| Dorking | |
|---|---|
| Market town | |
.jpg) View northeast from The Nower towards Dorking town centre and Box Hill | |
  Dorking Location withinSurrey | |
| Area | 6.57 km2 (2.54 sq mi) town wards[1] |
| Population | 11,158 town wards only[1] 17,098 wider built-up area[2] (2011 census) |
| • Density | 1,698/km2 (4,400/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | TQ165494 |
| • London | 21 mi (34 km) NNE |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Dorking |
| Postcode district | RH4 |
| Dialling code | 01306 |
| Police | Surrey |
| Fire | Surrey |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| UK Parliament | |
| 51°13′57″N00°19′50″W / 51.23250°N 0.33056°W /51.23250; -0.33056 | |
Dorking (/ˈdɔːrkɪŋ/) is amarket town inSurrey inSouth East England about 21 mi (34 km) south-west ofLondon. It is inMole Valley District and thecouncil headquarters are to the east of the centre. TheHigh Street runs roughly east–west, parallel to thePipp Brook and along the northern face of an outcrop ofLower Greensand. The town is surrounded on three sides by theSurrey Hills National Landscape and is close toBox Hill andLeith Hill.
The earliest archaeological evidence of human activity is from theMesolithic andNeolithic periods, and there are severalBronze Agebowl barrows in the local area. The town may have been the site of a staging post onStane Street duringRoman times, however the name 'Dorking' suggests anAnglo-Saxon origin for the modern settlement. Amarket is thought to have been held at least weekly since earlymedieval times and was highly regarded for thepoultry traded there. TheDorking breed ofdomestic chicken is named after the town.
The local economy thrived duringTudor times, but declined in the 17th century due to poor infrastructure and competition from neighbouring towns. During theearly modern period many inhabitants werenonconformists, including the author,Daniel Defoe, who lived in Dorking as a child. Six of theMayflowerPilgrims, includingWilliam Mullins and his daughterPriscilla, lived in the town before setting sail for the New World.
Dorking started to expand during the 18th and 19th centuries as transport links improved and farmland to the south of the centre was released forhousebuilding. The newturnpike, and later therailways, facilitated the sale oflime produced in the town, but also attracted wealthier residents, who had had no previous connection to the area. Residential expansion continued in the first half of the 20th century, as theDeepdene andDenbies estates began to be broken up. Further development is now constrained by theMetropolitan Green Belt, which encircles the town.
The origins and meaning of the name Dorking are uncertain.[3] Early spellings includeDorchinges (1086),[4]Doreking (1138–47),[3]Dorkinges (1180),[5] andDorkingg (1219).[3] Both principal elements in the name are disputed. The first element may be from a personal name,Deorc, or some variant, of eitherBrittonic orOld English origin. Alternatively it may derive from the Brittonic wordsDorce, a river name meaning "clear, bright stream", orduro, meaning a "fort", "walled town" or "gated place".[3][6] The second element, if originally plural (‑ingas), might mean "(settlement belonging to the) followers of ...", but if singular (‑ing) might mean "place", "stream", "wood" or "clump".[3]
Show Pump Corner
Show whole town
Show Mole Valley districtDorking is in central Surrey, about 21 mi (34 km) south ofLondon and 10 mi (16 km) east ofGuildford. It is close to the intersection of two valleys – the north-south Mole Gap (where theRiver Mole cuts through theNorth Downs) and the west–eastVale of Holmesdale (a narrow strip of low-lying land between the North Downs and theGreensand Ridge).[7][8] The highest point in the town is theGlory Wood, south east of the centre, where the summit (137 m (449 ft)) is marked by aBronze Agebowl barrow.[9]
The basic plan of the town centre has not changed sincemedieval times (and may beAnglo-Saxon in origin).[10] The main streets (the High Street, West Street and South Street) meet at Pump Corner, forming a " Y " shape.[11][12] Together, West Street and the High Street run approximately west–east, paralleling thePipp Brook, a tributary of the Mole, which runs to the north of the centre.[13]
The town is surrounded by theMetropolitan Green Belt (which also covers the Glory Wood) and is bordered on three sides by theSurrey Hills National Landscape. SeveralSites of Special Scientific Interest are close by, including theMole Gap to Reigate Escarpment, immediately to the north.[14] TheNational Trust owns several properties in the area, includingBox Hill,[15]Leith Hill Tower[16] andPolesden Lacey.[17]
The rockstrata on which Dorking sits, belong primarily to theLower Greensand Group. This group is multilayered and includes the sandy Hythe Beds, the clayey Sandgate Beds and the quartz-rich Folkestone Beds.[18] The lower greensand was deposited in theearly Cretaceous, most likely in ashallow sea with low oxygen levels. Over the subsequent 50 million years, other strata were deposited on top of the Lower Greensand, includingGault clay,Upper Greensand and thechalk of the North and South Downs.[19]
Following theCretaceous, the sea covering the south of England began to retreat and the land was pushed higher. TheWeald (the area covering modern-day south Surrey, south Kent, north Sussex and east Hampshire) was lifted bythe same geological processes that created the Alps, resulting in ananticline which stretched across theEnglish Channel to theArtois region of northern France.[20] Initially an island, thisdome-like structure was drained by the ancestors of the rivers which today cut through the North and South Downs, including the Mole.[21] The dome was eroded away over the course of theCenozoic, exposing the strata beneath and resulting in theescarpments of the Downs and the Greensand Ridge.[22]
In Dorking, the dividing line between the Lower Greensand and Gault clay is marked by the course of the Pipp Brook. In the south of the town, the Hythe Beds take the form ofiron-rich, soft,fine-grained sandstone,[23] whereas the Sandgate Beds have a moreloamy composition.[24] Thequartz-rich Folkestone Beds have a lower iron content, and contain veins ofsilver sand and rose-colouredferruginous sand.[25] Running along the north bank of the Pipp Brook (with a width of around 200 m (200 yd)) is the outcrop of Gault, a blue-blackshaly clay,[26] beyond which is a narrow band of Upper Greensand, a hard, greymica-rich sandstone.[27] In the extreme north west of the town, themarly Lower Chalk was quarried forlime production until the early 20th century.[28]
Ammonite fossils are found in the north of the town, includingStoliczkia,Callihoplites,Acanthoceras andEuomphaloceras species in the Lower Chalk andPuzosia species in the Upper Greensand.[29]Foraminifera fossils have been found in the Hythe Beds adjacent to the Horsham road, to the west of Tower Hill.[30]
The earliest evidence of human activity in Dorking comes from theMesolithic andNeolithic periods and includesflint tools andflakes found during construction development in South Street.[31][32][33] During the rebuilding of theWaitrose supermarket in South Street in 2013, charredhazelnut shells,radiocarbon dated to between 8625 and 8465BCE, were discovered.[34] Aring ditch containing two ceramicurns, was also found.[35] Other ditches identified during the same excavation may indicate the presence of aBronze Agefield system, although the date of these later earthworks is less certain.[34] Bowl barrows from the same period have been found at the Glory Wood (to the south of the town centre),[9] on Milton Heath (to the west)[36] and on Box Hill (to the northeast).[37][38][note 1]
