Prisoners moved into Invalid Prison |
|
1860 |
-65 |
Construction of Royal Dramatic College |
|
1862 |
|
First residents admitted to Royal Dramatic
College |
|
1863 |
|
Work starts on Surrey County Lunatic Asylum
(Brookwood Hospital) |
|
1864 |
|
Post Office, previously in Ripley, moves to
Old Woking High St opposite the White Hart |
Jun |
1864 |
|
Brookwood railway station opened |
|
1865 |
|
Sub-Post Office opens at corner of High St and Church Path
opposite station |
Jun |
1867 |
|
First patients admitted to Brookwood Hospital |
|
1868 |
|
Beacon tower on Monument Hill falls in a
storm |
|
1869 |
|
Red House Hotel built |
|
|
|
Woking College founded |
May |
1869 |
|
Female Invalid Prison opened |
Jan |
1870 |
|
Surrey Advertiser first uses term 'Old
Woking' to decribe Woking village |
Apr |
1874 |
|
Woking School Board formed |
|
1877 |
|
Walter Slocock buys Goldsworth Nursery |
|
|
|
Woking Station Sub-Post Office then in Walton Road, becomes the Woking's main Post Office |
10 Nov |
1887 |
|
Duchess of Albany lays foundation stone for
Christ Church |
Dec |
1877 |
|
Royal Dramatic College closes |
|
1879 |
|
Woking Crematorium built |
|
1880 |
|
Knaphill School built |
|
1882 |
|
Public piped water supplied introduced |
|
1883 |
|
St John's chapel of ease becomes
fully-fledged church |
|
|
|
Building starts on St Peter's Convent |
|
1884 |
-93 |
Christ Church built |
|
1885 |
|
Oriental Institute opened in former Royal
Dramatic College building |
|
|
|
Electric Street lighting in Woking town
centre |
|
|
|
St Peter's Convent opened |
|
|
|
Knaphill church constructed in Chobham Road |
Mar |
1885 |
|
First legal cremation in modern times.
‘A lady well-known in literary and scientific circles’ was the
only clue The Times gave to the identity of the woman (Mrs Pickersgill)
who was cremated by the Cremation Society. |
|
1887 |
|
Woking Police Station opens |
|
|
|
Claremont Avenue completed |
|
|
|
Surrey Industrial School moves to Maybury
Farm |
|
|
|
West Byfleet station opens |
|
1888 |
|
Ashby's Bank, of Staines, opens branch in Commercial
Road |
|
|
|
Capital & Counties Bank opens branch in High
Street |
|
1889 |
|
Shah Jehan Mosque opens |
|
|
|
Woking Crematorium rebuilt in brick |
|
|
|
Woking Electrical Supply Company formed |
|
|
|
Woking Football Club founded |
|
|
|
Male convict prison closed |
|
1890 |
|
Electricity supplies started |
|
|
|
Abbey Farm, Horsell, sold for development |
|
|
|
National Rifle Association (NRA) moves from Wimbledon to Bisley; Bisley
branch line built from Brookwood to Bisley Camp |
|
1891 |
|
Woking College closed |
|
1891 |
-2 |
Old wooden Elm Bridge rebuilt in brick |
|
1892 |
|
Gasworks opened in Boundary Road |
|
|
|
Conversion of Woking Prison to Army
Barracks begins |
|
|
|
Ashby's build new bank on corner of Chertsey Road
and what would later be the Broadway |
|
1893 |
|
Woking Golf Club founded |
|
|
|
Woking Local Board established |
|
|
|
First hospital in Woking opens in Bath Road |
14 Jun |
1893 |
|
Christ Church consecrated by Bishop of
Winchester |
|
1894 |
|
Woking Urban District, local government
district created |
|
|
|
Woking News first published |
|
|
|
Woking, Horsell and Woodham Cottage
Hospital started |
|
1895 |
|
Woking Public Halls completed |
|
|
|
Woking Mail first published |
|
|
|
First Infantry regiment quartered at
Inkerman Barracks |
|
|
|
First street lighting in Woking |
|
|
|
New Post Office built in Chertsey Road |
|
|
|
Woking Urban District Council formed |
|
|
|
St Johns fire station opened |
|
|
|
St Paul's church Maybury built |
|
|
|
H G Wells moves to Woking; Writes The War of
the Worlds |
|
|
|
H G Wells writes The Time Machine |
Dec |
1895 |
|
Woking Fire Brigade established |
|
|
|
