Woking's Alien Invasion

In January I visited a friend whose house backs on to Horsell Common in Woking. During my time there we decided to take a walk on the common and to visit the sand pits for which the common is famous. For those readers who are not up on their science fiction, the sand pit on Horsell Common is the location where the first Martian tripod lands in H G Wells' “The War of The Worlds”.

The main sand pit on Horsell Common. The sand pits are not normally filled with water, but two months of near constant rain has converted the sand pits into small lakes.

H G Wells lived in Woking at 143 Maybury Road (between 1895 and 1896), and it was during his time living in Woking that he wrote his early drafts of both “The War of The Worlds” and “The Invisible Man”. Because H G Wells was a resident of Woking, it is no surprise that he would decide to use Woking as the first place that a Martian Tripod would attack and destroy. Perhaps H G Wells had a vision of what Woking would be like in the 21st Century, and knew it would benefit from a good blast from a Tripod's heat ray.

143 Maybury Road and its commemorative plaque. 

It seems that the town of Woking has decided to make the most of its link to H G Wells and “The War of The Worlds”; references to the man and his science fiction masterpiece can be found throughout the town.

The most striking tribute to "The War of The Worlds” in Woking town centre is a 7m tall sculpture of a Martian Tripod. This sculpture was installed in April 1998 and seems to be making its way from the direction of Horsell Common into Woking to lay waste to the town.  A few metres from the Tripod a metallic cylinder can be found partially buried in the pavement. This cylinder has impacted into the pavement as a result of its journey from Mars. It was no-doubt bringing another Tripod to aid in the battle against mankind.

The pedestrian way that surrounds the Tripod and the cylinder is scattered with representations of Earth-bound bacteria. It was Earthly bacteria (not man-kinds weaponry) that eventually halted the alien invasion in “The War of The Worlds”.

The Woking Tripod.

The underside of the Tripod. The sculpture is wonderfully detailed.

A dedication underneath the Tripod sculpture. 

A few meters from the Tripod, a crashed cylinder which has brought a Tripod to Earth.

Depictions of Earthly bacteria surround the Tripod and the Cylinder.

Another visually striking tribute, is the mural in the underpass which takes pedestrians under Victoria Way. The mural depicts the Martian Tripod which landed on Horsell Common and the ensuing carnage as Tripods destroy the town of Woking.

The mural in the Victoria Way underpass.

A cylinder lands in the sand pit on Horsell Common. 

Woking gets a touch of heat ray. 

More cylinders fall to Earth whilst a ship is attacked.

Even the local Wetherspoons (The Herbert George Wells) has tried to cash in on Woking's link to H G Wells. The pub has a selection of H G Wells memorabilia on display inside, and has a small window display on the outside for passersby to peruse.

The local chain boozer - The Herbert George Wells.

The Herbert George Wells' window display.

So if you want to visit the site of an alien crash landing and cannot get to Roswell or Rendlesham, then perhaps Woking is the next best thing.

Pictures, Surrey (January 2014).

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The Camberley Obelisk - Signalling Hellfire

Having lived and worked in the Camberley area for a number of years in my 20's I had often wondered why the town had a street called “Obelisk Way”. It was only after visiting the Hellfire Caves and the Dashwood Mausoleum in West Wycombe that it all became clear to me.

If you ever visit Camberley look out for Knoll Road and the Council Offices, behind which you will find the small Camberley Park. At the back of this park on top of a small hill there is an interesting structure, which is known as the Camberley Obelisk.

The Obelisk is the remains of a brick tower that today is about 30 ft high. Originally the tower would have been around 100 ft high, and would have consisted of a number of storeys with access provided by an internal staircase. The Obelisk was built by John Norris around 1765 to 1770 (before Camberley existed), and in that era the surrounding land would have been open heathland, allowing for good visibility from the top of the Obelisk for a number of miles.

It is not fully known why the Obelisk was built, but the most popular theory was that is was built on the top of the hill as a signalling tower. Some believe that this particular tower was a heliograph, a signalling tower that reflects sunlight to send messages. One of John Norris' known friends was Sir Frances Dashwood (founder of the Hellfire club), and in 1751 Dashwood built St Laurence's Church atop the Hellfire Caves in West Wycombe, around 20 miles away from Camberley. St Laurence's church is adorned with a large golden ball (for a picture see my previous blog post “The Home of Hellfire”) and one interesting, but unproven, theory is that the golden ball on St Laurence's church and the Obelisk at Camberley were used to relay messages between the two friends. One theory suggests that they used the heliographs to pass bets to each other and another suggests that they were involved in an espionage network and used the system to exchange secret messages.

What ever the truth, the history of this well hidden building is likely to be interesting.

Entering Camberley Park from the Council Offices car park.

The Obelisk at the back of the park, hiding behind trees.

First view of the Obelisk.

The Obelisk.

A peek around the back.

Inside, looking up.

View over Camberley, from the base of the Obelisk.

Some coincidental graffiti.

The information board in the park.

Pictures, Camberley - Surrey (July 2013).

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