Books and Guides

There are many excellent publicationsabout Dorking and the Surrey Hills to chose from. These are available from the local libraries, the bookshops in Dorking or can be ordered online.

The definitive guide to buildings is the Surrey volume of 'The Buildings of England' by Ian Nairn and Nikolaus Pevsner. A shorter and very readable introduction to the 19th and early 20th century influences on architecture and garden design is 'Nature and Tradition' published by Guildford Borough Council.

There are several history books or pamphlets that are worth a read. The best overall history of Dorking is 'Dorking - A Surrey Market Town Through Twenty Centuries' by the Dorking Local History Group. Specialist histories range from a small but interesting booklet on William Mullins by Pam Hunter and a guide to the industrial history of Mole Valley by the Association for Industrial Archaeology.

For guides to the countryside, the beautifully illustrated 'Landscapes of Surrey' by Derek Forss and Graham Collyer is well worth having. Another different book is 'In Pursuit of the Picturesque' by Joan Percy, which gives historical accounts of the influences on the landscape.

There are many excellent walking guides that combine practical guidance on route finding with information on the places and points of interest.

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