There is thought to have been a settlement at Dorking in Roman times, although its size and extent are unclear.Coins from the reigns ofHadrian (117–138 AD),Commodus (180–192) andClaudius Gothicus (214–270), as well as tiles and pottery fragments, have been found in the town.[10]Stane Street, theRoman road linking London toChichester, was constructed during the first century AD[46] and is thought to have run through Dorking.[10] The exact course through the town is not known and no definitive archaeological evidence has been discovered for the route in the 3 mi (5 km) gap between the crossing of the River Mole at the Burford Bridge andNorth Holmwood.[10][47] Aposting station is thought to have been located in the area and sites have been proposed in the town centre,[48] atPixham[10] and at the Burford Bridge, where the road crossed the River Mole.[10][49]
Although the name Dorking implies a settlement that was well established by the time of theNorman Conquest, archaeological evidence of Saxon activity in the town centre is limited to potterysherds.[31][32][33] Probable Saxoncemeteries have been found close to Yew Tree Road (to the north of the centre)[50] and at Vincent Lane (to the west).[51] In 1817, the so-called "Dorking Hoard" of around 700silver pennies, dating from the mid-8th to the late-9th centuries, was found near the source of the Pipp Brook on the northern slopes of Leith Hill.[52][53][note 2] In the late Saxon period, the manor and parish were administered as part of theWotton Hundred[54] and may have been part of a large royal estate centred onLeatherhead.[13]
Dorking appears inDomesday Book of 1086 as the Manor ofDorchinges. It was held byWilliam the Conqueror, who had assumed the lordship in 1075 on the death ofEdith of Wessex, widow ofEdward the Confessor. The settlement included one church, threemills worth 15s 4d, 16ploughs,woodland and herbage for 88hogs and 3 acres (1.2 ha) ofmeadow. Itrendered £18 per year in 1086. The residents included 38 villagers, 14 smallholders and 4villeins, which placed it in the top 20% of settlements in England by population.[13][55]
In around 1087,William II granted the manor of Dorking toWillam de Warenne, the firstEarl of Surrey, whose descendants have held thelordship almost continuously until the present day.[13] By the early 14th century, the manor had been divided for administrative purposes into fourtithings: Eastburgh and Chippingburgh (corresponding respectively to the eastern and western halves of the modern town); Foreignburgh (the area covered by the Holmwoods) and Waldburgh (which would later be renamedCapel).[12] On the death of the seventh Earl,John de Warenne, in 1347, the manor passed to hisbrother-in-law,Richard Fitzalan, the thirdEarl of Arundel. In 1580 both Earldoms passed through the female line toPhillip Howard, whose father,Thomas Howard, had forfeited the title ofDuke of Norfolk and had been executed for his involvement in theRidolfi plot to assassinate Elizabeth I.[56] The dukedomwas restored to the family in 1660, following the accession ofCharles II.[57]
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As the status of the de Warennes and their descendants increased, they became less interested in the town. In the 14th and 15th centuries, prominent local families (including the Sondes and the Goodwyns) were able to buy the leases on some of the lordship lands.[58][59] One such area was the Deepdene, first mentioned in acourt roll of 1399. This woodland was held by several tenants, before being inherited in 1652 by Charles Howard, the fourth son of the15th Earl of Arundel, in whose family it remained until 1790. The estate was expanded by successive owners, including the Anglo-Dutch bankerThomas Hope and his eldest sonHenry Thomas Hope, who commissionedWilliam Atkinson to remodel the main house as a "sumptuous High Renaissance palazzo".[60][note 3]
Unlike the neighbouring towns of Guildford andReigate, Dorking was never granted aBorough Charter and remained under the control of the Lord of the Manor throughout the Middle Ages.[12]Reforms during the Tudor period reduced the importance ofmanorial courts and the day-to-day administration of towns such as Dorking became the responsibility of thevestry of the parish church.[63][64] There was little change in local government structure over the subsequent three centuries, until thePoor Law Amendment Act 1834 transferred responsibility forpoor relief to thePoor Law Commission, whose local powers were delegated to the newly formedpoor law union in 1836.[65][note 4] In 1841, the Dorking Union constructed a newworkhouse, south of the town centre, designed by William Shearburn. The entrance block still stands and is now part of Dorking Hospital.[66]
Alocal board of health (LBH) was established in Dorking in 1881 to administerinfrastructure including roads, street lighting and drainage. The LBH organised the first regular domesticrefuse collection and, by mid-1888, had created a newsewerage system (including atreatment works at Pixham).[67][61] TheLocal Government Act 1888 transferred many administrative responsibilities to the newly formedSurrey County Council and was followed by an1894 Act that created the Dorking Urban District Council (UDC).[67][61] Initially the offices of the UDC were in South Street,[67] but in 1931 the Council moved to Pippbrook House, aGothic Revival country house to the north east of the town centre, designed as a private residence byGeorge Gilbert Scott in 1856.[68][69][note 5]
TheLocal Government Act 1972 createdMole Valley District Council (MVDC), by combining the UDCs of Dorking and Leatherhead with the majority of the Dorking and Horley Rural District. In 1984, the new council moved into purpose-built offices, designed by Michael Innes, at the east end of the town.[70]
Following theend of Roman rule in Britain, there appears to have been no systematic planning of transport infrastructure in the local area for over amillennium. During Saxon times, the section of Stane Street between Dorking andOckley was bypassed by the longer route viaColdharbour and the upper surface of the Roman road was most likely quarried to provide stone for local building projects.[71] Two routes linked the town to London, the first via the Mole crossing at Burford Bridge to Leatherhead[note 6] and the second, the "Winter Road", climbed the south-facing scarp slope of Box Hill from Boxhurst and ran northeastwards to meet the London-Brighton road atTadworth.[71][note 7]
The development of Guildford (12 mi (19 km) to the west) was stimulated by the construction of theWey Navigation in the 1650s.[73] In contrast, although several schemes were proposed to make the Mole navigable, none were enacted[74][75] and transport links to Dorking remained poor. As a result, the local economy began to suffer and the town declined through the late 17th and early 18th centuries.[71]
Theturnpike road through Dorking was authorised by theSussex and Surrey Roads Act 1755 (28 Geo. 2 c. 45).[76][note 8][note 9] The new turnpike dramatically improved the accessibility of the town from the capital and a report from 1765 noted both that the Thursday grain market had increased in size and that the local flour mills were significantly busier.[78] Amail coach operated return journeys between Dorking and London six days per week and severalstagecoaches used the route daily until the mid-19th century.[79] In contrast, the east–west Reigate–Guildford road remained the responsibility of the parishes through which it ran and only minimal improvements were made before the start of the 20th century.[77]
