Woking Palace Archaeological Project 2015
Open Day - 27 September 2015
The glorious weather on Sunday saw nearly 400 members of the public visiting the excavations at Woking Palace. They were rewarded with a tour of the excavations and an avenue of stalls set up by local heritage organisations. These included:
Friends of Woking Palace
Surrey County Archaeological Unit
Surrey Archaeology Society
Woking History Society
Bees and Honey
Models of Woking Palace, Oatlands Palace and Hampton Court
Surrey Industrial History Group
St Peter's Church
Hoe Bridge School
Surrey Wildlife Trust.
This year is the last season of seven years of archaeological investigation at Woking Palace and we would like to thank the many people that took part in various ways, including organisation, digging, finds processing and the important task of keeping everyone fed and watered by providing delicious cakes!
Stands and stalls on the approach to the drawbridge |
Models of Woking Palace, Oatlands Palace and Hampton Court |
Work continues on assessing the finds and information collected during the course of the excavations and we are all looking forward to the final report on the excavations. Visitors heard about the history of the site from members of the Friends of Woking Palace who then guided them around the trenches to various stopping points. At these points archaeologists who had worked on the site explained the details that the archaeology had revealed about the transition over 400 years from a magnificent medieval manor complex into a favoured royal palace and of its subsequent decline into obscurity as a farmyard. The project is very grateful to those who made generous donations to support the project which has provided so many with the opportunity to take a hands-on part in exploring their local history and trying archaeology for themselves. | |
Some of the finds on display |
Visitors viewed the medieval flint walls |
The large sarsen stone revealed |
The archaeologists before the public arrives |