Overview of St John's

St John's is a village located some 3 km west of the centre of the town of Woking in Surrey, England. Neighbouring communities include Goldsworth Park, Hook Heath, Horsell, and Knaphill. The village lies on the Basingstoke Canal (completed in 1794) and dates largely from the 19th century, when housing first began to be constructed in the area to accommodate workers employed at the local brickworks. The village gained its name from the Church of St John the Baptist, built here in 1842 from designs prepared by Sir George Gilbert Scott. The church houses a notable organ, described in the National Pipe Organ Register. Today the village centre is home to a mixture of shops and businesses which include a chemist's shop, a small supermarket, restaurants, and office premises. The village's location on the Basingstoke Canal and adjacent to St John's Lye – a public open space, important for its wildlife, landscape, and outdoor leisure amenities – together with buildings from the late Victorian to Edwardian period lend St John's a distinctive character.