DORKING, a market town of West Surrey, England, situated on a small brook, a tributary of the Mole, 29 miles S. of London by rail. The town is well built and clean, and occupies a picturesque position in a sheltered vale near the base of Box Hill. The parish church of St Martin’s is a handsome edifice rebuilt in 1873; and St Paul’s district church, erected in 1857, is a building of some pretension. Lime of exceptionally good quality is burnt to a large extent in the neighbourhood, and forms an important article of trade; it is derived from the Lower Chalk formation. Dorking has long been famous for a finely-flavoured breed of fowl, distinguished by their having five claws. Several elegant mansions are in the vicinity of the town, notably that of Deepdene, containing a gallery of sculpture collected here by the late Thomas Hope, the author of Anastasius. The Roman road which crossed from the Sussex coast to the Thames, passed close to Dorking. The population of town is about 4800; that of parish in 1871 was 8567.