Close to the Hedge - The Guardian

While shooting “Goldsworth Park” I chanced upon all manner of hedges, it would seem my fascination is one that many architectural photographers share. As part of Gareth Gardner’s Open Call I submitted a couple of images. One was selected and will be exhibited as part of the exhibition “Close to the Hedge” in Deptford from this Thursday at Gareth Gardner Gallery.

Olly Wainwright at the Guardian has written an article about the show, it’s an intriguing read

Close to the Hedge - Group Exhibition

“Helmsdale” from the ongoing project “Goldsworth Park” has been selected to be shown as part of a group show at Gareth Gardner Gallery about hedges. The exhibition is a celebration and study of the role hedges play in our lives and features photographs from photographers all over the world.

The opening night is on Thursday 24th April 2024, 6PM at Gareth Gardner Gallery in Deptford, London, UK.

Goldsworth Park - Day 09

Goldsworth Park took some 20 years to build, bridging three villages, Knaphill, St Johns and Horsell. It started tentatively with building happening just across the road from these locations, gradually working its way into the center and lake. When I arrived on Goldsworth Park in around 1998 it was the finished article, I never experienced the building or strife felt and endured by the early residents. One of the biggest issues was the slow progress of the central area which houses; Waitrose, newsagents, health centre, dentist, church, youth centre (formally), petrol station and pub. Without all these vital services and no central focus point it must have been hard to get by, let alone build a community.

Left: Press photograph May 1990 by Bill Bedminster.
Right: Plan of the Worship Room, taken from St Andrew’s Church - The Early Years August 1995 by Barbara Davies

There was pressure from the established supermarkets not to build a large shop on the park as their new customers would leave them, forgetting that they were temporary. The church played a big role in pushing through the proposals, petitioning the secretary of state and ensuring the centre was built, including the church. This week while reading about the new town of Northstowe, it was shocking to hear the exact same issues happening there, over 40 years later.

As I mentioned yesterday the church congregation started by meeting in their houses, moving to Beaufort School once it became unmanageable. It was obvious that a dedicated church would be needed and it’s clear the push to fundraise, design and build brought them even closer together.

St Andrews Church - Worship Room

The design of the church by Robert Potter was spread across two levels to ensure maximum use of the small plot gifted by Ideal Homes. The downstairs consisted of offices, communal meeting spaces and a kitchen. Upstairs was dedicated to worship with a 300 capacity “Worship Room”. Walking up the stairs today 3 things struck me:

- The scale, the space is vast, much like a cathedral it makes you feel small.
- The light, which softly falls down from the ceiling, and across the seating from high up side windows, windows which only reveal clouds and trees.
- The quietness, the church is right in the hustle and bustle of the shopping precinct but it’s perfectly silent.

It’s an impressive space, which has stood up well since it’s completion in 1988.

St Andrews Church - Seating

Downstairs there is a smaller prayer room with a book of remembrance, a café called “Andy’s” along with kitchen and several offices. I met a few staff and showed them some images from 1990 taken by a press photographer which I acquired from local historian Iain Wakeford. They seemed to know almost everyone in the photos, which was great to see, a snapshot in time and reinforces my passion for documenting the world around us.



Goldsworth Park - Day 08

4:15AM I’m standing in the central area car park, completely empty, obviously, I’m in the middle of what feels like a shouting match between birds at opposing ends. The empty car park makes for an excellent opportunity to capture a clear image of the church, usually the views are cluttered by cars.

Tomorrow I’m visiting the church to have a look around and capture the interior so it seems apt to start here. I’ve always sort of overlooked the church, I think because of the tight site it sits on, wedged in between a car park, a side road and the shops it’s hard to stand back and observe. During my research I found the original letter from the architect (Robert Potter) accepting the commission. Before the church was built the congregation were meeting at their houses and then the local primary school. The plot of land was kindly gifted by Ideal Homes but was not large enough to accommodate the needs of the church, leading to the multi-level design with the upstairs dedicated to worship and the lower levels for communal spaces/offices.

