Friends of Woking Palace
A true Friend of Woking Palace
Last Thursday Phillip Arnold, a leading historian of Old Woking and the Palace, stepped down as Chairman of the Friends of Woking Palace at the organisation’s 2009 AGM. Mr Arnold successfully steered the project to set up the Friends of Woking Palace and in 2003 the Friends was officially registered after five years of hard work. The aim of the charity is to help Woking Borough Council to preserve, protect and maintain Woking’s most important historic Ancient Monument and to increase the public’s awareness and understanding of this site. The Palace site was visited by most of the Kings of England for over 400 years. The Manor of Woking was owned by the King from before the Norman Conquest and reached its peak under Henry VIII, who was frequently at the Palace. Woking Palace was one of his favourite residences in Surrey, from where he would hunt deer, both in Woking Park and the wider Windsor Forest.
Peter Hinton, the Chief Executive of the Institute for Archaeology and himself a Friend of Woking Palace, thanked Phillip for all his work for Old Woking and the Palace; Marilyn Scott, director of The Lightbox, said that Phillip had been a tower of strength for the whole of the heritage community in Woking.
The Friends help the Council to open the site to the public for three weekends each year and always welcome new members. For further information see www.woking-palace.org or contact the new Chairman of the Friends, Mr Richard Savage at Burford House, Hockering Road, Woking GU22 7HJ.