Possibly Woking town centre’s most used feature is the Victoria Arch bridge that carries the railway line over the road and pavement.
The original bridge was constructed when the railway came to Woking in 1838 It was a mere 15ft wide and designed for horse-drawn traffic.
It was named Victoria Arch in 1898 following the Queen’s diamond jubilee the year before. Woking historian Iain Wakeford writes in his book Bygone Woking that the bridge’s name was suggested by the first chairman of Woking Urban District Council, Gustav Wermig.
Alan Crosby describes the original bridge as “decrepit” and “inadequate” in his book A History of Woking.
Researcher Mark Coxhead has been looking into the history of the bridge.
In back copies of the News & Mail on microfilm at the Surrey History Centre he has found that in the 1900s the London & South Western Railway, whose trains passed over the bridge, agreed to rebuild it, as it exists to this day.
However, before the railway company agreed to a date of the rebuilding, the News & Mail was on the case with details of a meeting between members of the council and the railway company general manager.
In its edition of November 30, 1903, this paper noted: “The widening of the Victoria Railway Arch has long been recognised as one of the most essential improvements in Woking. The damaging condition of the narrow opening has often been emphasised and the Urban Council are anxious to get the work done.
“Eventually the widening will be carried out by the Railway Company – but the company is slow to move, despite the fact that the improvement forms part of the scheme for increasing the various facilities, upon which such an enormous outlay has been made.”
To urge the railway company to get on with the work, a deputation from Woking Urban District Council met Sir Charles Owens, the general manager.
The report continued: “They were received with the greatest courtesy and placed the desirability of the work being carried out by the earliest possible moment in the strongest possible light. Naturally, the General Manager was very guarded in his reply, but he promised that the matter should be placed before the directors at an early date.”
The council undertook a survey of vehicles and people passing through the arch on one day between 7am and 7pm. The News & Mail said he results “are simply astonishing”. The figures were: “Pedestrians 2,583, Bicycles 1,130, Perambulators 169, Motor Cars 19, Motor Cycles 7, Other Conveyances 1,156. Total 5,064.”
The widening of Victoria Arch began in October 1905. This involved installing 13 steel girders each of 46 ft in length, weighing seven tons each. The first two were put in place on a Saturday and a Sunday night by 100 men with the aid of “powerful travelling cranes”. The rest were put up at the rate of about one a week.
In its edition of June 14, 1907, the News & Mail reported the total cost of the development came to just over £9,694 (the equivalent of about £750,000 today). Of that Woking council paid £3,231 and Surrey County Council contributed £1,077.
Victoria Arch has for many years been regarded as not suitable for modern volumes of traffic. Many will also recall tall lorries stuck underneath due to lack of overhead room.
In recent years a plan was afoot to widen Victoria Arch even further. However, in September 2023 it was shelved for economic reasons due to the £115 million cost, which was thought to be disproportionate in relation to the net benefits.
Will Forster, Woking Borough Council’s portfolio holder for key projects and the deputy leader, said: “Given Woking’s critical financial situation, both the council and government have concluded the Victoria Arch widening scheme cannot be progressed. It is clear the council needs to draw a line on this project.”