I moved on and took a few images around the shopping precinct, it’s a bit cluttered now with an outside seating area for Costa Coffee, play park and benches. I feel like the play area has been replaced about 10 times in my lifetime. There’s a takeaway called “The Flamin’ Chicken” that I don’t remember opening, it used to be Herbies Pizza, though I think it burned down…

I decided to wander towards the little side roads near St Johns which are technically part of Goldsworth Park but are not part of the main bulk, I guess they are infill. First up once I cross Langmans Bridge is Pantiles Close, these houses are not like any others I’ve seen on the Park, double fronted, detached, big driveways, kind of a square footprint. I continue to explore the others, Dale View, Goldsworth Orchard, Martin Way, once in each road it feels like Goldsworth Park but you’re not getting the fully immersive vibe, it feels like your outside the park. It’s hard to explain but when you step over the border in to the park there’s a different feeling, I think it’s a new town feeling, everything is planned out rather than organic, it’s organised and fluid. The outside world is somewhat more chaotic which is less pleasing to my mind. I went down one more road, St Johns Rise, before returning to the park proper.

I crossed St Johns Road, which seems like a natural barrier for the park, and into Winnington Way. When I was 16 I undertook my CBT so I could ride a moped to college (my first vehicle and therefore freedom), it’s a one day course and when we finished the day the instructor took us to his garage somewhere near Winnington Way to hand out the pass certificates. It was always my aim to move on to a motorbike but it didn’t happen for another 17 years!

After 4 hours of sleep last night I was feeling a little weary, so I meandered back across the park towards home. I stumbled across these cute little bungalows, they’re the same as the design opposite my house but detached they look tiny!

Goldsworth Park - Day 07

Since the first night walk I’ve been meaning to do more, tonight I went out about 21:45. I walked through Bishops Wood, as I got closer to Denton Way I could hear a loud noise, at first I couldn’t work out what it was but it became clearer as I walked, a sort of metal scraping noise, I thought maybe a whacker plate… I headed towards the noise to investigate.

As I emerged from a dark side alley on to Denton Way I was struck by bright lights and commotion on the roundabout. There were about 10 road workers, yellow flashing lights, 3-4 trucks, orange hi-vis, and the source of the noise, a whacker plate! I guess they were fixing potholes. I wanted to capture some images but it felt somewhat confrontational to set up a tripod and point it at 10 people in close proximity, especially when they’re working. I thought I could find a space where I was in the dark so as not to cause concern or alarm. It kind of worked but I think they clocked me quite quickly, quite a few of them were staring right at me, pondering what I was up to I'm sure.

Robin Hood Roundabout

I wandered on towards Knights Wood, where I found a pretty decent covered car, turns out Knights Wood is mainly dead ends! It was most likely around 10PM and I started getting a strange vibe as I moved further from home and on to more unfamiliar territory. The park is somewhat of a maze in the day time but at night around roads I know but not like the back of my hand I began to lose my bearings a little. I walked through Hamble Walk thinking the petrol station could be a good shout, I was wrong, it was closed and the lights were off. I walked across the empty, abandoned looking car park of the central area, there were two people sitting outside the closed Costa Coffee, I put my head down and walked off with intent. I’m not sure walking around the lake was the best idea in the pitch black but I headed there all the same.

Knights Wood

I cut off before the lake and went though Bainton Mead and Veryan, again I was somewhat confused as to my way through these roads which made me feel a little anxious. I found my way to the lake and captured an image across the water, it was peaceful, silent, eerie. I continued round and took a few more images, I love night photography, I don’t do it much anymore, the way the artificial lights cast their shadows in such strange and unfamiliar ways is pleasing, a whole different perspective on the same environment. Further round the lake there were two men sitting on a bench, right under a very bright light. I sort of hid my tripod and also thought about its potential use as a weapon, they of course did not cause me any trouble, the mind wanders.

The Lake at night

I was feeling pretty anxious by now, there are far too many pitch black alleyways and areas of dense woodland to make a night walker feel comfortable. Strange noises don’t help or the overly bright street lighting, which cause a sort of strobing effect whereby your eyes never adjust to the light or the dark. Strange noises by the side of the lake were of course fishermen who seem to be there 24/7. I made a beeline for home, got confused again but eventually stumbled across a road I recognised. I think I prefer going out after it’s rained, the lighting is better, there are less people around too. I might try very late at night sort of 2-3AM and see how that feels, I imagine more peaceful!

