Heritage Walks
Books & Booklets by Iain Wakeford
BOOKS & BOOKLETS
By Iain Wakeford
Iain’s first book, ‘Bygone Woking’, was first published in 1983 and was followed two years later by ‘Woking As It Was’. They were both published by Phillimore & Co, and contained a wealth of old photographs of the whole Borough of Woking, with brief captions and notes on the history of the area. Both are now out of print and only available through second-hand bookshops.
In 1987, in anticipation of Woking celebrating the 150th anniversary of the coming of the railway to Woking (in May 1838), Iain wrote ‘Woking 150 – the history of Woking and its Railway’. The book detailed the history of the town, the railway and how each came to influence the growth of the other. It included sections on the London Necropolis Company and the various branch lines (built or proposed) in the area. This book was published with the help of members of the Mayford & Woking District History Society. Unfortunately this too is now out of print.
The Surrey Industrial History Group have produced guides to the industrial history of every borough in the county with Iain writing the volume on Woking. It is believed that copies are still available from the group and at the Surrey History Centre..
In 1992 to coincide with Woking’s first ‘Community Play’ (‘Changing Places’ by Ann Jellicoe) Iain produced (with other members of his ‘Woking Community Play Association Research Group’) a book called ‘Changing Woking – 1900-1929’. The book takes a year by year look at the first three decades of the 20th century with newspaper cuttings, notes and illustrations of events throughout the borough of Woking area.. There are also special sections on ‘Woking at Work’, ‘Suffragettes’, ‘Brooklands’ and other items that appeared in Ann Jellicoe’s play.
In 2002 Iain produced a book to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the building of the Sheerwater Estate in Woking. The book was published by the Sheerwater Neighbourhood Watch and was based on extracts from the first ten years of the Sheerwater Pylon – a monthly magazine produced by the Sheerwater Community Association – hence the books title ‘Sheerwater Pylon (The First Ten Years)’.
Most of Iain’s other work has been published by Iain (or other members of his family), including the popular Woking History Journals (a quarterly magazine that was produced from 1989 to 1991). The magazines contained articles on a variety of subjects – with the second volume’s article on ‘H.G. Wells, Woking and the real War of the Worlds’ making it a collectors item.
Indeed the item on ‘The War of the Worlds’ has now been reworked by Iain into a new series of self-guided cycle rides around the area looking at some of the places recorded in the famous science-fiction novel. The two books published so far cover Woking Town Centre & Horsell Common, and Maybury Hill.
The ‘War of the Worlds’ cycle guides are similar in style to Iain’s series of ‘Self-guided Heritage Walks’ which include notes and illustrations on the history of each area, together with a brief description of the route and a simple ‘idiot-proof’ map so that you cannot get lost! The six books produced so far cover Old Woking, Horsell, St. Johns, Knaphill, Pyrford and West Byfleet.
Iain major work in the last few years was his ‘Woking Town centre – An Illustrated History’ which looked at the history of the central part of the borough ‘from prehistoric times to the present day’ with hundred of photographs, maps and other items from the authors extensive collection of Woking memorabilia.
For details of the books and booklets still in print and available from Iain, please see the sub-pages on ‘Books & Booklets’, ‘Village Guides’ and ‘Heritage Notes’.