Dorking Cockerel

Now the symbol of Dorking town, the ‘Dorking’ was a chunky cockerel bred by the Romans.

Putting a three metre high steel Dorking Cockerel sculpture on a roundabout was the idea of Neil Maltby, a past Mole Valley District Councils Chairman. He commissioned the sculpture from Leatherhead’s Fire and Iron Gallery (also makers of the Allen Court Arch in Dorking High Street).

Project-managed by Lucy Quinnell and designed and made by her colleague Peter Parkinson it was modelled on a real Dorking owned by breeder Lana Gazder. Once finished the hollow sculpture was then galvanised for fettled and painted and installed on the roundabout.

Initially controversial, people have grown very fond of the Cockerel. He has been wittily Photoshopped into famous images
– crossing Abbey Road with the Beatles
– chasing Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park
– watching at Obama’s inauguration to name a few.

Local knitters have adorned him with topical creations and he featured on the Olympic Cycling Road Races poster, and in the UK Roundabout Appreciation Society’s 2012 calendar.

The Dorking Cockerel has also won a prestigious blacksmithing award in 2008 – the Tonypandy Cup.

More info on Fire and Iron Gallery

How the Dorking Cockerel was constructed