Goldsworth Park - Day 06

Two short walks today, one early afternoon and one in the evening, it was a strange weather day with showers and storm clouds.

Both walks were around the Knaphill side of the park towards Robinhood Road, the geography is rather hilly over this side of the park in contrast to the rest of the park which is essentially flat. The light wasn’t great and it started to rain at one point, I only managed a few images. There is a large allotment here but they’re not Goldsworth Park Allotments, which are actually located in Brookwood, this needs some further investigation, I believe they were moved at some point…

I decided to come back after sunset and see if I could get some better images. I also decided to pop to The Royal Oak pub for a pint, it’s located just outside the park on Anchor Hill. I went there some years ago and didn’t remember it being great.

About half 20:45 we walked along Clifton Way, crossed Lockfield Drive and walked up through the woods by the old Robin Hood pub site. Walked along Robin Hood Road and down in to Tolldene Close, the parking around here is pretty crazy, double parking and pavements blocked. Meandered through towards Mint Walk and Staveley Way and Creston Avenue, there’s some decent topiary going on round here. We walked a kind of long way round to the pub via Chequer Tree Close, a road I’d never been down before. It’s a long straight cul-de-sac but I knew there was a footpath out the far end. Along on the right the houses have these very sharp pitched roofs unlike any other design I’ve seen across the park, one stood out to me with neat green conifers and a large yellow flowering bush.

Chequer Tree Close

We reached the pub, it looks so beautiful and quaint from the outside, a proper village pub feel. All that changes when you walk through the door unfortunately. Why are there no decent pubs around here! They have about 12 taps, I asked for a pint of Moretti, chap says it’s not on. I said What do you have on tap? He says nothing on tap today! Very odd. He says he has bottles of Moretti and goes off to find them, a few minutes later he says he doesn’t have that either. Another person intervenes and says they do have them. It was all quite surreal, he even looked quizzical when I asked to pay on card. He apologised which was nice. Some other odd goings on: Someones wallet was on the bar the whole time we were there but no one claimed it, one end of the pub had a really loud TV show on a huge screen with no one watching it, the other end there were a few rowdy teenagers. We decided to sit out the front.

Next up I think we will try The Rowbarge, then we’re out of pubs within walking distance, except maybe The Cricketers in Horsell.

Goldsworth Park - Day 05

Quick flit through Bishopswood and I was on my way towards Eastmead and Westmead. I used to walk through these as a regular route from the park to Horsell/Woking, they run parallel to Lockfield Drive which doesn’t have a footpath despite being quite wide with huge verges. I always wondered why, not that you’d want to walk along a 50mph road, but it is quite direct. During my research last week at Surrey History Centre I seem to remember reading that there was potential to to upgrade Lockfield Drive to a dual carriageway in the future, thankfully that never happened.

First point of interest enroute was the Fox and Flowerpot, you may think it’s a somewhat quaint pub from the name alone, if you ever have the chance to visit I’m sure you’ll change your mind. I’ve always been disappointed by this pub, maybe I’m a pub snob. I last visited a few months ago, the first thing that struck me were the large CCTV monitors visible behind the bar, clearly informing you “you’re being watched”. It made me feel a little anxious that something was about to go down, I assume they’re going for the panopticon theory that if you think you’re being watched you’ll behave. The pub forms an island in the corner of the central area car park and has seating on the road side, concrete picnic benches. Inside the interior is floodlit in a sort of white/blue light, when I visited there was a Millwall game on the TV, situated next to Waitrose, the whole outfit feels strangely out of place. It’s quite hard to photograph, the back car park side is the sort of mess that you’d except at the back of a pub, bins, air conditioners etc. The front side is on the main road and screened by some foliage, the side entrance leads on to the walkway to the shops.