Female convict prison closed |
|
1896 |
|
Red House Hotel enlarged (Saloon bar, coffee &
billiard rooms) |
|
|
|
Home and Colonial Tea Stores opens in
Chertsey Road |
|
|
|
H G Wells leaves Woking |
|
1897 |
|
Mains gas reaches Horsell |
|
|
|
Claremont Avenue constructed |
|
|
|
Hugh Butcher's shop opens in the Broadway |
|
|
|
New Westfield School built |
|
1898 |
|
Conservative Club built |
|
|
|
Woking-Basingstoke railway line widened; |
|
|
|
Goldsworth Schools open |
|
1899 |
|
Methodist Church completed |
|
|
|
Oriental Institute closes (and with it the
Mosque) |
|
|
|
Albion Hotel rebuilt |
|
|
|
Victoria Cottage Hospital opened; |
|
|
|
Woking sewerage system inaugurated; |
|
1899 |
|
Tunnelling for the sewerage system under
the Basingstoke canal at Horsell Moor causes the canal bed to collapse
closing it to traffic for 6 months |
|
|
|
Horsell Nurseries sold for development |
|
|
|
Mains gas reaches West Byfleet |
|
|
|
Oriental Institute closes after death of Dr
Leitner |
|
|
|
Woking & District Co-Operaive Society
starts trading |
|
1899 |
|
Kiln Bridge rebuilt |
|
|
|
St Dunstan's church opened in Percy Street |
|
1900 |
|
Waldens Farm, Horsell, sold for development |
|
|
|
Princess Christian Home built at Stafford
Lake |
|
1901 |
|
Woking and District Water Company
incorporated |
|
1902 |
|
Co-Op opens at junction of Percy St and
Church St |
|
|
|
Electric
street lighting replaced with gas |
|
|
|
Mains gas reaches Mayford & Hook Heath |
|
1903 |
|
Victoria Gardens aka 'Sparrow Park'
established |
|
|
|
Brookwood School built |
|
1904 |
|
Hockering Estate laid out |
|
|
|
Fox and Hounds PH built at Sutton Green |
|
1905 |
|
New Mayford Arms built; old Mayford Arms converted to private house |
|
|
|
Emmanuel Chapel built in Saunders Lane |
|
1906 |
|
Council Offices opened |
|
|
|
Hermitage Bridge collapes |
|
|
|
Brookwood volunteer fire brigade formed |
|
1907 |
|
Victoria Arch rebuilt/widened |
|
|
|
Mains electricity reaches Woking Village |
|
|
|
Old Chertsey Road bridge demolished |
|
|
|
Building of Holy Trinity Church, Knaphill
begins |
|
|
|
St Mary of Bethany Church built in Mount
Hermon Rd |
30 Jun |
1907 |
|
Storm hits Woking; Cecil Terrace hit by
lightning |
|
1908 |
|
Mains electricity reaches Knaphill |
|
|
|
Market House in Woking village demolished
and replaced with cottages |
|
1909 |
|
LSWR Servants Orphanage opens |
|
|
|
St Saviour's Church built in Brookwood |
|
1910 |
|
Outdoor swimming pool (timber-lined) built
in Woking Park |
|
|
|
Wheatsheaf Bridge demolished |
|
|
|
Salvation Army hall built in Church Street |
|
1911 |
|
Recreation Ground laid out |
|
1912 |
|
Woking Co-Op Society Garden Suburb built in
Horsell as a mini 'garden city' |
|
|
|
Shah Jehan Mosque reopened |
|
1913 |
|
Co-Op store built at Knaphill, at junction
of Broadway and High Street |
|
1914 |
|
Woking County School for Boys opened |
|
|
|
Mains electricity reaches Pirbright,
Ripley, Bisley |
|
|
|
Stumps Bridge, Brookwood rebuilt |
|
1915 |
|
Martinsyde moved to former Oriental
Institute |
|
|
|
New Broadmead Bridge built |
by |
1916 |
|
Former Womens' prison becomes Military
Detention Barracks |
|
1917 |
|
Muslim Cemetery built |
|
1919 |
|
J Sainsbury opens shop in Chertsey Rd |
|
1920 |
|
Woking's first council house completed |
|
1920s |
White Horse Inn in Old Woking demolished
for 'road widening' (still not happened) |
|
1921 |
|
Barley Mow PH, Knaphill closes |
|
1921 |
-2 |
Widening of Hermitage Hill |
24 May |
1922 |
|
War memorial unveiled |
|
1923 |
|
Part of Maybury Road renamed 'Broadway' |
|
|
|
New Chertsey Road bridge built |
|
1925 |
|
Woking County School for Girls opened |
|
|
|
Anchor Hill brickworks closed |
|
|
|
New St Dunstan's church opened in White
Rose Lane |
