‘Woking’s Story’ is our free permanent museum that offers visitors the opportunity to discover the town’s fascinating history covering themes such as the ‘mad, the bad, and the dead’. Have you ever wondered how the town came to be the way it is today? Or what life in Woking used to be like? The museum provides answers to these questions and more through eight interactive displays including Brookwood Hospital, the second Surrey asylum (the mad), Inkerman Barracks, a prison in Knaphill (the bad), and Brookwood Cemetery, which remains the largest cemetery in Western Europe (and the dead!).

There are also a number of regularly changing ‘Local Hero’, ‘Heritage’ and ‘Object in Focus’ displays. Currently on show are beautiful Edwardian Illustrated Notebooks, a captivating display on Surrey artist Marguerite Howarth and an entertaining exhibit on the history of music and dance in Woking titled ‘Let’s Face the Music, and Dance!’.

Brand new to Woking’s Story is a fascinating display that re-discovers the lost farms of Woking. Visitors can travel back to a time when agriculture was the dominant form of employment in the town and it was more than likely that you would see a sheep or two roaming where Woking Station now is! Did you know that in 1850, 50% of residents living in Woking were employed in agriculture? The display looks into the decline of agriculture in Woking and the causes behind this, but also shows how these farms have not been entirely forgotten.

Find out more about Woking’s Story 

Find out more about the Heritage Collection 

Image: Farms - Around Woking - Durnford 1923