Westmead

I took the long path towards the canal but veered off to the left before I made it to Lockfield Drive bridge, ending up in the sprawling Fenwick Close. The houses are larger here than most of the park, some brick, some half clad in wood, I had a little explore then headed out towards Westmead. On the corner of Westmead a house is having a complete overhaul, scaffolding on both sides, almost as if they are adding wings, I’m a fan of scaffolding so I got a little distracted, the light was good too! Walked along my old route towards Harelands Roundabout, and then down towards Roffords, through to Ridsdale Road and back in to Quintrell Close. I stumbled across numerous cars with covers, these are a magnet to photographers, it’s hard to say why. I guess it’s that they stand out, they make an almost childlike car shape and they have creases in them which the light falls across beautifully. Anyway, it’s almost impossible to walk past a car with a cover without taking a photo, I even managed to get two in the same image, one with a mudflap sticking out that said “Nissan”, a little hint.

The light this morning was pretty decent, soft, a little hazy, the sky was blue but not that pure harsh blue, more like the sort of blue sky you’d see in a water colour. I took a few images of the skatepark at Lakeview Recreation Ground last week, the composition worked well but they deserved better light, so I headed back. I was visiting a little later than last time and there were some children hanging around on their way to school, my school in fact, whenever I see the uniform it always transports me back in time. I ponder about how I felt at school and how at the time it felt so all encompassing. I found it hard at that age to imagine what the future would hold, what it would be like to be an adult, what job would I have, where would I live. I feel lucky to have a job I genuinely enjoy and for all the opportunities I’ve had in life. I wish I could have reassured younger me!

Lakeview Recreation Ground

I head back towards the lake via Tresillian Way, I take a little while to sit by the lake, I think I understand why people go fishing.

Goldsworth Park - Day 04

Headed out at 5:30AM this morning. The sky was clear and the sun was just popping its head above the trees. After my research yesterday about the Sythwood area of Goldsworth Park, I decided to head there with a new found fascination. It would seem this is the oldest part of the park dating back to the late 1960s. From my reading at the Surrey History Centre I learnt that there were a few issues with this phase which included housing by the district country council for rent, a new main road (Sythwood) and a school (Sythwood Primary School).

The main issue was the access from Bullbeggars Lane which was narrow and unsuitable for construction traffic, this was proposed to be (and I assume was) widened. Other issues I read about more generally were the hard to predict but assumed large bill for new sewers, drainage and roads across Goldsworth Park, there was much debate about the burden falling on existing taxpayers for the benefit of new residents. I also read in minutes a few mentions of how Horsell residents might react to such a large scheme being built on their doorstep, no actual quotes though.

The Lake

I reached Sythwood from the direction of the lake, walking through Willowmead Close, one of the roads on my paper round when I was a teen, more on that later.

I immediately got distracted by the way the light was falling on the industrial buildings on Kestrel Way, the Goldsworth Park Trading Estate. I thought maybe I should ignore it and stick to my plan, but that’s boring, you’ve got to follow your gut on these meandering wanders. I turned into the estate from Sythwood by the school and most likely looked pretty suspect, in my experience most yards/businesses are suspicious of anyone hanging around taking photos, this was no different. A huge truck was backing up just as I was eyeing up a large pallet of orange painted wood, lit up in a morning glow, he beeped his horn and I thought I best go speak to him. He was obviously suspicious, wanted to know what I was up to, I just replied “Wandering”, he didn’t ask any other questions, happy that he had stopped me and went back to his truck. Down the far end, tucked away is a data center, of which I would love to go inside, they fascinate me and are very secretive, they have high security and I didn’t bother going near it today. It’s intriguing that such a facility has been dropped right in the middle of a suburban housing estate, further investigation needed.

