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Archaeological Project 2009: Open Day, 9 August 2009.

Following the completion of the two months of geophysical investigations and the three weeks of excavations carried out as part of the Woking Palace Archaeological Project 2009, an Open Day was held at the conclusion of the excavations on Sunday 9th August. Over 530 visitors enjoyed the chance to see the excavations and to find out what had been learnt so far about the Palace site as a result of the project.

The Woking Palace Archaeological Project 2009 was made possible by financial support from Surrey County Council, Woking Borough Council, the Surrey Archaeological Society and the Heritage Lottery Fund, together with in-kind support from Archaeology South East (a unit of University College, London), QUEST ( a unit of the University of Reading), the Surrey Archaeological Society and the Friends of Woking Palace. The venture was kindly supported by Burhill Golf & Leisure Ltd, Mr Andrew Miller and the immediate neighbours.

History and archaeology explained

Members of the Friends of Woking Palace welcomed visitors to the site and outlined the long history of Woking Manor and Palace before passing the visitors on to experienced archaeologists who had worked on the site for a conducted tour of the excavations. The various phases of the buried remains that had been uncovered were explained together with the relationships of these with the standing buildings.

Archaeologists guide visitors around the excavations

Official Guests

Left to Right: Jean Follet & Muriel Tuckey (Friends of Woking Palace), Sue Runyard, Cllr Tina Liddington, Marilyn Scott

Among the visitors were the Mayor of Woking, Cllr Tina Liddington, and Sue Runyard and Marilyn Scott, members of the South East Regional Committee of the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The Heritage Lottery Fund part fund the post of Surrey’s Community Archaeologist, Abby Guinness, and have also provided a grant of around £30,000 to the Friends of Woking Palace to improve the presentation of the entire site. Richard Savage in his various roles as Chairman of the Friends of Woking Palace, a Member of the Council of the Surrey Archaeological Society and a Committee Member of the Archaeological Project hosted these official visitors for their tour of Woking Palace and the excavations.

Chairman of the Friends guides the Mayor of Woking and HLF representatives around the archaeology

Displays and Finds

In addition to tours of the excavations, displays were mounted on the site by SCC Heritage, the Friends of Woking Palace, various groups within the Surrey Archaeological Society, including the Artefacts and Archives Research Group and the Surrey Industrial History Group and the Woking History Society together with information on the Portable Antiquities Scheme. Various activities for children were provided by Anne and Phil Vallis, who arranged hunting for coins with a metal detector and a historical colouring competition.

Analysis of all the information gained during the project will take some time. Information about the results, lectures, events and other displays will be publicised on this website over the coming months.

Contact Us by email: info @ woking-palace.org
Copyright © 2009 Friends of Woking Palace.	Updated 26 August 2009
Registered Charity no. 1100852