Woking Centre
Trinity Church, Brewery Road, Woking, GU21 4LH
For map click hereCo-ordinator Chris Leech
Email: woking@wsfhs.orgSecond Thursday in month
The doors will open at 7.45pm and the meeting will start at 7.50pm.
2026
| Date | Doors Open | Start Time | Title | Speaker | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu | 12 Mar | 7.45 pm | 7.50 pm | A Romany Lifestyle | David Rose and Geoff Burch |
| Thu | 9 Apr | 7.45 pm | 7.50 pm | An interesting Victorian Ancestor | Informal Meeting |
| Thu | 14 May | 7.45 pm | 7.50 pm | Writing a One-place study of Pirbright | Richard Hartley |
| Thu | 11 Jun | 7.45 pm | 7.50 pm | Parish Chest Records | Sally Gardiner |
Forthcoming Meetings
March 12 2026
David Rose and Geoff Burch - A Romany LifestyleA joint talk. Gypsies, travellers and itinerant workers in the local area in days gone by. Where they made their camps, their work on farms, market gardens, hop picking, their ways and traditions. Vintage pictures from David 's collection and personal details from Geoff, whose mother was born into a gypsy family in Old Woking in 1918. Geoff has traced this side of his family's history and has uncovered some fascinating stories of several generations of how and where they lived and worked, both at Chobham and in and around Old Woking.
April 9
Informal Meeting - An interesting Victorian AncestorPlease come and share about an interesting Victorian ancestor or family in your tree. It does not have to be someone famous or important in the eyes of society but have something about them which has made them stand out to you and not just be a name and date on your family tree. Bring along your contribution on a memory stick, on paper or just come and talk. This is an opportunity to share some of your family history with a like minded audience.
May 14
Richard Hartley - Writing a One-place study of PirbrightFor the last 5 years or so Richard Hartley has been writing a One-place study of Pirbright, a small Surrey village between Guildford and Woking. When complete the study will document the history of each of the 1,200-odd properties in the village, detailing the owners and occupants - where and when they lived, what they did for a living, who their families were, photos, interesting stories etc. In short, he's writing just about everything interesting he can find out about every Pirbright person in the past.
So far Richard is half way through the project and has published over 450,000 words and 1,800 images, which are available online. He'll talk about how he went about the project, his sources of information, the pitfalls and some of the time-saving tricks. He'll also offer advice to anyone considering a similar type of project.
June 11
Sally Gardiner - Parish Chest RecordsParish Chest records are an often under utilised source of local, social and family history. They go way beyond parish registers and provide an insight into parish life, mainly in the period 1600 to 1834 i.e. prior to modern civil records. Sally will guide through what you might expect to find e.g. how the parish functioned, how it was funded, what records were maintained, the roles people played and how the poor were helped during hard times. She will also outline how to access these records so that you can dive in and discover more about the life and times of your ancestors.