Woking Art Trail
Woking is proud of its public art, and pieces are located across the borough. Why not take a stroll to see how many you can find.
Scroll through the locations of the art around the Borough to discover who the artist or designers were (with links to additional websites where possible), when it was installed and a brief description.
By clicking on the number within the map you can also jump to that specific piece of art.
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1
Pegasus
Artist: Tree Pirates
Date of installation: 2009
Created by Somerset based company, Tree Pirates, Pegasus was commissioned by Horsell Common Preservation Society as a gift to Woking in 2007,
The winged horse was sculpted from a 250-year old Oak which had been irretrievably damaged by a Tornado in November 2007.
2
WWF Totem
Artist: WWF schools and local Youth groups.
Date of installation: 2016
In June 2016, Mark and Kerry Reynolds opened their beautiful garden to the WWF, schools and local youth groups. Green Ambassadors took part in a number of workshops making butterfly feeders, infilling the totem pole with natural materials, then decorating the totem and bird boxes which are now home to many real insects in the WWF Wildlife Garden.
3
WWF Panda
Artist: Edwin Russell
Date of installation: 1998
The marble panda was unveiled by HRH Princess Alexandra in 1988.
It ‘guarded’ Panda House in Godalming for 25 years before moving to the Living Planet Centre in 1998.
In its new home in WWF’s Wildlife Garden, dwarf bamboo has been planted around the panda sculpture.
4
Bedser Twins
Artist: Allan Sly
Date of installation: 2015
Eric and Sir Alec Bedser were identical twins from Horsell, and are depicted in bronze, playing a game of cricket on the Bedser Bridge, over the Basingstoke Canal.
The ball can be seen embedded in the side of the Woking Borough Council Civic office building.
5
Exchanging Luminance
Artist: Richard Jackson
Date of installation: 2010
Commissioned by the Lightbox with funding from Arts Council, England, 'Exchanging Luminance' combines glass, stainless steel and choreographed light.
©MatthewAndrews2010
6
The swift and bat sign
Artist: 51 Architecture
Installed: 2019
The sign incorporates nesting chambers for both swifts and bats in its upper section. The middle section features finger-post style arms showing the way to Woking’s twinned towns, all atop a specially engraved, conical stone base.
7
Orchid
Artist: William Pye
Installed: 1995
Commissioned by Woking Borough Council/ London Edinburgh Trust.
In Orchid, the water emerges from two different points.
From its base the water flows freely, but from the centre of the top, overflowing water is transformed into free-falling threads and droplets created by 120 drop-off points.
8
Going Underground
Artist: Reece Ingram
Installed: circa 1995
Commissioned by Woking Borough Council, Going Underground is 1.5m high and made from Indiana Limestone.
9
Cushion Garden
Artist: Maria Lima/ Liaise Women’s Centre
Installed: 2016
The inspiration for Council funded ‘Cushions Garden’, follows one of its top priorities, recycling. Using everyday recyclable items, 34 women from Liaise created eye-catching and thought-provoking designs reflecting different aspects of Woking.
10
Novelist and Thinker
Artist: Wesley Harland
Installed: 2016
H.G. Wells figurative sculpture commissioned as part of the 'Wells in Woking' 100th anniversary programme in 2016.
11
War of the Worlds Mosaic
Artist: Unknown
Installed: 2016
Commissioned by Woking Borough Council, this tile mosaic commemorates the centenary of H.G. Wells novel, “War of the Worlds”.
Situated in the subway on Chobham Road, by The Lightbox.
12
The Martian
Artist: Michael Condron
Installed: 1998
Rising over seven metres, “The Martian” has been made from chrome electropolished stainless steel (the same process that is used to protect North sea Oil Rigs from the elements). Over 12 square metres of stainless steel were used in the construction of the head section alone. The “Martian” legs and frame weigh over 1200kilos while the head section weights 150 kilos by comparison.
13
Alien pod
Artist: Michael Condron
Installed: 1998
It features an alien pod ploughing into the ground, UFO style lighting and metal designs in the ground representing bacteria.
14
Town Gates
Artist: Alan Dawson
Installed: 1992
Designed by Alan Dawson, the town gates stand at the Jubilee Square end of Church Street East in Woking Town Centre. The gates incorporate symbols of Woking's past, including the 19th century brick kilns, the canal and railway, parts of the Borough's coat of arms and the H. G. Wells novel, 'The War of the Worlds'.
15
The Standing Man
Artist: Sean Henry
Installed: 2017
Sean Henry was born in Woking and grew up in Surrey, attending the Farnham School of Art (now University of Creative Arts) before studying in Bristol and becoming visiting artist at the University of California.
16
Winning Shot
Artist: Christine Charlesworth
Installed: 2012
In celebration of London hosting the 2012 Paralympic Games, 'Winning Shot' by Christine Charlesworth is a bronze sculpture of Paralympian, Ade Adepitan MBE, who has represented Great Britain in wheelchair basketball.
17
War Memorial
The Woking War Memorial is situated in the town square and displays the names of those who fell in the Great War.
It features the figure of winged and draped Victory with right arm extended, holding a wreath of Peace.
The memorial was commissioned by former Woking Urban District Council to commemorate those who fell in the Great War, with later inscriptions to WWII, 1939-45.