I headed off on my original plan to have a decent look around the housing off Sythwood. We always referred to this area as “Sythwood” but I’ve recently heard it being called “Bullbeggars Estate” and “Lakeview”, who knows it’s official name! As I mentioned above these homes were built by the district county council for rent, opposed to the vast majority of the park which was built by private developers for sale (Willett Homes and Ideal Homes). The difference between these areas is noticeable, which irritates me, the quality of the finish of the exterior of the buildings is somewhat bleaker than other areas of the park. The smaller low rise homes are brick but the larger blocks are concrete and what looks like plastic cladding, mostly the rest of the park is brick and any cladding is wood which feels more natural and sympathetic. I believe this disparity is getting better generally but in my opinion there is no real reason to treat some people differently to others, I’m sure it is purely a cost issue but the fact they are rented and not purchased doesn’t make the tenants any less deserving of high quality housing. It could be that all the residents are perfectly happy, I can only comment on the differences I notice as I walk around at this stage without talking them. The other thing I notice is that there is a bleakness, it feels like most of Goldsworth Park is leafy and has an almost enclosed feeling of tree cover, but around here the sky is big and stark against the taller buildings. The larger blocks are 4 stories which is not huge but much bigger than any other on the park.

French’s Wells

I contemplated what the view might look like from the upper walkway of these blocks and eventually decided I would take a look, the stairwells are not secured. I almost immediately decided it was a bad idea, I reached the top and it felt wrong, like I was invading people's personal space, as if walking into someone's garden, I went back down.

Onwards I went towards Harelands Roundabout. I took some photos of garages enroute, I think garages are the only constant on Goldsworth Park. It would appear they had a semi prefabricated design with brick walls at either end, concrete slabs slotted together between to form the row and topped with corrugated asbestos. The only real exceptions to this rule are the garages that are not in blocks but on residents properties, these are built to a much higher standard and are usually brick with tiled roofs. I have a feeling I might end up with a series of garage images, I find them strangely fascinating.

Paper rounds! When I was about 13/14 I had a paper round delivering the Woking Review, I ended up walking through 4 or 5 of the roads I used to cover today and it felt strange. My overriding memories are of manually putting all the flyers in the papers, one night delivering them in the pouring rain (each paper ending up falling apart in my hands), dogs grabbing the paper and ripping it through the letterbox and the oddly vicious letterboxes that could trap your fingers. It amounted to a couple hundred papers a week and I made about £10. The roads were; Willowmead Close, Hedgerley Court, Foxhills, Tresillian Way and Merrivale Gardens. Walking through Hedgerley Court today I actually remembered a little cut through between some garages, Willowmead Close felt oddly familiar, you spend a lot of time in a road when you have to walk up to every door. At Foxhills, which is made up of blocks of flats, I had a vivid memory of trying to put 8 newspapers through the larger letter boxes and failing, sometimes the blocks would be open and you could just drop them all under the letterbox.

Muirfield Road

I walked back along the canal, back past Langmans Bridge, almost all the way to St Johns before cutting back across Lockfield Drive. Just off Muirfield Road there is a line of 21 Pine trees, I’ve walked past them on numerous occasions and wondered if they’re a remnant of Slococks Nursery. It looks to me that they are too close together and in such a straight line that maybe they were being grown to be sold but were never removed. There’s another instance like this on the park but I can’t remember where, I’ll stumble across it again one day.

Goldsworth Park - Day 03

Slightly later start today at 6:30, I had in mind a photograph I had taken a few weeks ago in poor lighting but that stood up compositionally. It was on the other side of the lake and recreation ground so I started walking in the general direction.

The weather was sunny but also cloudy, that sort of cloud where the sun just becomes hazy but is still out, actually quite soft which looks good generally. The first images I shot were by the BMX track, near the lake, I’m not sure when this was built, it didn’t exist when I used to hang around here in my youth, there was just a single half pipe which I was way too scared to try. Pretty much all my friends skated when I was growing up, not sure why I didn’t take it up, it looks great fun, alas I’m too old and scared of breaking something to start now.

BMX Track

There is a large swathe of long grass between the BMX track and the nearest housing on Claydon Road, it was glowing in the morning light and from certain angles you couldn’t see anything man made, it felt truly wild. This location is far enough away from the main roads that all you can really hear are birds. I captured a shot of the prairie grass and headed onwards to Claydon Road. I know Goldsworth Park quite well but sometimes it is hard to recall where I saw a certain house or garage, I was sure it was Claydon Road I wanted! As I wandered in it all felt familiar and I knew I was in the right place.

