Thursday 11 December 2014

Old Woking - A History through Documents

Committee members will be selling copies of this book  in W H Smiths in Woking on Saturday 13th December from 9.30am-4pm.

Saturday 29 November 2014

2015

All meetings in 2015 will take place at the  Holiday Inn, Victoria Way, Woking GU21 8EW.

AGM

The Woking History Society AGM will take place on Monday 1st December 2014 at Mayford Village Hall at 8pm.

Monday 17 November 2014

Monday 20 October 2014

WWF Living Planet Centre's one year anniversary

WWF-UK is having a Saturday open day at the Living Planet Centre in Woking on Saturday 1 November 2014 to celebrate the first anniversary of our official opening.
We’ll be open between 1 - 5pm and everyone’s welcome! Why not pop in with your friends and family to take part in some free family craft activities and face painting, find out about the natural world and WWF’s work  in the WWF Experience, see what adoptions and gifts we offer, or take a tour and see behind the scenes of our fantastic building!

Woking History Society Minutes Secretary

Woking History Society’s Trustees
urgently seek a
MINUTES SECRETARY
to join their friendly committee.
(We can’t function properly without one.)
The job involves:
  • taking minutes at 4 committee meetings in 2015
  • writing up the minutes and sending them to committee members
  • circulating agendas before committee meetings.

If you would like to know more, or if you wish to offer your services

please contact Jan Mihell via historywoking@gmail.com

The Sussex School of Archaeology CBA SE Autumn Conference

Aspects of Pre-History in South-East England

Saturday 1st November at the Huxley Lecture Theatre, Huxley Bulding, University of Brighton Moulsecoomb Campus, Lewes Road, Brighton BN2 4GJ. Map & directions.

Chaired by Professor Sue Hamilton and David Rudling, this conference will be a tribute in memory of Professor Peter Drewett who died in 2013.  Speakers include:
  • Matt Pope & Becky Scott 'The archaeology of early Homo in SE England'
  • Paul Garwood 'Social organisation of earlier Neolithic communities'
  • Julie Gardiner & David Field 'Flint mining - organisation, operation and social significance'
  • Michael Allen 'Beaker settlement on the Downs and the prehistoric impact on the chalklands'
  • John Manley 'An Iron Age social history for the South-East'
  • Caroline Wells 'Between chalk and sea - aspects of prehistory on the West Sussex coastal plain'
To book download the booking form from the Sussex School of Archaeology  website or call on 01323 811785.

Conference fees:

CBA SE members & Students: £27 (£32 with buffet lunch)

Others: £30 (£35 with buffet lunch)

Tea and coffee will be provided at morning and afternoon breaks.


If you wish to include the buffet lunch with your ticket, please book your place by 5pm on Friday 24th October.


 
Our venue is the Huxley Lecture Theatre, housed in the new Huxley Building, situated behind the Cockcfroft building on the University of Brighton Moulsecoomb campus.

Tuesday 30 September 2014

Next Meeting

Our next meeting will be on Monday 6th October at Mayford Village Hall, when Stephen Humphrey will be talking about Surrey Prisons. Visitors welcome for a fee of £3.

Friday 12 September 2014

Lives of the First World War

The Imperial War Museum's The Lives of the First World War campaign is asking members of the public to contribute time, data, and historical artifacts to help construct a massive database from existing records and historical archives of those who served in the British and Commonwealth forces. For more information, please consult https://livesofthefirstworldwar.org.uk

Last chance to sign up for the visit to Woking Palace excavations on September 20th

Friends of Woking Palace are arranging special site tours of the Palace while this year's dig is in progress and we have been offered the chance to see the excavations on Saturday 20th September at 2pm.


We must make you aware that it will be a working site and that the ground is rough. There will be no seating and no refreshments available, but there are portaloos! Cars must be parked in Old Woking, and this means a walk of about half an hour to the site and back again afterwards.

If you would like to join the tour, please phone Jan Mihell on 01483 772556 by September 13th.

Surrey in the Great War: A County Remembers - Project Update

I am very pleased to tell you that our bid for the second stage of the First World War Project - 'Surrey in the Great War: A County Remembers' - has been delivered to the Heritage Lottery Fund.

We expect to have a decision very early in 2015 and will then be able to start on this ambitious and exciting project.

Over the last few months our consultant has been engaged in consultations with a wide range of different groups. We are really pleased to say that the reaction has been almost unanimous; the proposed project is a great idea and an appropriate way to reflect on and commemorate the Great War. This support from communities across the County is hugely encouraging and we have already been receiving requests to register as a volunteer and other offers of support.

We have developed a structure for the planned website and have a working model for the searchable database which will contain all the information about the people who have a Great War connection with Surrey. The database is linked in to the county's Historic Environment Record so war memorials will be flagged up on any planning applications taking place in the local area. We have been working closely with colleagues in East and West Sussex to develop systems that use the same underlying principles so that data can be exchanged quickly and easily. We have also continued discussions with the Imperial War Museum's Lives of the First World War team and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission with a view to creating automated links with their data.

