DORKING, a market-town and parish in the second
division of the hundred of WOTTON, county of SURREY,
12 miles (E.) from Guildford, and 23 (S.S.W.) from
London, on the road through Epsom to Worthing, Bognor,
and Brighton, containing 3812 inhabitants. This
place, anciently called Dorchinges, appears to have derived
its name from its situation in a valley abounding
with springs of water. It was probably founded by the
Saxons, and, after its destruction by the Danes, was rebuilt,
and had become a town of some importance prior
to the Norman Conquest, at which period it was held in
royal demesne, and had a church and three mills. In.
the reign of Edward L, it obtained the grant of a weekly
market and an annual fair, and was endowed with many
privileges. In a survey of the manor in 1649, the town
is stated to have considerably improved, and to have
been paved: the summer assizes for the county were
held here in 1699, but from what particular cause does
not appear; the quarter sessions were also held here occasionally.
The town is situated in a sandy vale, and
towards the south side of it, on a stratum of sandrock,
in which excellent cellars are excavated; a small
stream flowing into the river Mole, intersects the vale,
which is sheltered on the north by a ridge of chalky
downs, extending from Farnham on the western side of
the county into Kent, and abounding with picturesque
scenery; the soil is luxuriantly fertile, and the heights
command extensive and magnificent views, embracing
the metropolis on one side, and the British channel
on the other. In the environs are several handsome villas
and stately mansions, of which Shrub Hill deserves notice
on account of its fine hanging gardens. Box Hill,
about a mile from the town, a picturesque eminence
planted with box trees, in the reign of Charles I., by the
Earl of Arundel, from which circunis-tauoe i( takes it's
name, commands an extensive view of the surrounding
country, and is a place of resort for summer excursions
from London. Betchworth castle, occupying the
site of an ancient fortress of that name, on the western
bank of the river Mole, is beautifully situated in an extensive
park, celebrated for the stateliuess of its fine
chesnut trees, some of which are seven yards in girth,
and produce fruit equal to the Spanish tree. Therewere
also two other ancient fortresses in the parish,
called Benham and Ewtons castles, which are stated to
have been demolished by the Danes; vestiges of the
moat that surrounded each are still apparent, and the1
former has given name to a meadow in which it stood.
The vale beneath Box Hill, called Holmward or Holmdale,
was for several ages the retreat of the ancient
Britons, in their conflicts with the Romans, and afterwards
that of the Saxons, when the county was harassed
by the Danes, on which account it has become the subject
of a distich declaratory of the unconquerableness
of the dale; in the reign of Charles II. it was celebrated
for red deer, which the Duke of York, afterwards
James II., preserved for his own sport; it wan
subsequently noted for the production of immense
quantities of strawberries, whicli were conveyed to market
in horse-loads, but is now overgrown with furze.
The streets are spacious, and the foot-paths have been
recently paved; the houses, though mostly of ancient,
date, are in general well built, and of neat appearance:
the town is lighted with oil by subscription, and supplied
with water brought from-a spring by water-works, the
property of a private individual, who has constructed
baths adjoining them for the public accommodation. A
book society has been formed under the patronage of the
gentry resident in the neighbourhood; a reading society
is principally supported by the inhabitants of the town;
and a circulating library has been established by a
number of subscribers, who pay an annual subscription
of £2. 2. in advance. The trade is principally in meal
and lime, the latter being considered superior in
quality to any produced elsewhere; poultry (of which a
particular species, having five claws, stated to have been
brought hither by the Romans, is known among the
poulterers as Dorking fowls,) is sold in large quantities
for the supply of the London market. The county magistrates
hold petty sessions here for the division; and a
court leet and court baron are held in October, under the
lord of the manor. The custom of Borough Engliwh prevails
in this parish, which H divided into the several districts
of Eastborough, including West Betchworth and
part of the town; Chipping borough, including the remainder
of the town; Ilolmwood borough, including tlip
northern and southern suburbs; Milton borough, including
the hamlet of Milton-street; and Westcote
borough, so called from a hamlet about a mile and a
half west of the town.
The living is a vicarage, in the archdeaconry of Surrey,
and diocese of Winchester, rated in the king's books
at £ 14.13.lit?., and in the patronage of the Co-heirs
of the Duke of Norfolk. The church, dedicated to St.
Martin, is a spacious cruciform structure, principally in
the later style of English architecture, with a low embattled
tower rising from the centre; the upper part of
the tower was rebuilt in 1672, and the church extensively
repaired, but it still retains much of its original
character; a flight of steps leads down from the churchyard,
the ground of which has been raised to a considerable
height above the level of the foundation of the church;
the interior is lighted with several fine windows, in
which is some good tracery; and in the south transept,
near the chancel, is an elegant tablet, erected by public
subscription to the memory of the Right Hon. the Earl
of Rothes, who died suddenly, in 1817, while hunting
in Betchworth park. There are places of worship for
the Society of Friends and Independents. A National
school for boys and girls, and an infant school, established
in 1829, in which are one hundred and fifty
children, are supported by subscription. An almshouse,
containing eighteen apartments, was founded on
Cotmandean common, and endowed by Mrs. Susannah
Smith, with land producing £40. 10. per annum. The
rents of an estate, purchased with a sum of money left
for that purpose, by Mrs. Margaret Fenwicke, producing
£52. 10. per annum, are distributed in marriageportions
to servant maids, and apprentice-fees to poor
children; and there are several other charitable bequests
for the relief of the poor of the parish. Traces of the
Roman Stane-street, which passed through Dorking, are
frequently discovered in digging the ground in the churchyard;
and on the summit of a hill, three miles and a half
from the town, is Anstie Bury, a Roman encampment,
enclosing more than eleven acres, defended by a triple
intrenchment, and having the entrance on the east side,
where the works have been levelled by the plough. On
Winter-field farm, near this camp, a wooden box was discovered
in 1817, about ten or twelve inches below the surface
of the ground, containing seven hundred Anglo-
Saxon coins, of which the uppermost were firmly cemented
together by an incrustation formed by the decomposition
of the metal used as an alloy to the silver;
these coins were purchased on the spot by Robert Barclay
and George Dawdney, Esqrs., who presented them
to the trustees of the British Museum, in order that they
might select such as might be found requisite to complete
their series; many curious fossils have been found
in the chalk-pits; and within two miles of the town is
Mag's well, the water of which is slightly impregnated
with sulphate of magnesia and iron; it closely resembles
the Malvern water, and is used as an alterative. Jeremiah
Markland, a learned critic, who resided here, and died in
1763, and Abraham Tucker, Esq., author of the "Light
of Nature," who resided at Betchworth castle, were buried
in the chancel of the church; and John Hoole,
translator of Tasso and Ariosto, was interred in the
church-yard; the Rev. John Mason, author of a Treatise
on Self-Knowledge, lived for several years in this
town.