Editing Dorking (section)

===Roman and Saxon===
There is thought to have been a settlement at Dorking in Roman times, although its size and extent are unclear. [[Roman currency|Coins]] from the reigns of [[Hadrian]] (117–138 AD), [[Commodus]] (180–192) and [[Claudius Gothicus]] (214–270), as well as tiles and pottery fragments, have been found in the town.<ref name=Robertson_2004/> [[Stane Street (Chichester)|Stane Street]], the [[Roman roads in Britannia|Roman road]] linking London to [[Chichester]], was constructed during the first century AD<ref name=Margary_1948_p46>{{harvnb|Margary|1948|p=46}}</ref> and is thought to have run through Dorking.<ref name=Robertson_2004/> The exact course through the town is not known and no definitive archaeological evidence has been discovered for the route in the {{cvt|3|mi|km|0|adj=on}} gap between the crossing of the River Mole at the Burford Bridge and [[North Holmwood]].<ref name=Robertson_2004/><ref>{{cite journal |last=Hall |first=A |year=2006 |title=Searching for Stane Street |journal=Surrey Archaeological Society Bulletin |volume=395 |pages=2–4 |url=https://www.surreyarchaeology.org.uk/sites/default/files/SAS395.pdf |access-date=22 September 2020 |archive-date=2 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210102102002/https://www.surreyarchaeology.org.uk/sites/default/files/SAS395.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> A [[mansio|posting station]] is thought to have been located in the area and sites have been proposed in the town centre,<ref name=Margary_1948_p67>{{harvnb|Margary|1948|p=67}}</ref> at [[Pixham]]<ref name=Robertson_2004/> and at the Burford Bridge, where the road crossed the River Mole.<ref name=Robertson_2004/><ref name=Neale>{{cite journal |author=Neale K |year=1973 |title=Stane Street (Chichester-London): the third mansio |journal=Surrey Archaeological Collections |publisher=Surrey Archaeological Society |volume=69 |pages=207–210 |url=https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-379-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_69/surreyac069_207-218_notes.pdf |access-date=2 January 2021 |archive-date=2 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210102101949/https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-379-1%2Fdissemination%2Fpdf%2Fvol_69%2Fsurreyac069_207-218_notes.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>

Although the name Dorking implies a settlement that was well established by the time of the [[Norman Conquest]], archaeological evidence of Saxon activity in the town centre is limited to pottery [[sherds]].<ref name=SouthSt1/><ref name=SouthSt2/><ref name=HER_Waitrose/> Probable Saxon [[cemetery|cemeteries]] have been found close to Yew Tree Road (to the north of the centre)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.surreyarchaeology.org.uk/content/ten-acre-field-yew-tree-road-dorking |title=Ten Acre Field, Yew Tree Road, Dorking |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2003 |publisher=Surrey Archaeological Society |access-date=15 November 2020 |archive-date=2 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210102101944/https://www.surreyarchaeology.org.uk/content/ten-acre-field-yew-tree-road-dorking |url-status=live}}</ref> and at Vincent Lane (to the west).<ref>{{cite web |url= https://planningapi.agileapplications.co.uk//api/application/document/MOLE/LCT6Q3M5ETYRDWXW53X3MZVXKX |title=Archaeological Assessment on Vincent Works |last=Perry |first=JG |date=July 2009 |publisher=Mole Valley District Council |access-date=1 February 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240606213448/https://planningapi.agileapplications.co.uk//api/application/document/MOLE/LCT6Q3M5ETYRDWXW53X3MZVXKX |archive-date= 6 June 2024 }}</ref> In 1817, the so-called "Dorking Hoard" of around 700 [[Penny#England|silver pennies]], dating from the mid-8th to the late-9th centuries, was found near the source of the Pipp Brook on the northern slopes of Leith Hill.<ref name=Combe_1818>{{cite journal |last1=Combe |first1=Taylor |author-link=Taylor Combe |year=1818 |title=An account of some Anglo-Saxon pennies found at Dorking, in Surrey |journal=Archaeologia |volume=19 |pages=109–119 |doi=10.1017/S0261340900022852}}</ref><ref name=Horne_2016_p34>{{harvnb|Horne|2016|p=34}}</ref>{{refn|The [[hoard]] was discovered by a [[plough]]man working at Winterfold Hanger. The [[Coinage in Anglo-Saxon England|coins]] were contained in a fragile wooden box, buried {{cvt|25|-|30|cm|in|0}} beneath the ground. The find included pennies from the reigns of [[Æthelwulf, King of Wessex|Æthelwulf of Wessex]] (839–858), [[Æthelberht, King of Wessex|Æthelberht of Wessex]] (860–866), [[Beornwulf of Mercia]] (823–826), [[Burgred of Mercia]] (852–874) and several other monarchs. Around a third of the coins were donated to the [[British Museum Department of Coins and Medals|British Museum]].<ref name=Combe_1818/><ref name=Horne_2016_p34/>|group=note}} In the late Saxon period, the manor and parish were administered as part of the [[Wotton Hundred]]<ref name=Horne_2016_p57>{{harvnb|Horne|2016|p=57}}</ref> and may have been part of a large royal estate centred on [[Leatherhead]].<ref name=Ettinger_1991_pp11-13/>