A new element in the planned project is the digitisation and indexing of a range of Surrey newspapers from the 1914-22 period. A great resource for anyone researching Surrey in the Great War period.

We will continue to keep you informed about project developments. If you know of anyone doing research about Surrey in the Great War and you think they may not be on our mailing list please ask them to contact the Surrey Heritage team at Surrey History Centre. We will then ensure that they are contacted and consulted once the project starts.

Many thanks to all of you who have already contributed ideas, research material and comments on the planned project.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to e-mail, call or write to us.

Regards

Phil Cooper
Exploring Surrey's Past Officer

phil.cooper@surreycc.gov.uk

Wednesday 3 September 2014

Visit to Woking Palace excavations on Saturday 20th September at 2pm

Friends of Woking Palace are arranging special site tours of the Palace while this year's dig is in progress and we have been offered the chance to see the excavations on Saturday 20th September.

We must make you aware that it will be a working site and that the ground is rough. There will be no seating and no refreshments available, but there are portaloos! Cars must be parked in Old Woking, and this means a walk of about half an hour to the site and back again afterwards.

If you would like to join the tour, please phone Jan Mihell on 01483 772556 by September 13th.

Sunday 31 August 2014

A reminder that the next meeting is on Monday September 1st at Mayford Village Hall at 8pm.
All meetings this year will be at this venue, then we return to the Holiday Inn in Woking in 2015.

Wednesday 30 July 2014

Next Meeting

The next meeting will be on Monday 1st September when Emma Warren will talk about Chertsey and its Abbey. 
Please note that meetings this autumn will take place in Mayford Village Hall, Saunders Lane, Mayford, Woking GU22 0NN. Doors open 7.45pm for 8pm start.
Meetings in 2015 will be held at the Holiday Inn, Woking.

Wednesday 16 July 2014

Parade of Poppies - Horsell

As part of national activities to commemorate the outbreak of the first world war, residents of Horsell are organising two events on Sunday 3rd August, the eve of the centenary of WW1 and we ask you to advise your members of an open invitation to join the marking of this important anniversary.

Parade of Poppies
We are inviting all to join the residents of Horsell as they take part in a Parade of Poppies in Horsell High Street from 1145 on Sunday 3rd August. We are asking participants to wear something red and carry a poppy if possible as they walk to the war memorial and thereby form a Parade of Poppies. The procession will be joined by the congregation of Saint Mary The Virgin who will proceed to the War Memorial following their Sunday morning service. The bell ringers of Saint Mary The Virgin will toll during the procession.
From 1200 there will be a service of commemoration at the War Memorial led by Rev'd Sarah Hayes, Vicar of St Mary's.
During the address the names of those that fell in WW1, recorded on the memorial will be read out along with those that returned to Horsell. The names of those that returned are recorded on plaques that are displayed in the St Andrew's Room of Saint Mary The Virgin.  During the service participants with poppies will be invited to step forward and plant their poppies to form a 'field' of poppies around the memorial .

Evening Service
From 1845 on the evening of Sunday 3rd August there will be a service in Saint Mary The Virgin. The service will be conducted by the vicar, Rev'd Sarah Hayes. The service will be accompanied by voices from Horsell Community Choir. The choir will be singing some songs from the time of WW1.
In the week leading up to the events on Sunday 3rd August, each shop window in Horsell High Street will display a large poppy window sticker as part of the commemoration. 
Rev'd Sarah Hayes, vicar of Saint Mary The Virgin - 01483 721901
Robin Hoyle - Chair - Horsell Residents Association - 07885458417

Tuesday 15 July 2014

Change of email address

Please note that our email address has changed to historywoking@gmail.com

Thursday 19 June 2014

Visit to Send Church on July 7th

This visit is for members only.

The evening meeting on Monday 7 July is a self-guided visit to the ancient parish church of Send, which stands at the end of a rural lane beside its church yard.  To find Send church, (if coming from the Old Woking direction) either turn right at the New Inn and follow Potters Lane for about a mile, turning  right at a crossroads to follow Church Lane to its end; or, drive on through Send until the traffic lights, turn right there into Send Hill, and at the crossroads go straight ahead down Church Lane. We'll begin at 7.00pm and expect to take about an hour. Though there's a loo on site, there are no facilities for refreshments - the New Inn at Cartbridge is the nearest pub.

Parking at the church is limited to 4 disabled spaces. Other drivers can drop off their passengers at the church, turn round and drive back the way they came along Church Lane, pulling in close to the left hand hedge in order to park, before walking the (hopefully short) way back to the church.

Saturday 24 May 2014

Woking in 1914

Our next meeting will be on Monday 2nd June at the Holiday Inn, Woking at 8pm. The committee will be giving a presentation on aspects of Woking in 1914 and Society members are asked to bring along any memorabilia they might have from this time. Please provide a caption if you bring anything.

