Woking Palace moated site, fishponds and ruins at Oldhall Copse

Woking Palace stands on the edge of Woking in Surrey, beside the River Wey. It was once a manor house granted by the Crown, later held by Lady Margaret Beaufort and her third husband Sir Henry Stafford. Henry VII turned it into a palace in 1503 and Henry VIII remodelled it soon after. The site includes buried and exposed ruins on a water meadow cut by the river. A protective roof now covers the medieval barrel vault, with a lockable door and repaired Tudor walls. The palace was moated on three sides, with the river forming the fourth. It is divided into four parts: the King’s Hall built by Henry VII in 1508, the King’s Garden now a rough meadow, the Copse with two large fishponds, and the north-east quadrant. Henry VIII visited often, ordering repairs and additions such as new windows, bowling alleys and a wharf. King James VI and I stayed here in 1606, and Sir Edward Zouch became steward in 1609, later granting the estate in 1620. Visitors walk past the protected barrel vault and Tudor walls under a modern roof. The King’s Garden is a grassy space where formal beds once grew. The Copse contains two long fishponds and a smaller round pond, with the moat still visible on three sides. The riverbank offers views of the old water meadow. The site is recognised as an excellent survival of a royal palace with high archaeological potential.