Thefirst railway line to reach Dorking was theReading, Guildford and Reigate Railway (RG&RR), authorised by Acts of Parliament in 1846, 1847 and 1849.[80] Dorking station (nowDorking West) was opened in 1849 northwest of the town, initially as a temporary terminus for trains fromReigate.[81] Local residents had expressed a preference for the station to be sited closer to the town centre at Meadowbank, but since the line passed through a deep cutting at this point it was deemed impractical to provide the necessary freight facilities at this location.[82] Two years later a second station, now known asDorking Deepdene, was opened on the same line.[83][note 10]
Thesecond railway line to serve the town was authorised by Acts of Parliament in 1862 and 1864[84] and was opened by theLondon, Brighton and South Coast Railway in 1867.[85][86] A west-south connecting spur to the RG&RR was provided on opening, but was removed around 1900, before being briefly restored between 1941 and 1946 as a wartime resilience measure.[84][note 11]
Dorking station was provided with extensive goods facilities, a locomotive yard and a turntable (later the site of the car park).[85] It was built with two platforms, but a third was added in 1925, when the railway line waselectrified fromLeatherhead.[87][note 12] The original building was demolished in 1980 and was replaced by a larger structure, designed by Gordon Lavington, which integrated the station with offices forBiwater.[88]
In the late 1920s, improvements were made to the Dorking-Reigate road (now the A25), including the construction of Deepdene Bridge over the River Mole.[89][90] Thebypass road (now the A24) was opened in 1934[91] following considerable local opposition to the route, which cut through the Deepdene estate.[92][93]
A market at Dorking is first recorded in 1240 and in 1278, the sixth Earl of Surrey,John de Warenne, claimed that it had been held twice weekly since "time out of mind".[94] The early medieval market was probably centred around Pump Corner and between South Street and West Street, but it appears to have moved east to the widest part of the High Street by the early 15th century.[12]
In the century following the Norman conquest, agricultural activity was focused on the lordship lands, which lay to the north of the Pipp Brook. However, as the Middle Ages progressed, woodland to the south and west of the centre was cleared enabling farms owned by the Goodwyns, Stubbs and Sondes families to expand.[58] By the start of the Tudor period, there were at least five watermills in Dorking – two at Pixham (one on the Pipp Brook, owned by the Sondes and one on the Mole, owned by the Brownes), two close to the town centre (both owned by the manor) and one at Milton, on the road to Westcott. There may also have been a windmill on Tower Hill.[59]
The town flourished in Tudor times and, in the 1590s, amarket house was built between what is now St Martin's Walk and the White Horse Hotel.[11][note 14] TheantiquarianJohn Aubrey, who visited the town between 1673 and 1692, noted that the weekly market (which took place on Thursdays) was "the greatest... for poultry in England" and noted that "Sussex wheat" was also sold.[97] The free-draining Lower Greensand found in the Dorking area is particularly suited forrearing chickens and the local soils providegrit to assist the birds'digestive systems.[98] The Dorking fowl, which has five claws instead of the normal four, is named after the town.[99][note 15]
Wine made from thewild cherries that grew in the town was another local speciality. A 'cherry fair' was held in July in the 17th and 18th centuries,[100] and was revived in the 20th century at St Barnabas Church, Ranmore. Aubrey also recorded that an annual fair took place onAscension Day.[97]
Chalk and sand were quarried in Dorking until the early 20th century. Chalk was dug from a pit on Ranmore Road and heated inkilns to producequicklime.[note 16] In the medieval and early modern periods, thelime was used tofertilise local farm fields, but from the 18th century onwards (and especially after the construction of the turnpike to Epsom in 1755), it was transported to London foruse in the construction industry.[102][note 17] Sand from the Folkestone Beds was quarried from several sites in the town, including at two pits in Vincent Lane.[104]
Caves and tunnels were also dug in the sandstone under several parts of the town. Many were used as cellars for storing wine bottles,[105] but deeper workings followedseams ofsilver sand, which was used inglass making.[106] Most of the surviving caves are privately owned and not accessible to the public. A well-known example is thecockpit beneath the former Wheatsheaf Inn in the High Street, in which fightingcocks were set against each other forsport. During the construction of thecar park to the south ofSainsbury's supermarket, the builders broke through into a large cavern of unknown date, the walls of which were painted withtrompe-l'œil pillars. Unfortunately, in order to complete the car park, it was necessary to fill in the cave with concrete.[104] Guided tours of the caves in South Street are held on a regular basis and are organised by Dorking Museum.[107]
By the start of the 19th century, increasingmechanisation of agriculture was leading to a localsurplus of labour. The wages for unskilled farm workers were decreasing, exacerbated by a fall in produce prices following the end of theNapoleonic Wars in 1815. Like many towns in the south of England, Dorking was affected bycivil unrest among its poorest residents.[108] In November 1830 a riot broke out and a mob of 80 attacked the Red Lion Inn in the High Street. A troop of soldiers from theLife Guards regiment was called in to restore order.[109] In 1831 it was noted that the town (population 4711) had one of the highest rates ofpoor relief in Surrey.[108]
In early 1832, thevestry devised a supported scheme to enable young unemployed, unskilled labourers to leave the town tosettle inUpper Canada.[note 18] The cost of the voyage fromPortsmouth toMontreal for 61 recipients of poor relief was paid by private donations, however the emigrants also received an allowance for food and clothing from parish funds. Although many were young, single men aged 14–20, a few families also joined the group.[note 19] Most appear to have settled in theToronto area, but a few are recorded as living inKingston, Ontario.[108]
In 1911, the town was described in theVictoria County History as "almost entirely residential and agricultural, with somelime works on the chalk, though not so extensive as those in neighbouring parishes, a little brick-making, watermills (corn) at Pixham Mill, and timber and saw-mills."[61]
Although the turnpike road through Dorking had been constructed in the 1750s,[77] the built-up part of the town had changed little by the start of the 19th century.[112] Most of the local professional class and wealthier tradesmen lived along the three main streets (the High Street, West Street and South Street), whilst the often crowded houses of artisans and labourers tended to be in the narrower lanes and alleys. Poorsanitation was still a major problem for the poorer residents and, in 1832, acholera outbreak was recorded in Ebenezer Place (north of the High Street), where 46 people were crammed into nine cottages.[112]