The houses are actually 1970s bungalows, I’ve become fond of this style over recent years, sort of like a suburban version of the 70’s townhouses near my home in Crystal Palace. The sun went away, I made a recording of what, in my tired state, I thought was a chicken but in hindsight, definitely was not. While over this side of the park I wanted to investigate the Hockey Club, just round the corner.

According to their website: “Woking Hockey Club is one of the largest hockey clubs in the country with ten men’s teams, six ladies teams, a mixed side, a range of youth teams, various touring & summer league sides and Back to Hockey sessions.” It’s huge but kind of tucked away. I’ve never spent much time around here, though I was a fan of hockey at school. My overriding memory of the hockey club was driving past on cold winter nights and seeing a buzz of activity lit up by huge towering floodlights. The pitches make for great photo opportunities, especially if you’re a fan of geometric shapes/patterns and colour as I am.

I continued on towards Roundthorn Way and Oakfield. I'm intrigued by the road names in Goldsworth Park, I’m glad they’re not all named generically like the flower estate in Bisley or where my grandparents lived where every road was named after a bird, that seems somewhat lazy to me. Later today I’m heading to Surrey History Centre and I hope to find out more. I know some are historical such as Slocock Hill (named after the nursery/owner) and Harelands and of course Goldsworth but others seem entirely random, Nethercote (near Banbury), Abercorn (in Scotland!). Perhaps as I’ve heard before the names could be chosen by the architect or someone in the council with a personal connection, we might never know.

In Oakfield I revisited my favourite no parking sign so far, “No Parking. Early Start 4AM. Royal Mail”, it tells you so much, it plays on your good nature that the owner is just a person trying to earn an honest living and doesn’t need your shit at 4AM. It’s polite in the way it gives you additional information but it doesn’t say please or thank you. There’s an instagram account for No Parking signs and it’s up there with the best. I headed on to look at the play park which had a sign attached, it’s going to be refurbished in July, maybe I’ll come back to see the results.

Julian Close

This evening I’ve been to Silversmiths Way and Julian Close, quite a high hit rate of decent shots for a small road. This was the road I contemplated shooting yesterday but decided otherwise. It’s right next to my primary school and I never considered it “Goldsworth Park” mainly as it’s isolated from the park by the canal and Parley Drive. Anyway, it’s a nice road!

Goldsworth Park - Day 02

4:50 alarm, I checked out the window and the sky was clear! It’s quite hard to get out of bed at that time, as I’m sure you’ll appreciate, however as I’m already in Goldsworth Park the pay off comes the minute I walk out the front door.

Lidstone Close

My aim is to generally wander, however there was an image I had in mind this morning, a set of neatly trimmed conifers I found a few weeks ago, I knew they would look good in the morning light and that they were about a 20 minute walk away, so I headed in that direction. I walked down towards the lake, taking a route I never had before, the sun was barely up and nothing took my fancy. It rained most of yesterday and last night so the air was crisp and fresh, the ground is generally warm, last month was the hottest June on record, the moisture was rising in the ever warming air creating quite the atmosphere. I reached the lake, a very low thin mist hung over its surface, the only people around were fishermen and the odd dog walker. I've decided not to use headphones or listen to anything while walking so I can take in the full experience. I’ve also decided to record sound every now and then along my route. The first instance was standing by the lake at 5:15ish, generally birds! The lake, while looking atmospheric and peaceful wasn’t cutting it, just not quite right. I headed off.

I ambled past a house with the most beautiful and extensive rose collection you could imagine, all fully in bloom. Continued down a road adjacent to our old house at Perleybrooke Lane and on towards the footpath that leads over Lockfield Drive, down to the canal. I paused on the bridge over Lockfield Drive and made a recording. The wet road made the roar of cars approaching especially loud. There was a baseline of birds and rustling leaves, peaceful, then in the distance I hear a car approaching, it builds and builds until the sound of the car overtakes the baseline, it’s all I can hear, it gets louder and louder, then it hits me, the roar, an attack . I see the car pass beneath, then the sound begins to fade, and fade until the baseline becomes clearer and begins to win my ears over. The intensity of the sound of the car makes me hang on to the sound, listening to it right until it is no more, it’s invasive. With peace returned I continued down to the canal.