18
Jackmanii
Installed: 2010
Architects Benoy and landscape designers, Gillespies created a unique light installation design of clematis 'Jackmanii' running along the side of the Peacocks Shopping Centre in Jubilee Square. This is a changing coloured light installation.
19
Woman (being looked at)
Artist: Sean Henry
Installed: 2017
Sean Henry was born in Woking and grew up in Surrey, attending the Farnham School of Art (now University of Creative Arts) before studying in Bristol and becoming visiting artist at the University of California.
20
Surrey Hills
Artist: Sarah Holmes
Installed: 2014
Entitled Surrey Hills, the piece, depicts three willow cyclists on metal hills. The piece is inspired by a project the artist led during the London 2012 celebration of the Games, as part of Celebrate Woking. Working with over 5,000 school children from 15 primary and secondary schools in Woking, Sara created 60 life-size willow cyclists. The peloton of sculptures were displayed along the Olympic cycle route as it passed through Byfleet, West Byfleet and Pyrford.
21
Woman walking
Sean Henry was born in Woking and grew up in Surrey, attending the Farnham School of Art (now University of Creative Arts) before studying in Bristol and becoming visiting artist at the University of California. The bronze painted statue of Walking Woman is replicated in the Ekeberg Sculpture Park in Oslo, Norway Not for publication - Statue purchased by Victoria Square Woking Limited, insured by Woking Borough Council.
22
The Wanderer
Artist: Sean Henry
Installed: 2017
Sean Henry was born in Woking and grew up in Surrey, attending the Farnham School of Art (now University of Creative Arts) before studying in Bristol and becoming visiting artist at the University of California.
23
Seated Man
Artist: Sean Henry
Installed: 2017
Sean Henry was born in Woking and grew up in Surrey, attending the Farnham School of Art (now University of Creative Arts) before studying in Bristol and becoming visiting artist at the University of California.
24
Woking's Mural
Artist: Roger Hoare & Allan Potter
Installed: 1993
On the North wall of the station the mural depicts a shopping scene in the town at the turn of the 20th century.
The artists, Roger Hoare and Allan Potter, who painted the original mural in 1993, drew inspiration from the faces of local traders who had shops along the High Street in the 1990s to create the faces of the Edwardian shoppers in the artwork.
The mural was restored 2006-8 by Roger Hoare.
At over 100 feet long it is said to be one of the finest examples of street art in the country.
25
ARCH
Artist: Terrence Clark & Vincent Jack
Installed: 2007
This sculpture is a commission by Barratt Homes for the Centrium Development.
Made from corten steel, ‘ARCH’ stands 7metres high and is 7metres in diameter.
26
The Space Between
Artist: Richard Heys
Installed: 2012
This three-pronged, oak sculpture, inspired by The Jam, whose band members were former Woking residents, was created by East Sussex artist, Richard Heys, alongside local school children as part of the Barratt Homes development in Guildford Road.
27
Protecting the Child
Artist: Tonderai Mashaya
Installed: 2013
This 6ft sculpture called 'Protecting the Child' by Zimbabwean artist, Tonderai Mashaya was placed in memory of Joyce Pearce, Margaret Dixon and Ruth Hicks, who founded the Ockenden Venture in Woking in 1951. This charity for Refugees, supports people who have been forced to flee their homes through conflict or natural disaster.
28
Ockenden Bench
Designed by: Kathy McCloskey
Installed: 2013
The Ockenden bench was designed by Kathy McCloskey and this was sited alongside the sculpture, ‘Protecting the Child’ in Woking Park.
The Ockenden bench is a unique design and is meant to represent the global nature of the work undertaken by the Charity.
29
Father of the Fuel Cell
Artist: Ulli Knall
Installed: 2003
A statue to mark the opening of the first operational fuel cell in Woking 125 years after it was first invented by Sir William Grove. The statue commemorates the achievements of Sir William Grove who was born in 1811 in Swansea, South Wales.
30
Fuel Cell Mural
Artist: Alan Potter
Installed: 2003
The mural, by Alan Potter, complements the statue of Sir William Grove, father of the fuel cell.
31
Kingsmoor Totem
Artist: Ruth Wheeler
Installed: 2018
The three totems reflect both historical and current themes – the farmland on which Kingsmoor Park was built, the Liquorice (sweet) factory previously situated on Liquorice Lane and the multi-cultural and multi-lingual community in Woking. Surrey Arts project with Westfield School.
32
The Peace Garden
Designed: Radley House Partnership and Terra Firma
Opened: 2015
In 2011 Woking Borough Council, in conjunction with HCPS, searched for restoration funding and received an 80% grant from English Heritage. Under the supervision of restoration architect Jeremy Poll of Radley House Partnership the walls and chatri were restored culminating with the gilded finial being lowered into place.
Landscape designer Lionel Fanshawe of Terra Firma designed an English interpretation of an Islamic garden with an Indian granite memorial stone inset with panels of Portland stone engraved with the names of the original burials.
The Peace Garden was officially opened on Thursday 12 November 2015 by His Royal Highness The Earl of Wessex KG GCVO.
Thank you for following the trail
If you have any questions please contact Woking Borough Council .