Nevertheless, Dorking was beginning to attract more affluent residents, many of whom had accumulated their wealth as businessmen in London. Charles Barclay (aSouthwark brewery owner) and the bankersJoseph Denison andThomas Hope (none of whom had any previous connection with the area) purchased the estates at Bury Hill, Denbies and Deepdene respectively. Higher-status individuals living closer to the town centre includedWilliam Crawford, theCity of London MP, andJane Leslie, the Dowager Countess of Rothes.[112] Although the incoming landowners played little part in local commerce, they appear to have been the driving force behind schemes topave streets and to providegas lighting (both paid for bypublic subscription).[113]
Rose Hill, the first planned residential estate in Dorking, was developed by William Newland, a wealthy Guildford surgeon, who also had interests in theWey and Arun Canal. Newland purchased the "Great House" on Butter Hill and the surrounding 6.5 ha (20 acres) of land in 1831, which he divided intoplots for 24 houses, arranged around a centralpaddock, known as "The Oval". The Great House was divided into two separate dwellings (Butter Hill House and Rose Hill House), adjacent to which a mock-Tudor arch was erected over the main carriageway entrance from South Street. Initially sales were slow, but the proposals for the building of the railway line from Redhill stimulated interest in the development in the late 1840s. Although most of the purchasers were private individuals (the majority of whom had been born outside of the local area), the DorkingSociety of Friends bought one of the plots in 1845 for the construction of ameeting house.[112][114] By 1861 the estate was complete.[112]
The arrival of the railway in 1849 catalysed the expansion of the town to the south and west. Between 1850 and 1870, the National Freehold Land Society was responsible for housing developments in Arundel and Howard Roads, as well as around Tower Hill. Poorer quality houses were built along Falkland and Hampstead Roads (many of which were replaced in the 1960s and 1970s). Holloway Farm was sold in 1870 and the first houses in Knoll, Roman and Ridgeway Roads were constructed before 1880. Houses in Cliftonville (named after its promoter, Joseph Clift, a localchemist) were also built around the same time.[115] To the north of the High Street, smallersemi-detached andterraced houses were constructed in the 1890s for artisans in Rothes Road, Ansell Road, Wathen Road, Hart Road and Jubilee Terrace.[115]
No significant residential expansion took place in Dorking in the first two decades of the 20th century. In the 1920s and 1930s, the breakup of the Deepdene and Pippbrook estates (and the electrification of the railway line from Leatherhead) stimulated housebuilding to the north and east of the town, including Deepdene Vale and Deepdene Park.[116][117] The sale of part of Bradley Farm (part of the Denbies estate) in the 1930s, enabled the building of Ashcombe, Keppel and Calvert Roads. The Dorking UDC intended to build housing on the rest of the farm (nowDenbies Wine Estate), however their plans were interrupted by theoutbreak of war and were ultimately prevented by the creation of theMetropolitan Green Belt.[116]
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The firstcouncil housing was built in Dorking by the UDC in Nower Road in 1920 and similar developments took place in Marlborough and Beresford Roads later the same decade. In 1936, the council obtained aSlum Clearance Order to demolish 81 properties in Church Street, North Street, Cotmandene and the surrounding areas. In total 217 residents were displaced, many of whom were rehoused by the UDC in the Fraser Gardens estate, designed by the architectGeorge Grey Wornum.[note 20] The Chart Downs estate to the southeast of the town was built between 1948 and 1952.[118][119]
Controversially,[120][121] in the late 1950s and 1960s, Dorking UDC constructed theGoodwyns estate on landcompulsorily purchased from Howard Martineau, a major local benefactor to the town. The initial designs were by Clifford Culpin and the project was subsequently developed by William Ryder, who was responsible for the erection of the Wenlock Edge and Linden Leatower blocks.[118] Both the design of the buildings and the layout of the estate were praised in the early 1970s by architectural historiansIan Nairn andNikolaus Pevsner.[122]
The first mention of a church at Dorking occurs in Domesday Book of 1086.[55] In around 1140, Isabel de Warenne, the widow of thesecond Earl of Surrey, granted the church and atithe of the rents from the manor toLewes Priory in Sussex. In the 1190s, the tithe was converted to a pension of £6, which was paid annually to the Priory until at least 1291.[123] The Priory also acquired the right to appoint the town's priest.[124]
It is unclear where in the town the Domesday church was located. It appears to have been replaced at some point during the 12th century (possibly by Isabel de Warenne) by a largecruciform building with a central tower.[124] Arededication fromSt Mary toSt Martin may have taken place around the same time.[123] In 1334 the church was granted to the Priory of the Holy Cross in Reigate.[126] In the late 14th century aclerestory and two sideaisles were added to thenave.[127]
The so-called Intermediate Church was constructed in 1835–1837.[10][128] It had a square tower, topped with an octagonalspire, and could seat around 1800 worshippers.[129] Its floor level was approximately 1.8 m (6 ft) higher than that of the church it replaced, allowing the base of the medieval nave to become acrypt.[130] In 1868–1877, the Intermediate Church was rebuilt into the presentSt Martin's Church, designed in theDecorated Gothic style by the architectHenry Woodyer.[131][132] The 64 m (210 ft) spire of the current church was dedicated as a memorial to BishopSamuel Wilberforce (who had died in 1873)[133] and in 1905–1911 theLady chapel was added.[132]
In order to accommodate the growing population in the south of the town, a secondAnglican church, St Paul's, was opened in 1857 on land donated by Henry Thomas Hope. Designed by the architect,Benjamin Ferrey, it was built ofBath stone in theDecorated Geometric style.[134][135] A daughter church to St Martin's, designed byEdwin Lutyens and dedicated to St Mary, was opened at Pixham in 1903.[136][137]
In the two centuries following the passing of the1558 Act of Uniformity, many inhabitants of Dorking embraced more extreme forms ofprotestantism and by 1676, the parish (which had a total population of around 1500) contained 200nonconformists.[138] In 1620, six residents, includingWilliams Mullins (a cobbler) and his daughterPriscilla, joined theMayflower to establish aSeparatist colony in theNew World.[139][140][141][note 21] During theCivil War, the townsfolk supported theParliamentarians, but although some ofOliver Cromwell's soldiers werebilleted in Dorking, no fighting took place nearby.[144]
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Christopher Feake, theFifth Monarchist and independent minister, lived in the town (allegedly under a false identity) followingThe Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660. He may have incited some of the more radical residents to violence.[138][146]Daniel Defoe, the author ofRobinson Crusoe and a committedPresbyterian throughout his life, was educated in Dorking for five years,c. 1669–74. He attended a school in Pixham Lane run by Revd James Fisher a non-conformist who had been ejected as Rector ofFetcham.[146] In 1662 Fisher was involved in establishing Dorking Congregational Church, which by the 1690s was meeting in a barn on Butter Hill in South Street.[147] The present United Reformed Church in West Street, designed by the architect William Hopperton, was built for the group by William Shearburn in 1834.[148]
John Wesley visited Dorking a total of nineteen times between 1764 and 1789.[149] He opened aMethodist chapel in the town in 1777.[150] A new church with a spire was built in South Street in 1900, however this building was sold and demolished in 1974. Since 1973, Dorking Methodists have heldservices at St Martin's.[151]
