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Places to stay in Woking
Situated in north-west Surrey, 25 miles from London, Woking was originally a village located at what is now known as Old Woking; the current town centre being open heathland. With the arrival of the Basingstoke Canal and then the railway in 1838, Woking suddenly became more accessible from London and, in the 1800's, the present town started to develop when London had a shortage of land.
Primarily, it was the shortage of land for burials that led to the London
Necropolis Company buying 2300 acres of land on Woking Common at Brookwood
for use as a cemetery. However, only 400 acres were used for the cemetery
(the coffins being transported by special trains directly into the site)
and the rest of the land was used for property development. A large part
of the town reflects this Victorian origin although, more recently from
the 1970's, newer developments of shops, offices and apartments have greatly
enhanced the town and its surrounds. In literature, Woking is where the
Martians first land in H. G. Wells' science fiction novel The War of the
Worlds. In music, "Town Called Malice" was written about Woking
by Paul Weller and recorded by his band, The Jam. The song reached No.
1 in the UK Charts.
