Abinger Common

The diarist John Evelyn described the ‘delicious streames and venerable Woods’ around Wotton. He was born in Wotton House in 1620 and inherited it later in the century; he died in 1706 and was buried in the fine parish church, which is isolated in the fields north of the A25. Some of the house he knew remains, but most of it is now Victorian, providing a backdrop for one of the Frith photographers’ favourite themes: the hunt (not a theme likely to be a postcard best-seller today).
An extract from from"Surrey Living Memories".

Other local churches, claimed to be ‘old and steady’, are Shere, Leigh, Mickleham, Abinger, Wotten and Betchworth: they have stood for centuries. St Barnabas’s on Ranmore sits 700 feet above Dorking on Ranmore Common. Sir Gilbert Scott designed it in 1859 as the estate church for George Cubitt, the first Lord Ashcombe. In the churchyard lie the founder of Denbies Estate, and his three grandsons, Henry, Alick and William, who lost their lives in the First World War. St Joseph’s Catholic Church, designed by Frederick Arthur Walters, was erected in 1895 in Falkland Grove, off Coldharbour Lane.
An extract from from"Dorking Town and City Memories".

he downs are mostly of chalk, and otherwise of sandstone, and each has its own special flora. The sandstone hills have their highest point in Leith Hill, 965ft above sea level, about five miles south-west of Dorking. From there they fall away in a picturesque series of steps, rising again to the same level as Leith Hill at Hindhead and Black Down. Leith Hill and its tower is a beauty spot not to be missed. With a good eye and on a clear day all the surrounding counties are visible. ‘With the assistance of a telescope Windsor Castle, Frant Church, St Paul’s Cathedral, Dunstable Downs, Ditchling Beacon and the spires and towers of forty-one churches can be seen.’ (J S Bright, 1876). It has been said that a reflection of the sun on the sea has been noted. Richard Hull of Leith Hill Place built the tower in 1766 for his own delight, but also for that of his neighbours and everybody else. Richard was laid to rest beneath the tower, buried upside-down: he believed that the world would have turned on its axis before Judgement Day, and he ‘wished to stand before his Maker right way up’. This area is part of the National Trust’s holdings; the estate now boasts over 900 acres owned by the Trust, and another 300 are under protection. Box Hill has been called the most popular hill in the world, and Leith Hill most likely comes second. On each hill grow beeches, junipers, wild clematis and box, which delight the eye. The short, sweet, flower-starred turf is restful to the traveller. But there is a wilder, rugged air about Leith Hill and its approaches, which are clad in larch and fir and carpeted with scarlet and green whortleberry and purple heather. It has always been known as a rambler’s paradise, for there are innumerable paths and bridle- ways that wind through the plantations and the heath. The area covering Box Hill, the Holmwoods, Ranmore, Leith Hill and Coldharbour contain some of the finest woodland and natural habitats in Surrey. Generous donations of land and money by many public-spirited contributors over the years have helped to ensure the upkeep of this fine and beautiful area.
An extract from from"Dorking Town and City Memories".

t was said by many that ‘Dorking lime is undoubtedly one of the finest quality of limestone in the county, if not England’, and it was claimed that the chalk burnt into lime at Dorking was sought after by every mason and bricklayer in London. The West India and Wapping Docks were built with Dorking lime. In photograph 79501, right, we can see the white scar of the Brockham limeworks, worked at first by the Brockham Brick Company Ltd, and later by the Brockham Limes & Hearthstone Company Ltd. These works closed in 1925, and the land is managed by the Surrey Wildlife Trust as a nature reserve. Important lime kilns survive at the Betchworth and Brockham sites, and are in the process of being Scheduled as Ancient Monuments.
An extract from from"Dorking Town and City Memories".

proposed line from Redhill to Dorking was suggested in 1845. Parliamentary approval was given on 16 July 1846. At first it was suggested that the railway station should be built adjacent to St Martin’s Church in ‘The Lordship’ (see picture 53332A on pages 48-49), now known as Meadow Bank Recreation Ground. By 1849 the railway was running a service from east to west, and Dorking Town station was the first to be built at the edge of the town. The line was principally built for freight traffic.
An extract from from"Dorking Town and City Memories".