Woking
| Borough of Woking | |
|---|---|
 Shown within Surrey | |
| 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 | |
| Arms of Woking Borough Council Woking Borough Council http://www.woking.gov.uk | |
| Leadership: | Leader & Cabinet |
| Executive: | |
| MP: | Humfrey Malins |
Woking is a large town in England, in the west of Surrey. It is about 30 minutes by train from London. Woking was formed around the railway station built there over 150 years ago to act as a junction between trains to the south coast and the necropolis railway to Brookwood Cemetery. 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 was also the location for Brookwood Cemetery, which was developed by the London Necropolis Company as an overflow burial ground for London's dead.
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.
Facilities
Woking has a modern shopping centre called The Peacocks, linked to an older shopping area called Wolseley Place.
The main road for evening entertainment is Chertsey Road which boasts a number of restaurants and bars, several of which are open later than the traditional UK closing time on Thursdays to Saturdays inclusive.
There is a cinema and theatre within The Peacocks complex.
Woking has a leisure centre, indoor leisure pool and skate park on the outskirts of town within Woking Park.
The attractive scene at St Peter's Church, Old Woking is the inspiration for many local artists, as is another local beauty spot at the the lock at St John's Lye.
Politics
Politically, Woking has traditionally been a Conservative party safe seat. The current Member of Parliament for Woking is Humfrey Malins.
Transport
Woking is served by Woking railway station which 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 26 minutes.
There are two RailAir coaches per hour from immediately outside the railway station to/from Heathrow Airport using the M25. Gatwick Airport can be accessed via Guildford railway station or Clapham Junction.
Principal roads include the A320, which connects Woking to the M25 to its north at Chertsey and the A3 to its south at Guildford. The A320 frequently becomes very congested at peak hours.
The Basingstoke Canal passes through Woking.
Sport
Woking has a non-league football club Woking F.C., known as the "Cardinals" (or "Cards"). They obtained this nickname due to the relationship Woking has with Cardinal Wolsey.
The McLaren Formula One team are based near Woking.
Noteable residents
Woking was home to author H.G. Wells, who had the Martians in The War of the Worlds land on Horsell Common which is close to the town centre. There is a statue of a (Wellsian) Martian in the town centre commemorating Woking's fictional destruction in this book. There is also, inexplicably, a silver-painted single-engined jet fighter mounted on a big stick (possibly an English Electric Lightning).
Dame Ethel Smyth also lived in the town at one time.
Celebrity chef Delia Smith was born in Woking in 1941, and the singer/songwriter Paul Weller (of The Jam and The Style Council) in 1958.
External links
 | This United Kingdom location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |