BROOKWOOD CEMETERY

Dr Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner was responsible for making Woking a major centre for Islam in Britain. He is one of several famous people buried at Brookwood who have an entry in the Dictionary of National Biography.

A noted linguist and academic, he founded over 80 institutions in India and elsewhere, including the University of Lahore.

In 1884 Dr Leitner founded the Oriental Institute in Woking. This was designed to become a European centre for the study of oriental culture, history and languages.

Dr G. W. Leitner (1840-1899)

In the late 1890s the Oriental Institute began awarding degrees under the auspices of the University of Lahore, but it closed for ever in the summer following Dr Leitner's death.

Two reminders of the Oriental Institute survive in Woking: the Mosque and Oriental Road, named after the Institute. 

Dr Leitner is buried in plot 2.

The Woking (or Shah Jehan) Mosque. It was designed by the architect W.I. Chambers and opened in 1889.