Ahead is a small stone bridge over the Basingstoke canal, Langman’s Bridge, it was constructed in 1790 and is the last remaining Surrey canal bridge in original form, a scheduled monument no less. I record under the bridge, it’s mainly bird song and the sound of water hitting the canal as birds knock the overnight rain from the trees. A few commuters pass as they use the canal route to head towards Woking town center. I cross over Langman’s Bridge and begin wandering towards Helmsdale, where my long anticipated conifers lay in wait. As I turned the corner they didn’t disappoint, last night's rain glistening in the early morning glow, I thought to myself, “worth that early start!”

Greenham Walk

I wandered around Winnington Way and a few other roads, nothing stood out to me, I’ll come back at another time of day. I head back to the canal and down the side of my primary school, Goldsworth Primary School. As I do, memories come back to me, I could see right across the field, reminding me of sports day and playing in the school football team. The bottom corner of the pitch, by the canal, used to flood, right over the corner flag, you essentially had to float the ball and try to kick it from the top of what felt like a small lake. Onwards to the bridge barn pub, I didn’t know you could walk down this side of the canal, almost everyone walks on the opposite side, it’s clear though if not a little muddy. I could’ve decided to investigate the housing behind the school which I never thought of as Goldsworth Park but I decide that’s for another day, I continue towards Well Lane.

It’s my assumption that well lane and Bridge Barn Lane used to link up and cross the canal at the bridge here, however they’ve both been severed by Lockfield Drive, making the bridge a strange feature, as if someone built a bridge to nowhere. I turn down Well Lane, the first road we lived on when we moved to Woking and then off towards Merivale Gardens, another previous address, right on the edge of the park (dad always said it was Horsell!). Not much here I wanted to shoot but I stood for a little while looking at our old house, we lived there from 1999 - 2005, my first experience of life on the park. A decent road, a cul-de-sac, a garage, a driveway and a wrap-around garden, one of my best friends at school lived down the other end. I would go to his to play Goldeneye on the N64. It felt a little uncanny to look at that house, so many memories, too many to mention, one of the funniest was when my sister Molly and I walked home from school in what was essentially a monsoon, by the time we got half way home we had given up trying to stay even remotely dry. When we finally got home dad wouldn’t let us in, got us some towels and had us dry off out the front.

Yesterday I discovered the path out the back of our old house was proposed to be a road called the Horsell Bypass, it obviously never came to pass as it’s still a cycle route. I asked dad about it and he knew, it came up when he bought the house, the agent assured him it’ll never happen. I decided to walk the route of the proposed Horsell Bypass, heading towards Sythwood and Bullbeggars Lane. There’s some interesting compositions around the park, skate park and Sythwood housing, I trundle on, a little weary and headings towards Waitrose, a pastry would go down a treat I think.

I made it, 7:40AM, Waitrose opens at 8!





Goldsworth Park - Day 01

First day shooting, it rained all day, I arrived on Goldsworth Park at lunchtime. Mum and I went for a brief walk and had lunch.

Decided an evening walk would be good since it stopped raining, kind of. Went out about 21:30, walked up towards Robinhood Road. First photos were taken along Lockfield Drive and then on the site of the burned down Robin Hood pub. Mum says she went there once with my uncle Steve but as soon as they walked in they walked out again. This aligns with my only experience of the pub, it seemed to be frequented purely by older men who gave a death stare as you entered, only sold Carling and Stella and generally was not well maintained. It wasn't therefore surprising that it struggled and when it burnt down pretty much everyone agreed locally it must've been an insurance scam (allegedly?).

Clifton Way

I wanted to go there tonight as it's elevated and right on the edge of the park, however there was not a great deal to shoot, perhaps I'll go back in daylight. I shot a couple of images of a large yellow daisy/weed, it was hard to see the colour in the dark but I was sure it was yellow. I shot a long exposure and it was indeed yellow. At one point I went to grab a weed which was in the way of my composition, decided just before grabbing it to use my flash to check it wasn't dangerous, sure enough it was nettles, close call.

