Pyrford Neighbourhood Forum

Geoff Geaves

Woking Palace

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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. 

HCA Update – March 2025

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Much has been done to finalise key reports commissioned by our consultants on the project and we have recently circulated the conservation area survey results for both the Aviary Road area and the Pyrford Village area around St Nicholas’ Church.  Work has therefore started on preparing the final Conservation Area Assessments for these two areas.

HCA Update – February 2025

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Project work broke off temporarily to prepare a response to the Woking Borough Council Draft Local Heritage Listing Consultation, held before Christmas.  We had quite a number of points to make about the list and are monitoring it’s progress through the council.  Watch this space for how things go!

The Heritage Project is now close to the final reporting stage and the project team are finalising a number of reports that represent the evidence base for moving forward.  We are also now working on our assessments of the existing Aviary Road conservation area and the Pyrford Village conservation area around St Nicholas Church. Once these are finalised they will be published on the website.

With regard to conservation areas we have decided to present a case for a new conservation area around The Old House and Lees Farm.  We believe we should include an extended setting that includes the water meadows down to the canal as well as the adjacent ancient woodland we know as Peatmoor Wood. 

The Rough – Pyrford Common

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Hidden on Pyrford Common is a rather grand house bearing the names of two famous residents.

The house is known as the Rough and it was built in 1885 by Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke, a famous Liberal politician of the time with real prospects of leading the party in time.  In the same year he married Lady Emilia Francis Pattinson, a prominent trade unionist, feminist, and historian.  The marriage was something of a sensation as Dilke was named in a divorce case involving his brother’s wife.  They retreated to Pyrford and lived there until Dilke’s death in 1911.  Woking Borough recognise the connection to both Lady Emilia Francis Dilke and Sir Charles Wentworth Dilk with separate plaques.