Woking Palace
Woking Palace is a former manor house of the Royal Manor of Woking on the outskirts of Woking, near the village of Old Woking, Surrey. The manor was in the gift of the Crown, and was held by numerous nominees of the Crown until 1466 when Lady Margaret Beaufort and her second husband, Sir Henry Stafford obtained the Manor by royal grant.
History
The first mention of a house on the site is in 1272. There is also later recorded use by Lady Margaret Beaufort, her son Henry VII and her grandson Henry VIII. Woking Manor House was converted into a palace by Henry VII in 1503 and was subsequently remodelled by both Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. Sparse ruins of the site remain today.
The palace was moated and can be separated into four parts: north east quadrant; the medieval barrel vault and the King's Hall, built by Henry VII in 1508, in the south east; the King’s Garden on the south west; and the Copse to the north west, once the orchard. Woking Borough Council, as custodians, have built a protective roof over the barrel vault, installed a lockable door and carried out protective repairs to the remaining Tudor wall. The King’s Garden was originally a formal kitchen garden but is now a rough meadow. The Copse contains two large linear fish ponds and a smaller round pond. The moat is on three sides whilst the River Wey enclosed the site on the fourth side.
Recent Years
Woking Palace is of particular importance because of its excellent survival, high diversity, enormous archaeological potential both on the island itself and in the waterlogged moats and particularly because of its historical association with royalty and the amenity value which is afforded by this association
The site has been designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument under Section 1 of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended by the National Heritage Act 1983. It is owned by Woking Borough Council.
External links
- Read a detailed historical record about Woking Palace
- Friends of Woking Palace
- Historical Association
- Woking Historical Society
- Multimap location
Coordinates: 51°18′12″N 0°31′28″W / 51.3033°N 0.5245°W