Woking Palace began as the manor house of the old Royal Manor of Woking. Henry VII gave the manor to his mother Lady Margaret Beaufort and together they developed the manor house into a Palace that became popular with Henry VII, Henry VIII, and Elizabeth I. The Palace was extended by Henry VIII between 1515-1543 and again between 1565 and 1594 during the reign of Elizabeth I. The decline of the Palace began when James I gave it to Sir Edward Zouch in 1620. He allowed part of the Palace to be demolished and stonework used in the construction of his new manor at Hoe Place about a mile away.
A hunting park was created by Henry VIII around Woking Palace extending northwards up the Pyrford Escarpment towards Pyrford Heath. Much of Pyrford was designated as a nursery for game and the pale between the hunting park and the nursery park was marked by a ditch that is still visible today as it cuts across Pyrford Common from The Rough towards Shey Copse.
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