Although England had become a predominantlyProtestant country during theReformation, the families of the Earls of Arundel and Dukes of Norfolk remainedCatholic.[149] The first Catholic church in Dorking was built in the early 1870s on land owned by the fifteenth Duke of Norfolk,Henry Fitzalan-Howard and was rebuilt into the presentSt Joseph's Church in the mid-1890s, by the architectFrederick Walters.[152][153]
Amosque was established in Hart Road in 2006. From 1984 the building had been used as a meeting room for thePlymouth Brethren and was asynagogue for a time, before being acquired by the Dorking Muslim Community Association.[154][155]
In late 1914, Dorking became agarrison town.[156] Empty houses were requisitioned and from January 1915 around 4000 troops were accommodated including those from theLondon Scottish regiment, theCivil Service Rifles and theQueen's Westminster Rifles.[157] Training took place in the fields to the west and north west of the town.[158] Many local residents were recruited to theSurrey Yeomanry, which (until mid-1915) was stationed at Deepdene House and at the Public Hall in West Street.[159][157] Although he was aged over 40 at the start of the war, the composerRalph Vaughan Williams enlisted in theRoyal Army Medical Corps, one unit of which was based in the town.[158]
Of the many soldiers from Dorking who died duringWorld War I, the youngest wasValentine Strudwick. He was born in Falkland Road on 14 February 1900 and was educated at St Paul's School. Heenlisted in 1915 after concealing his true age and joined theRifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own). A year later, in January 1916 at the age of 15 years 11 months, he was killed in action atBoezinge, nearYpres. He is buried atEssex Farm Cemetery inBelgium.[160][161]
Empty houses in the town also provided billets for soldiers duringWorld War II and over 3000 school children wereevacuated to the Dorking area in September 1939. A local refugee committee (led by Vaughan Williams and the novelistE. M. Forster) was established to find accommodation for refugees fleeing Nazi persecution and also to support long-residentGerman andCzech nationals in applications toHome Officetribunals to remain at liberty in the UK.[163][164]
At the start of the war, the fortifiedGHQ Line B was constructed directly to the north of Dorking. This defensive line ran along the North Downs fromFarnham via Guildford, before following the River Mole toHorley. The banks of the Mole were fortified withanti-tank obstacles,pillboxes andgun emplacements and ananti-tank ditch was dug from west to east across Bradley Farm (now Denbies Wine Estate). The town itself was a Class "A" nodal point and from August 1940 the 3rd Canadian Infantry Brigade (part of theVII Corps) was assigned to its defence.[165][166] Pippbrook House (the then offices of the Dorking UDC) became a mobilisation centre and housed anARP post as well as the local branch of theWomen's Voluntary Service.[69]
Over the course of the war, 77high-explosive bombs and 60incendiaries were dropped by theLuftwaffe, however only one incident (in October 1940) resulted in fatalities in the town.[163][167]
After the war, at least twoCovenanter tanks were buried at Bradley Farm. The first was excavated and restored in 1977 and is now on display atThe Tank Museum atBovington inDorset.[168] A second was excavated in 2017 for the archaeology programmeWW2 Treasure Hunters, presented by the musicianSuggs on the TV channelHISTORY. The tank was displayed at the vineyard for six months, before being removed for restoration.[169]
As of 2024, Dorking is in theDorking and Horley parliamentary constituency.
Councillors are elected toSurrey County Council every four years. The town is divided between two main wards. The villages to the south east of Dorking are in a third ward:
| First Elected | Member[170] | Ward | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Hazel Watson[171] | Dorking Hills (includes Pixham and all parts of the town north of West Street, the High Street and Reigate Road)[172] | |
| 2005 | Stephen Cooksey[173] | Dorking South and the Holmwoods (includes the Goodwyns estate and all parts of the town south of West Street, the High Street and Reigate Road)[172] | |
| 2001 | Helyn Clack[174] | Dorking Rural (includesBrockham and other villages southeast of Dorking)[172] | |
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Five councillors represent the town onMole Valley District Council (the headquarters of which are in Dorking):
| Election | Member[175] | Ward | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Paul Elderton[176] | Dorking North | |
| 2016 | David Draper[177] | ||
| 1992 | Stephen Cooksey[178] | Dorking South | |
| 2002 | Margaret Cooksey[179] | ||
| 2008 | Tim Loretto[180] | ||
Dorking does not have aTown Council, howeverstakeholder engagement in local decision making is conducted through a number of bodies, including the Dorking Town Forum.[181][182]
Dorking istwinned withGouvieux (Oise, France),Güglingen (Baden-Württemberg, Germany) andSinalunga (Tuscany, Italy).[183][184]
In the2011 Census, the combined population of the Dorking North and South wards was 11,158.[1] The larger "built-up area" (which includes the Goodwyns estate, North Holmwood, Pixham andWesthumble, in addition to the two town wards) had a population of 17,741.[2]
| Ward | Detached | Semi-detached | Terraced | Flats and apartments | Caravans/temporary/mobile homes/houseboats | Shared between households |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dorking North | 378 | 548 | 451 | 465 | 0 | 0 |
| Dorking South | 865 | 695 | 417 | 1,045 | 0 | 3 |
| Ward | Population | Households | % Owned outright | % Owned with a loan | hectares |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dorking North | 4,157 | 1,842 | 34 | 38 | 255 |
| Dorking South | 7,001 | 3,025 | 34 | 32 | 402 |
| Regional average | 35.1 | 32.5 |
Dorking North ward excludes Pixham and Westhumble.[185] Dorking South ward excludes North Holmwood and the Goodwyns estate.[186]
Until the early 18th century, local residents obtained drinking water either directly from the Pipp Brook or from wells. In 1735, apump was installed to lift water from aspring on the site of Archway Place, which was then distributed via woodenpipes made from boredtree trunks. Local dissatisfaction over thecharges levied for the supply prompted the vestry to reopen a well in the town centre and to install ahand pump there in 1780.[note 23] The Archway Place spring became polluted by sewage in the middle of the 19th century and the works closed.[187][188][190]
The Dorking Water Company (DWC) was formally established in 1869, following the passing of the Dorking Water Act 1869.[191] The company dug a 90 m (300 ft) well on Harrow Road East from where water was transferred by a steam-driven pump to areservoir on Tower Hill.[192][note 24] In 1902, a new pumping station was built on Station Road and, in 1919, the old one was converted to housing. The second pumphouse was replaced by a new works withboreholes on Beech Close in 1939.[192] The DWC was absorbed byEast Surrey Water in 1959.[194]
The Local Board of Health created the first sewerage system in Dorking and opened the treatment works at Pixham on the River Mole in 1888. Four years later, some 1360 houses (around 92% of the town) had been connected, necessitating an extensive rebuilding of the works in 1893.[67] The sewerage system became the responsibility of theThames Water Authority under theWater Act 1989.
