The Club History 1909 -

The Land

The ground upon which the course was built formed part of the area of over 2000 acres around Woking acquired from Lord Onslow by the London Necropolis Company in 1854. By that time the shortage of burial grounds in London was becoming a serious problem and the “London Necropolis” was intended to become the city's only cemetery by providing enough land to contain all the metropolitan dead for an almost indefinite period.

The London Necropolis project never gained popular support and although many thousands of Londoners are buried in the cemetery, it was apparent by the turn of the century that the ground available was far in excess of foreseeable requirements.

An area of about 350 acres was enclosed and this constituted the Brookwood Cemetery and by 1907 the Necropolis Company had already released a great deal of its surplus land, notably that on which Woking golf course was established in 1893.

A senior executive of the Necropolis Company, J. B. Walker, himself a keen golfer, made it known that his company would be prepared to make the land available for golf and West Hill Golf Club was born. For many years Mr. Walker ensured that the London Necropolis Company remained a friendly landlord to the golf club and indeed he became Captain and subsequently President of the club.