Dorking Museum

About

Dorking Museum is a vibrant community hub that celebrates the history of the town and surrounding villages through its interactive permanent exhibition and regular temporary exhibitions.  Let the Museum take you on a journey that explores local themes from the age of the dinosaurs through the medieval marketplace, the Mayflower pilgrims, the great estates, local commerce, sport and leisure activities, two world wars, the women’s suffrage movement, the music of Vaughan Williams, the elegance of Wedgwood china, the development of synthetic penicillin, and so much more.  Along the way, there are things to discover or wonder at, things to touch or smell, clothes to dress up in, and stories to be told.

Our temporary exhibitions – many mounted in conjunction with other local organisations or individuals – have covered such diverse topics as town life during WW1, Formula 1 motor racing, historic local pubs and inns, refugees, topographical paintings and EM Forster.  The Museum also offers regular gallery talks on local themes, activities for families and occasional ‘pop up’ events.

Curators collect and care for the town’s oral, visual, written and material heritage and the archive provides a service to a variety of users. 

Outside the Museum, the team offers a programme of scheduled guided walks and tours, also available for private booking.  You can take a trip under the streets of Dorking to explore the famous 17th century South Street caves, discover how they were created and how they evolved over the centuries, and check out the ‘mystery chamber’.  Above ground, a number of themed walks show the town’s hidden treasures and tell stories of the buildings and people – themes include hidden Dorking, town pubs, Dorking in the time of William Mullins, writers and musicians and a family walk.  Just outside the town, guided tours of The Deepdene Trail and Betchworth Castle reveal a rich history, spectacular scenery and access to features otherwise closed to the general public.

The Museum’s Cockerel Press publishes high-quality locally based research – on sale in the Museum shop – and through an extensive website the Museum forges links with individuals and organisations throughout the wider world.