The towngasworks were built in 1834[190] by the Dorking Gas Light Company to supplygas for street lighting. From 1849, thecoal required was delivered by train to Dorking West station and then transferred to the works byhorse-drawn vehicle. The company was merged with that of Redhill in 1928 and became part of the East Surrey Gas Company when theindustry was nationalised in 1948. After gas production ceased in 1956, the site of the works became part of the Dorking Business Park on Station Road.[194][195]
Anelectricity generating station was opened in 1903 in Station Road, close to the town gasworks. Initially it was capable of generating 180 kW of power, but by the time of its closure in 1939, itsinstalled capacity was 1 MW.[196] Under theElectricity (Supply) Act 1926, Dorking was connected to theNational Grid, initially to a 33 kVsupply ring, which linked the town toCroydon, Epsom, Leatherhead and Reigate. In 1939, the ring was connected to theWimbledon-Woking main via a 132 kVsubstation at Leatherhead.[197][195]
Anightly patrol was established in Dorking in 1825 and in 1838 a smallpolice force, initially with just three officers, was established under the Lighting and Watching Act 1833.[198] This force became part of theSurrey Constabulary on its creation in 1851.[199] A combinedpolice station andmagistrates' court complex was opened at the east end of the High Street in 1894 and the police station relocated to Moores Road in 1938.[200] Purpose-built magistrates courts were opened adjacent to Pippbrook House in 1979[201] and closed in 2010.
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A volunteerfire brigade was formed in 1870. Initially based at South Street, it moved to the Public Hall at the west end of West Street in 1881.[200] The brigade became full time in 1912 and, in 1971, it moved to a newfire station adjacent to the newly builtambulance station at North Holmwood.[202] In 2021, thefire authority for Dorking is Surrey County Council and thestatutory fire service isSurrey Fire and Rescue Service.[203] Dorking Ambulance Station is run by theSouth East Coast Ambulance Service.[204]
Dorking Cottage Hospital, opened in 1871 in South Terrace, was the first hospital in the town.[61][205] It was merged in 1948 with the adjacent County Hospital, which had evolved from the Union Workhouse and Poor Law Infirmary, to form Dorking General Hospital.[206] Since 2004, Dorking Hospital has been run as acommunity hospital by a consortium of localGP groups that providesoutpatient services for the local area.[207] The nearestaccident & emergency departments are atEpsom Hospital (7 mi (11 km)) andEast Surrey Hospital (7 mi (11 km)).[208] As of 2020, there are GP practices on Reigate Road and South Street.[209]
TheA24 London–Worthing and theA25 Guildford–Sevenoaks roads intersect at Deepdene Roundabout on the eastern side of Dorking. The one-way system in the town centre was introduced in 1968.[210]
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TheEpsom-Horsham andGuildford-Reigate railway lines cross to the northeast of Dorking, but there is now no physical connection between the two.[84] The town is served by three railway stations.Dorking station is managed bySouthern and is served by trains toLondon Victoria viaSutton, toLondon Waterloo viaWimbledon and toHorsham.[211]Dorking Deepdene andDorking West stations are managed byGreat Western Railway and are served by trains toReading viaGuildford and toGatwick Airport viaRedhill.[212][213]
Route 32 from Dorking to Guildford viaShere and toRedhill viaEarlswood is run by Compass Bus.[214]Route 93 from Dorking toHorsham via Goodwyns and Holmwood Park is run byMetrobus on behalf of Surrey County Council.[215]Route 465 from Dorking toKingston upon Thames via Leatherhead is run byLondon United.[216]Routes 21 (Epsom – Dorking –Crawley) and 22 (Shere – Dorking – Crawley) are run by Metrobus.[217]
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National Cycle Route 22 passes through the town centre[218] and the Surrey Cycleway runs to the east.[219]
TheGreensand Way, a 108 mi (174 km)long-distance footpath fromHaslemere, Surrey toHamstreet,Kent, passes through the south of Dorking.[220] The route approaches the town centre from the east, passing over The Nower, then crossing the junction between South Street and Horsham Road. It climbs through the Glory Wood, before crossing Deepdene Terrace.[221] TheNorth Downs Way, betweenFarnham andDover, passes approximately 1,000 yd (1 km) to the north of Dorking.[222] Dorking station is the southern terminus of theMole Gap Trail, which starts atLeatherhead station.[223]
There are fiveprimary schools in Dorking, the oldest of which is Powell Corderoy School. It was founded in 1816 as The DorkingBritish School, and its original premises were in West Street; but twenty years later it moved to North Street. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the school had expanded and the funds for a new building in Norfolk Road were raised by Edith Corderoy and Mr T. Powell. The new site was opened in 1898 and the school adopted its present name in 1906.[200][224] The school moved to its current location in Longfield Road in 1968.[224]
St Martin's Primary School was founded as aNational School by the vestry in the 1830s,[225] however there is thought to have been a school located in the transepts of the parish church as early as the 17th century.[226] The National School was moved from the grounds of the church to West Street in 1862.[226] The Middle School relocated to Ranmore Road in 1969 and was joined by the First School in 1985.[227] The Pixham First School was founded in 1880 by Mary Mayo and was built to a design byGilbert Redgrave.[228] St Paul's Primary School was founded in 1860.[229][230]
St Paul's School was designed by the architect,Thomas Allom, and admitted its first pupils in March 1860.[231] The infants department opened in 1872 and, from that year, the school educated children aged from 5 to 13.[232] Today, St Paul's is a Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School and educates children from the ages of 5 to 11.[233]
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School was founded in 1873 byAugusta Fitzalan-Howard, Duchess of Norfolk. The first premises were in Falkland Grove adjacent to St Joseph's Church. The school was run by nuns of theServite Order from 1887 to 1970, when it moved to its present site in Norfolk Road, which had been vacated by Powell Corderoy School.[234]
St John's Primary School was founded in 1955 on theGoodwyns housing estate to the south of the town.[227] It was known as The Redlands Junior School until August 1999.[235]
New Lodge School, aprivateprep school formed in 2002 from the merger of Stanway School andNower Lodge School, closed in 2007.[236][237]
The Ashcombe School is a coeducational secondary school, north of the town centre. It traces its origins to the Dorking High School for Boys, founded in 1884, and the St Martin's High School for Girls, opened in 1903.[200] In 1931, the two schools were merged to become the Dorking County School and moved to a new site in Ashcombe Road. In 1959 the Mowbray County Secondary Modern for girls was opened on an adjacent site. The two schools were combined to create the Ashcombe School in 1975.[227]
The Priory School opened as the County Secondary Modern Mixed School in September 1949. It was initially based at the Dene Street Institute, but moved to its present location in West Bank within a few years. In 1959, the girls were transferred to the Mowbray School in the Ashcombe Road, and Sondes Place continued as a boys-only school.[238] In 1976 it became a mixed comprehensive school and was renamed the Priory School in 1996.[239]
The Dorking Group of Artists, established in 1947, exhibits locally twice a year, inBetchworth and at Denbies.[240] The Arts Society Dorking promotes localart appreciation and the preservation of the town's artistic heritage.[241]
The three-dayLeith Hill Musical Festival for local, amateurchoral societies, founded in 1905, takes place at the Dorking Halls each year. Ralph Vaughan Williams was the Festival Conductor until 1953, a post currently held byJonathan Willcocks.[242][243]