We headed towards Mint Walk and stumbled across a great composition of bus stops, red/orange light and long grass, it just all came together, the rain helped with beautifully reflective tarmac bouncing the light around. I shot a few others but nothing of note. Mum knows her way around this part of Goldsworth park, I haven't a clue, so she led the way.

We then stumbled across a decent view through a fence, across a garage area and on to some roofs, shot it through the fence, hopefully it'll look alright. Barely any light, I think the less light the better somehow, too much and it's harsh.

Couple of images across lockfield drive and then in Nethercote Avenue, lastly a nice elevational image of mums neighbours VW camper van. I'm 33, when I was 17 I learnt to drive and on the first day my instructor picked me up he noted the camper van parked across from our house. He said he was thinking of buying a house round here about a decade before but thought the chap with the camper van might always be out there making a lot of noise, here we were a decade on and he was still there tinkering. And now we're a further 16 years and he's still busy working on it, a bit like painting the forth bridge!

Going to shoot at 5AM tomorrow, it's nearly midnight now so I better go to sleep!

Goldsworth Park

During July I will be shooting a photographic project “Goldsworth Park” in Woking.

The project is an exploration and documentation of Goldsworth Park, a housing estate built between the late 1970s and 1990, it’s a place I know well, having lived on the park for half of my life, leaving in 2015. The estate was the largest private construction site in Europe during it’s implementation.

Each day I shoot I will be recording my thoughts, and hopefully will post an image or two too.

Abercorn Way

Muslim World War Memorial gains approval at The National Memorial Arboretum

Huge congratulations to Benedict O'Looney and team for gaining approval on this landmark memorial at The National Memorial Arboretum!

The day we went to shoot started at 5AM, driving north through huge swathes of fog, hoping the arboretum would be in a clear patch. On arrival it turned out to be under a thick blanket of fog! We waited and waited and in the end it cleared, allowing us to capture these beautiful images.

I headed off to another job but Tony Jackson waited most of the rest of the day to shoot the aerial photography (outside visiting hours).

It was all worth it in the end with a fantastic proposal by Benny and his team and wonderful visualisation undertaken by Rose Wetherell @ AVR London! Well done to all involved, can't wait to head back and have a look once completed.

Thanks Architects Journal for publishing.

Read the full article / Architects Journal

Leibal's founder Leo Lei publishes The Arches interiors

Leo Lei has written an article on Leibal’s website focusing on the interiors of The Arches by The Dhaus Company featuring a combination of photos by Matthew White and Richard Chivers.

The main focus are the unique pivoting doors which sit within each arch. The doors fill the whole arch with glass allowing plentiful light to enter the bedroom. When required they effortlessly pivot out of the way to allow access to the balcony, overlooking the sunken courtyard.

Read the full article / Leibal
See the full set of images / The Arches

Dezeen publishes The Arches

Since 2019 Matthew has been documenting the construction of The Arches by The Dhaus Company on Highgate Road, North London. Earlier this year the project completed and alongside Richard Chivers who was undertaking drone photography and video work, Matthew spent the day documenting the finished build with architects Daniel Woolfson and David Ben Grunberg.

Today Dezeen published Matthew’s images alongside Richard’s work and an in depth article by Amy Frearson. It’s great to see the images out in the wild but mainly to see the building through to completion, it was quite the journey for all involved through the pandemic. Congratulations!


Read the full article / Dezeen’s website
See the full set of images / The Arches

Yoo Capital publish Olympia aerial

Yoo Capital, currently redeveloping Kensington Olympia, have published Matthew’s aerial image of the proposed development. Visualisation by AVR London.

The shoot was split in to two helicopter flights, one day time shoot earlier in the day and this dusk shoot around 20 minutes after sunset. The aim was to circle the site at two different heights, capturing multiple angles. This ended up being the main focus, whereas the day time shots showed the site in the foreground with Hyde Park and the London skyline in the background. The light bouncing off the mirror-like Thames was a particular highlight.

Read the full article / Yoo Capital
See more aerial photography / Aerial