To the east of Woking, nestled in amongst the urban fabric, sits the suburban ward of St John’s, in Surrey. Nestled on the Basingstoke canal, this 19th century settlement developed outward from the medieval centre of Woking. As such, the suburban fabric of St John’s is dotted with Victorian and Edwardian architecture in amongst the mid-century style terraced and detached housing bloomed from the 1960s!

Woking’s first records stretch back to medieval Britain, and was first recorded as ‘Wochinges’ in the 1086 Domesday Book survey conducted for William the Conquerer, following the Norman conquest. However, the suburban ward of St John’s was only established in the 19th century. One of the main influences towards the settlement of this new ward was the completion of the Basingstoke canal in 1794. Although the canal did not reach the commercial success it was hoped to, the canal provided pedestrian and river access to the heart of the urban enclave of Woking. It was also developed alongside various industrious pursuits known in this area of the town, particularly brick-making, with a brick-kiln constructed in between Knaphill and St John’s.

The area is named after the church, St John’s. Consecrated in 1842, the church itself was designed by esteemed Victorian architect Sir George Gilbert Scott - famous for designing London’s St Pancras hotel, a 300 room neo-gothic luxury hotel in the heart of North London!

Owing to the proliferation of various Victorian and Edwardian properties dotted throughout St John’s, it is perhaps not surprising that much of the area falls under conservation protection. Listed as a conservation area since 1991, the central core of St John’s is heavily protected, which in turn halts any contemporary development in the region. That being said, Woking Council has made commitments to help fuel the regeneration of the wider Woking locale. In 2017, the council announced a multi-million pound project aimed at Sheerwater, in the northeast of Woking, to construct and regenerate the historically deprived area. As well as various M25 improvements in the local area, Woking is receiving widespread infrastructural and domestic developments!