Each day features a different group (or division) of choirs, which compete against each other in the morning and then combine to give a concert in the evening. Following the tradition established by Vaughan Williams, theMessiah byHandel and theSt Matthew andSt John Passions byJ. S. Bach are frequently performed.[242][244]
After the death of Vaughan Williams in 1958, the festival committee commissionedDavid McFall to design abronze basrelief likeness of the composer: one cast was placed in St Martin's Church and another in the Dorking Halls.[245]
Strawberry Studios South was opened in 1976, in a former cinema in South Street, byGraham Gouldman andEric Stewart of the band10cc. They recorded thealbum,Deceptive Bends there. Other artists also worked at the Studios, includingPaul McCartney, who recorded part of "Ebony and Ivory" (a duet withStevie Wonder) there.[246] The Englishrock band,The Cure, recorded at Rhino Studios at Pippbrook Mill.[247]
The Battle of Dorking, a novella written by Lt. Col. SirGeorge Tomkyns Chesney in 1871, was set in the town. Describing a fictional invasion and conquest of Britain by a German-speaking country, it triggered an explosion of what came to be known asinvasion literature.[248][249]Benjamin Disraeli wrote part of hispolitical novelConingsby while staying at Deepdene between 1841 and 1844. The novel was subsequently dedicated to his host, Henry Thomas Hope.[60][250] The fourth chapter ofA Fool's Alphabet by novelistSebastian Faulks, published in 1992, is set in the town.[251]
A football game was played annually in Dorking onShrove Tuesday between two teams representing the eastern and western halves of the town. The match began at 2pm outside the gates to St Martin's Church and lasted until 6pm.[252] After a particularly riotous game in 1897,[253] the local magistrates declared that the tradition was in breach of theHighway Act 1835 and 50 participants werefined.[254] Arrests were also made after local townsfolk attempted to stage the match in 1898, 1899 and 1903.[255][256][257] The local newspaper declared the custom extinct in 1907.[258]
Dorking F.C. was formed in 1880 and moved to Meadowbank in 1956.[259][260] The stadium was condemned as unsafe in 2013 and for the next three years, the club shared grounds, first atHorley and then Westhumble.[261][262] Dorking F.C. closed in 2017.[263][264]
Dorking Wanderers F.C. was founded in 1999. The team played itshome games at Westhumble for tenseasons from 2007, before moving to the refurbished Meadowbank Stadium in July 2018.[265][266]
Dorking rugby football club was founded in 1921. Initially its home matches were played at Meadowbank, but it moved the following year to Pixham. In 1972 the club relocated to the Big Field atBrockham[267] as tenants of the National Trust, which had acquired the field in 1966.[268] In the 2019–20 season, the 1st XV played in the London and South East Premier division.[269] Notable former players includeElliot Daly,George Kruis andKay Wilson.[267]
Rob Walker'sprivateer racing team was based at Pippbrook Garage in London Road from 1947 to 1970. The team won nineGrands Prix and their drivers includedStirling Moss (1958–1961) andGraham Hill (1970).[270] Walker's contribution tomotorsport and to Dorking was celebrated on the centenary of his birth in October 2018 with a parade of classic cars through the town centre.[271]
Dorking Cycling Club was founded in 1877[272] and by the 1890s was organising camps for amateur cyclists from across the south east of England.[273] The club was refounded in 2011 and organises a programme of weekly rides for members.[272] The2012 Summer Olympic cycling road races passed through Dorking en route to Box Hill.[274][note 25][note 26]
Dorking and Mole Valley Athletics Club is based at Pixham Sports Ground. They host the annualDorking Ten road race starting fromBrockham Green.[281]
The weekly Mole ValleyParkrun has taken place at Denbies Wine Estate since March 2018.[282][283] The vineyard also hosts the annual Run Bacchus marathon.[284] The annual UK Wife-Carrying Race[285] takes place atThe Nower.[286][287]
Denbies Wine Estate, to the north of Dorking, is one of the largest wine producers in the UK. Thevineyard, which covers some 107 ha (260 acres), was first planted in 1986 on the site of Bradley Farm, part of the Denbies estate. Thewinery and visitor centre were opened in 1993.[288][289]
Dorking Museum was opened in West Street in January 1976.[290] The building had previously been aniron foundry, which had opened in the 1820s and closed after World War II.[291] The museum houses a wide range of historical artefacts, as well asfossils and mineral samples from the Dorking area.[292] Permanent displays explain the history of the town from prehistoric times to the present day,[293] and the building also hosts temporary exhibitions, often connected with significant anniversaries of events such as World War I.[294][295]
The museum was fully refurbished between 2008 and 2012[293] and was short-listed for the Museums Heritage Awards in 2013.[296]
Thecaves in South Street are thought to have been excavated in four distinct phases. Firstly, threewells, the largest of which has the date 1672 inscribed on its wall, were sunk vertically from Butter Hill above. The upper level, a network of four caverns which intersects the wells, was dug in the late 17th or early 18th centuries. These caves are linked by a staircase to the lowest level, a circular chamber which may have been used by religious dissenters, approximately 20 m (70 ft) below ground level. In Victorian times, the larger caverns were adapted for use as wine cellars. The current entrance to the caves dates from 1921.[107]
The South Street caves were sold to Dorking UDC in 1921 and were leased by the council to various local wine merchants until the 1960s. The Dorking and Leith Hill Preservation Society first opened the caves for public tours in the 1970s.[104] Dorking Museum assumed responsibility for running tours in May 2015.Prince Edward visited the caves in March of the same year.[104][297]
SeveralNational Trust properties are close to Dorking, including Box Hill,[15] Leith Hill,[16] Polesden Lacey[17] andRanmore Common.[298]
Cotmandene is a 4.78 ha (10-acre) area ofcommon land to the east of the town centre (the name is thought to meanthe heath of the poor cottages).[299][300] During the Middle Ages it was used bycommoners tograzepigs.[13] The firstalmshouses on the north side of Cotmandene were built in 1677[301] and were givenendowments in 1718 and 1831. They were rebuilt in 1848 and again in 1961.[65]
Cricket matches were played on the heath during the 18th century and are recorded in Edward Beavan's 1777 poemBox Hill.[302] A painting entitledA Cricket Match on Cotmandene, Dorking by the artist James Canter, dating to around 1770, is now held by theMarylebone Cricket Club.[303] In the 19th century, afunfair took place at the same time as the Ascension Daylivestock fair in the town centre.[304] In 1897, to commemorate theDiamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria,Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk (who waslord of the manor of Dorking) gave Cotmandene to the Urban District Council (UDC) on the condition that it was "to remain a perpetual ornament and pleasure to the town".[200]
Deepdene was a country house to the south-east of Dorking. Its name derives from the narrownatural amphitheatre in the former grounds, most likely formed by erosion of the sandstone hillside by spring water.[60] The gardens were first laid out by Charles Howard in the 1650s and both thediarist,John Evelyn, and John Aubrey recorded visits there in the second half of the 17th century.[305][306] The grounds include amausoleum in which owners Thomas Hope and Henry Thomas Hope are buried.[60]
