WOKING'S HISTORY DISTRICT BY DISTRICT
Sheerwater and Maybury
Sheerwater has no history before the London County Council estate was built in the 1950s: and the Maybury area has little of interest for any ‘serious’ historian - WRONG! Man has lived (on and off) in the Sheerwater area since at least the Bronze Age (a Bronze Age flint tool from the period being found on the estate in the 1950s); and the Maybury area was once the home to Woking’s most famous former resident - H.G. Wells!
But that is not all that the area has to offer the historian. The Maybury area of Woking (the area between the canal and the railway, between Woking Town Centre and Sheerwater) was developed from the 1870s onwards by the London Necropolis & National Mausoleum Company.
They laid out many of the roads in the area in a grid pattern, but were very careful to promote the new town of Woking, laying out larger plots in Maybury Road and hence encouraging larger detached houses to be built facing the railway. It was here, in the mid-1890s that H.G. Wells set up home. While here he wrote not only his famous science-fiction novel ‘The War of the Worlds’, but also ‘The Invisible Man’ and the lesser-known novel ‘Wheels of Chance’. Despite modern developments, it is remarkable how much of the Victorian character of the area, has survived (including Wells’ home - now complete with blue plaque).
The canal and the close proximity of the railway helped to influence the character of the area with a number of industries setting up here. These included the Woking Gas Works (opened in 1892) in Boundary Road, the Electric Light Works set up in 1890 in North Road and, on the corner of Maybury Road and Kings Road, the Maybury Steam Laundry - established in the mid 1890s. This building later went on to be used by the Sorbo Rubber Company, the Acetex Glass Works and, after the Second World War, the Parazone Company, before being converted into a car showroom. Sorbo went on to develop a new factory at the end of Arnold Road - in what was later to become the Woking Business Park site, part of the Sheerwater Industrial Estate.
It is interesting to note that the name ‘Sheerwater’ was first recorded in the 17th century and refers to the lakes that once occupied this part of the valley of the ‘Rive Ditch’ - an ancient stream that rises on Horsell Common and flows into the River Wey near Byfleet. The lakes were at that time a great source of fresh fish, with some locals apparently serving the London markets with their catch. In the early 18th century planting trees drained the lakes, and by the early part of the 20th century the area was thickly wooded (although still quite damp). Indeed, when they came to build the estate in the late 1940s and 50s, the area had to be continually pumped to keep the water out of the foundations! Nowadays the trees and greens of the estate help to add to the charm of the area, which is still almost self-contained, with its own shops, schools and business areas, as well as numerous community facilities.
The pages on The Basingstoke Canal, The Railway, Brookwood Cemetery & The Necropolis, and Famous People deal with more information about those subjects.
Booklets.
The Woking Community Play Association’s book ‘Changing Woking - 1900-1929’ contains a wealth of information on the Maybury area.
Booklets on ‘The Prehistory of the Borough of Woking’, ‘The Place Names of Woking’ and ‘Famous People from Woking’s Past’ are available, as well as ‘The War of the Worlds Cycle Tour’- please see the list of publication on the HERITAGE WALKS page.