Saturday 17 May 2014

Guildford Museum

Guildford Museum is carrying out an inventory of all collections as part of a wider collections review to help better understand the collections. They are seeking volunteers to help with this work.

This first stage will be to make an inventory of the Archaeology collections from May to November 2014. Volunteers do not need to have specific knowledge or experience of archaeology or other collections work, but will need to be comfortable using computers to type up results. The project will continue until all collections have been inventoried (to include needlework, local history and art). Volunteers are not being asked to commit to helping with the entire project.

This is an excellent opportunity for anyone who wishes to learn more about the archaeology of Surrey and the Borough of Guildford, or emerging heritage professionals who want to gain practical, hands-on experience of collections work to build their CVs. Email Catriona.smellie@guildford.gov.uk for more information.

Volunteers must be 18 or over and will need to have:

An interest in the heritage of Surrey or working in the heritage sector
Confidence in using computers and basic word processing packages
Good, legible handwriting
Some experience of data entry
Willingness to work as part of a team and take direction as required
A careful, methodical approach to tasks and good attention to detail


Volunteers will also gain:

Training and experience in handling, packing and identifying museum objects
Basic archaeological artefact knowledge as well as an understanding of how archaeological archives are formed
Training in museum condition checking procedures and a basic awareness of signs of artefact deterioration or damage.


 Where?
Woking Road depot near Bellfields Road and Mangles Road. No travel expenses are available but the store can be reached on foot or bicycle from the town centre (about 20-30 minutes’ walk), and there is free parking onsite. Bus route number 34/35.

When?
Weekly places available Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from Wednesday 14th May 2014, usually 10:30-3:30. Volunteers can join us on any or all three of these days to suit. 

Thursday 24 April 2014

The Alchemist Theatre Company

To commemorate the centenary of WW1 a new musical is being researched, written and performed at the Surrey History Centre in November 2014.
We are looking for forty volunteers to join us at the Centre as we unearth untold stories of Surrey’s home front. You will be trained how to research through old newspapers, files, diaries and field logs. Together we will piece together the story of Surrey’s home front and under the leadership of writer Luke Clarke, shape the story of the musical.
This is a great opportunity for anyone interested in their county’s heritage to get involved and discover for themselves what a rich past there is to find at the Surrey History centre. This opportunity is open to all, both in and outside of Surrey. For those passionate volunteers that would like more involvement there will be opportunities to be involved with the project beyond the research day.
No matter your age or background, if you’re a budding historian, interested in writing or just a musical enthusiast, if you can offer a couple of hours of your time, we’re looking and calling for you!


 Contact musicalvolunteer@gmail.com

The History of Disability In Surrey

The Freewheelers Theatre Company present a collection of short films documenting and inspired by stories of people and disability in Surrey from over 100 years ago.

At this special launch event, staged in conjunction with the Surrey History Centre, the films will be introduced by the filmmakers themselves, members of The Freewheelers’ Media Group. The screening will be followed by questions and answers. Light refreshments will be provided.

Wednesday 14 May at 3pm
Surrey History Centre, 130 Goldsworth Road Woking, GU21 6ND
This is a FREE event, but places should be booked in advance through Surrey History Centre, in person or on 01483 518737 shs@surreycc.gov.uk

Tuesday 22 April 2014

Meetings in 2015

Following consultation with Society members, the Committee have decided that meetings in 2015 will be held in the Holiday Inn, Woking. Meetings from September to December 2014 will be held in Mayford Village Hall to fulfil our contract with them.

Thursday 3 April 2014

The Story of the People's Cathedral

Between 1952 and 1961 200,000 brick-givers made the construction of Guildford Cathedral possible. With the help of the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Cathedral is hoping to bring the stories of the brick- givers to life. They are looking for people who are willing to have their memories recorded, and also volunteers to record these memories. Appropriate training will be given.
If you are interested, please contact Helen Ellis at Helen@guildford-cathedral.org  01483 547888

Woking Palace

Excavations will take place from Wednesday 10th September until Friday 26th September. If you are interested in taking part in the dig, please contact the Friends of Woking Palace via their website (linked to the right of this page) or at info@woking-palace.org.

Thursday 27 March 2014

Guildford Cathedral visit



Fifteen WHS members visited Guildford Cathedral for a guided tour on March 27th. After the tour, we had the opportunity to view some archives followed by tea and cakes in the refectory.

Saturday 22 March 2014

Guildford Cathedral Visit

There is still time for members to sign up for the visit to Guildford Cathedral on Thursday March 27th. We will be having a guided tour at 2.30pm followed by tea in the Refectory. Please contact us via the Society's email if you would like to come.

Friday 21 March 2014

Next meeting

The next meeting of Woking History Society will take place on Monday 7th April at 8pm. Meetings are held  in the Brookwood Suite on the 7th floor of the Holiday Inn, Woking.
Julian Pooley will be speaking on The Gentleman's Magazine (1731-1836): A resource for local and family historians.
Visitors are welcome for a fee of £3.
Tea and coffee are served after the talk.