In the late 19th century, the property began a period of decline accelerated by thebankruptcy of the owner,Lord Francis Hope, in 1896. Much of the estate was sold for housebuilding in the early 20th century. In 1943, the terrace and garden were purchased by the Dorking and Leith Hill Preservation Society (chaired by Ralph Vaughan Williams) and transferred to the UDC, however the house was demolished in 1969.[60] In the mid-2010s, the garden was restored and was reopened to the public as the "Deepdene Trail".[307][308][309]
The Glory Wood (the highest point in Dorking) is an area of primarilydeciduous woodland to the southeast of the town centre. The southern part is known as "Devil's Den" and contains mainlyoak with an area ofcoppicedsweet chestnut.[310]
The Glory Wood was promised to the town in 1927 by Lord Francis Hope, on the condition that it was not to be built upon.[311] The land was to have been transferred to the UDC in July 1929, however Hope withheld the gift until 1934, in protest at the published route of the Dorking Bypass through the Deepdene estate.[312][313]
Meadowbank is a park on the north side of thePipp Brook. In medieval times, it was part of the lordship lands and later became part of theDenbies estate. By the start of the 20th century, it was the grounds of large private house (also called "Meadowbank"). The house and grounds were purchased by Dorking UDC in 1926, with the intention of building 150 council houses, however owing to financial constraints, the Council instead decided to sell the western third for development. The Parkway estate was completed in 1935.[202]
The park was landscaped in the decade before World War II and included the Pippbrook Millmill pond, which was given to the town in 1934. From 1954, Meadowbank became the permanent home ofDorking Football Club until 2014.[261][314]Dorking Wanderers F.C. moved to the refurbished ground in 2018.[315]
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The Nower is an area of open grassland, which rises above Dorking to the west of the town centre. Together with the adjacent Milton Heath, it forms a 16 ha (40-acre) nature reserve owned by Mole Valley District Council[310] and is managed bySurrey Wildlife Trust.[316]
The Nower was given to the town in 1931 by Charles Barclay, the owner of the Bury Hill estate,[317][318] although it had been accessible to visitors since Victorian times. Views over Dorking may be enjoyed from "The Temple", which dates from the early 19th century.
Dorking Cemetery was opened in 1855 on farmland that had been purchased from the Deepdene estate.[319] Two chapels were built for funeral services, one forAnglicans (with a rectangular floor plan) and one (with an octagonal floor plan) for non-conformists. Both were designed byHenry Clutton and were constructed fromflint with stone dressings.[320][321] Anentrance lodge on Reigate Road was also provided.[322] Originally the area of the cemetery was 1.6 ha (4 acres), but was enlarged to 5.7 ha (10 acres) between 1884 and 1923.[319]
The English novelistGeorge Meredith[323] andVictoria Cross recipientCharles Graham Robertson[324] are among those buried there. The cemetery also contains 61Commonwealth war graves of military personnel from the First and Second World Wars.[325]
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TheArt Deco Dorking Halls building, designed by the architect Percy W. Meredith for the Leith Hill Musical Festival (LHMF), was opened in 1931. The Grand Hall was intended to be used for performances of thePassions by J. S. Bach, but two smaller halls (the Masonic and Martineau) were also constructed as part of the same complex. DuringWorld War II, the building was used by the Meat Marketing Board and theArmy, and it was then sold to Dorking UDC. A major refurbishment was undertaken by Mole Valley District Council between 1994 and 1997.[326] The Martineau Hall houses the Premier Cinema.[327][note 27]
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Pippbrook House, aGothic country house to the north east of the town centre, was designed as a private residence for William Henry Forman byGeorge Gilbert Scott in 1856.[68][note 28] The house and surrounding 2.3 ha (5.7 acres) were bought by the UDC in December 1930, for use as administrative offices.[333] The UDC's successor, MVDC, opened purpose-built offices in the grounds in 1984, which enabled the localpublic library to move into the space vacated. The library relocated to St Martin's Walk in the town centre in 2012.[68] In 2020, MVDC announced plans to develop Pippbrook House as a "community hub and start-up business centre".[334]
The first building to be recorded on the site of the White Horse Hotel was granted to theKnights Templar byJohn de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey, in around 1287.[335] When the Templars were suppressed in 1308 by order ofPope Clement V, the property was confiscated and passed to theKnights of the Order of St John. For much of the late medieval period, it was known as the "Cross House" and in the 16th century it was the residence of the parish priest.[336]
The property became an inn around 1750 (by which time it was known as "The White Horse"), a few years before the opening of the Epsom to Horsham turnpike road.[336] Most of the current hotel was built during the 18th century (including the timber-framed frontage which faces the High Street), however some parts date from the 15th and 16th centuries.[337] Famous guests have includedCharles Dickens who wrote his novelThe Pickwick Papers, whilst resident in the mid-1830s.[338] Further additions were made to the hotel in the 19th century, which is protected today by a Grade II listing.[337]
Thegalvanised metalsculpture of a Dorking cockerel by the artist Peter Parkinson was erected on the Deepdene roundabout in 2007. The 3 m-tall (10 ft) statue pays homage to the historical importance of the town's poultry market.[340] The cockerel is a frequent target ofyarn bombing and can be seen dressed in hats, scarves and other items of clothing.[341][342]
The two statues outside the Dorking Halls were designed byWilliam Fawke. The statue of architect and master builderThomas Cubitt was installed in 1995. The statue of Ralph Vaughan Williams was donated bySir Adrian White and was unveiled in 2001.[326]
The sculpture of two cyclists at the Pixham End roundabout was unveiled in July 2012, less than two weeks before the Olympic road race events were routed through Dorking. The installation was designed by the artist Heather Burrell, and just over half of the cost was donated by members of the public, each of whom is represented by anoak leaf on either the cyclists'torsos or thebicycle wheels.[343]
There are two sculptures by the artist Lucy Quinnell in the town: the first, a metal arch commemorating the writer and philosopherGrant Allen, was installed at the entrance to Allen Court in 2013;[344] the second, depicting theMayflower sailing westwards towards the New World, was commissioned by Mole Valley District Council and was unveiled in West Street in 2021.[345]
The townwar memorial, in South Street, was dedicated in 1921 "in memory of Dorking men who fell in the Great War". Designed by the architectThomas Braddock, it was constructed fromdressedPortland stone. The memorial was modified in 1945 to commemorate those who had died inWorld War II, with the addition of the wings at each side. At the base, averse from1 Samuel is inscribed: "They were a wall unto us both by night and by day."[346][347] The names of 264 people who died in the two conflicts (bothmilitary personnel andcivilians) are recorded, including seven women.[348] The memorial is protected by a Grade II listing.[346][note 29]
Three former residents of Dorking have been awarded theVictoria Cross (VC):
People born in the town include:
People who have lived in the town include:
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Norfolk, Earls and Dukes of".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 19 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 744. This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Arundel, Earls of".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 706–709.
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