|
1926 |
|
James Walker take over Martinsyde site to
be renamed 'Lion Works' |
|
1928 |
|
Fire brigade move to new station in Church
Street |
|
|
|
Floods in Old Woking |
|
1929 |
|
Woking Library opened in former RC Church
in Percy St |
|
1930 |
|
Woking Urban District Council granted a coat of arms |
|
1931 |
|
Conversion of street lighting from gas
[back] to electricity |
|
1933 |
|
Byfleet & Pyrford joined with Woking Urban
District |
|
1934 |
|
Sainsbury moves to High St |
|
|
|
Library moved to former Methodist Chapel |
|
|
|
Roundabout completed at Turnoak Corner |
|
1935 |
|
New lido-style swimming pool |
|
|
|
Co-Op redeveloped as a department store |
|
1936 |
-7 |
Railway station rebuilt |
|
1937 |
|
Council car park opens in Commercial Road |
|
|
|
Ritz (later A.B.C.) Cinema built |
|
1945 |
|
Woking hit by V2 Rocket |
|
1946 |
|
Woking Masonic Lodge constituted and
consecrated |
Sep |
1947 |
|
RMP make Inkerman their home |
Nov |
1948 |
|
Construction starts on Sheerwater Estate |
15 Mar |
1949 |
|
Final commercial load carried on
Basingstoke canal delivered to Spantons' Yard. |
Sep |
1951 |
|
First house in Sheerwater Estate ready for
occupation |
|
1957 |
|
Woking Water Company move from Commercial
Way to Guildford Road |
|
1960 |
|
Closure of Inkerman Barracks announced |
|
1960 |
s |
Albion House development |
|
1963 |
|
McLaren Racing Team formed |
|
1965 |
|
Inkerman Barracks closes |
|
1966 |
|
Methodist church in Commercial Road
destroyed by fire. |
|
1967 |
|
Winston Churchill School established |
|
1968 |
|
Floods in Old Woking |
12 Jul |
1969 |
|
Woking Round Table held first Woking Whirl carnival in Egley Road |
|
1972 |
|
New Salvation Army Hall built in Walton
Road |
|
1973 |
|
Victoria Way version 1 opened |
Jun |
1973 |
|
Goldsworth Park plan approved by Government |
Oct |
1973 |
|
Building starts in Goldsworth Park |
|
1974 |
|
Atalanta Ballroom closes |
|
|
|
Wolsey Place shopping arcade opened |
|
1975 |
|
Woking Centre Pools opened |
|
|
|
War Memorial moved to Town Square |
|
|
|
Woking Centre Library opened |
|
|
|
Conservation area designated at Old Woking |
14 Oct |
1975 |
|
Official opening of Wolsey Place |
|
1976 |
|
BAT building completed |
|
|
|
Conservation area designated at Pyrford |
|
1977 |
|
Boys Grammar School closed |
|
|
|
Woking College founded, as Woking Sixth Form College |
Oct |
1978 |
|
Fine Fare Supermarket opens |
|
1978 |
|
Crown Life House completed |
|
|
|
Conservation area designated at Horsell |
|
1981 |
|
Fire station in Church St rebuilt |
|
1983 |
|
Woking Civic Offices opened |
|
|
|
Knaphill School demolished |
|
1984 |
|
Prince of Wales PH, St John's, closed |
|
1988 |
|
Goldsworth Park completed |
2 Jul |
1988 |
|
Woking Round Table held nineteenth and last Woking Whirl carnival |
|
1989 |
|
Pool in the Park opened |
|
1992 |
|
Peacocks centre opened |
|
|
|
Ambassadors & New Victoria Theatre opened |
|
|
|
Woking Centre Pools demolished |
|
|
|
Queen's Head PH, Knaphill closed |
|
1993 |
|
Woking Mural unveiled |
|
1997 |
|
Surrey History Centre building starts |
|
1998 |
|
Surrey History Centre opens |
|
2007 |
|
County Council moves to Woking |
|
2010 |
|
Brookwood Hotel closed |
|
2011 |
|
Goldsworth Arms PH closed |
Mar |
2012 |
|
Building of Living Planet Centre starts |
25 Jun |
2012 |
|
Revamped Library opens |
Nov |
2013 |
|
Living Planet Centre, the home of the UK branch of the World Wildlife Fund opened by David Attenborough |
|
2015 |
|
Goldsworth Arms PH demolished |
|
2018 |
|
Robin Hood PH closed |
|
|
|
Victoria Square development starts |
|
2020 |
|
Surrey County Council scraps plans to move to Woking and instead moves to Reigate |
Jun |
2023 |
|
Woking Borough Council declares itself bankrupt |