Editing Dorking (section)

===Transport and communications===
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|caption=Extract from ''Twenty Four Miles Round London'' (1820) by William Mogg showing the turnpike road running through Dorking
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Following the [[end of Roman rule in Britain]], there appears to have been no systematic planning of transport infrastructure in the local area for over a [[millennium]]. During Saxon times, the section of Stane Street between Dorking and [[Ockley]] was bypassed by the longer route via [[Coldharbour, Surrey|Coldharbour]] and the upper surface of the Roman road was most likely quarried to provide stone for local building projects.<ref name=Overell_1991_pp37-38>{{harvnb|Ettinger|Jackson|Overell|1991|pp=37–38}}</ref> Two routes linked the town to London, the first via the Mole crossing at Burford Bridge to Leatherhead{{refn|In the late 17th century the Burford Bridge was a [[footbridge]] and wheeled traffic was required to cross the Mole via the adjacent [[ford (crossing)|ford]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bouchard |first1=Brian E |year=2019 |title=The route of Stane Street through Ashtead: a missing link |url=https://leatherheadhistoryarchive.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/VOL_8_NO_1_1-09.pdf |journal=Proceedings of the Leatherhead & District Local History Society |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=1–9 |access-date=1 February 2021}}</ref>|group=note}} and the second, the "Winter Road", climbed the south-facing scarp slope of Box Hill from Boxhurst and ran northeastwards to meet the London-Brighton road at [[Tadworth]].<ref name=Overell_1991_pp37-38/>{{refn|Much of this "Winter Road" route is now Box Hill Road and the B2032.|group=note}}

The development of Guildford ({{cvt|12|mi|km}} to the west) was stimulated by the construction of the [[Wey and Godalming Navigations|Wey Navigation]] in the 1650s.<ref>{{cite web <!-- Citation bot bypass--> |url= http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-327-1/dissemination/html/weymain.html |first=Christopher K |last=Currie |title=A Historical and Archaeological Assessment of the Wey and Godalming Navigations and their Visual Envelopes |publisher=The National Trust |date=September 1996 |doi=10.5284/1006440 |access-date=17 December 2020 |archive-date=2 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210102101957/https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-327-1%2Fdissemination%2Fhtml%2Fweymain.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In contrast, although several schemes were proposed to make the Mole navigable, none were enacted<ref name=Vine_1986>{{harvnb|Vine|1986|pp=6–7}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iisg.nl/hpw/papers/law-bogart.pdf |title=Political Institutions and the Emergence of Regulatory Commitment in England: Evidence from Road and River Improvement Authorities, 1600–1750 |author=Bogart D |date=August 2007 |publisher=International Institute of Social History |access-date=7 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608072734/http://www.iisg.nl/hpw/papers/law-bogart.pdf |archive-date=8 June 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> and transport links to Dorking remained poor. As a result, the local economy began to suffer and the town declined through the late 17th and early 18th centuries.<ref name=Overell_1991_pp37-38/>

The [[turnpike trust|turnpike road]] through Dorking was authorised by the [[Sussex and Surrey Roads Act 1755]] ([[28 Geo. 2]] c. 45).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://dorkingmuseum.org.uk/the-turnpike-road/ |title=The Turnpike Road |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=4 June 2020 |publisher=Dorking Museum |access-date=17 December 2020 |archive-date=2 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210102101951/https://dorkingmuseum.org.uk/the-turnpike-road/ |url-status=live}}</ref>{{refn|The route of the road across Holmwood Common was later altered and other improvements were made under the [[Horsham and Dorking Turnpike Road Act 1858]] ([[21 & 22 Vict.]] c. xlix). Turnpikes south from Horsham to [[Steyning]] and [[Worthing]] were constructed in 1764 and 1802 respectively.<ref name=Overell_1991_pp39-40>{{harvnb|Ettinger|Jackson|Overell|1991|pp=39–40}}</ref>|group=note}}{{refn|[[Tollhouse]]s were provided at "Giles Green" (close to the intersection of the [[A24 road (England)|A24]] and the [[North Downs Way]]) and at the "Harrow Gate" (close to the junction of the A2003 and Hampstead Road). In 1857, the "Harrow Gate" tollhouse was moved further south to Flint Hill. Its approximate position is the present-day junction between Tollgate Road and the A2003.<ref name=Overell_1991_pp39-40/>|group=note}} The new turnpike dramatically improved the accessibility of the town from the capital and a report from 1765 noted both that the Thursday grain market had increased in size and that the local flour mills were significantly busier.<ref>{{harvnb|Pawson|1977|pp=329–330}}</ref> A [[mail coach]] operated return journeys between Dorking and London six days per week and several [[stagecoach]]es used the route daily until the mid-19th century.<ref name=Overell_1991_pp47-48>{{harvnb|Ettinger|Jackson|Overell|1991|pp=47–48}}</ref> In contrast, the east{{endash}}west Reigate{{endash}}Guildford road remained the responsibility of the parishes through which it ran and only minimal improvements were made before the start of the 20th century.<ref name=Overell_1991_pp39-40/>

[[File:Deepdene railway station geograph-2673321-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg|thumb|right|Dorking Deepdene railway station (then known simply as "Deepdene"), photographed in June 1964]]
The [[North Downs Line|first railway line]] to reach Dorking was the [[South Eastern Railway (England)#Reading, Guildford and Reigate Railway|Reading, Guildford and Reigate Railway (RG&RR)]], authorised by Acts of Parliament in 1846, 1847 and 1849.<ref name=Course_1987_p-xxiv>{{harvnb|Course|1987|p=xxiv}}</ref> Dorking station (now {{stnlink|Dorking West}}) was opened in 1849 northwest of the town, initially as a temporary terminus for trains from {{rws|Reigate}}.<ref name=Course_1987_p-xlviii>{{harvnb|Course|1987|p=xlviii}}</ref> Local residents had expressed a preference for the station to be sited closer to the town centre at Meadowbank, but since the line passed through a deep cutting at this point it was deemed impractical to provide the necessary freight facilities at this location.<ref name=Dorkings_Railways_11>{{harvnb|Jackson|1988|p=11}}</ref> Two years later a second station, now known as {{rws|Dorking Deepdene}}, was opened on the same line.<ref name=Dorkings_Railways_17>{{harvnb|Jackson|1988|p=17}}</ref>{{refn|Dorking Deepdene station was originally named "Box Hill and Leatherhead Road".<ref name=Dorkings_Railways_17/>|group=note}}

The [[Sutton and Mole Valley lines|second railway line]] to serve the town was authorised by Acts of Parliament in 1862 and 1864<ref name=Dorkings_Railways_27-28>{{harvnb|Jackson|1988|pp=27–28}}</ref> and was opened by the [[London, Brighton and South Coast Railway]] in 1867.<ref name=Dorkings_Railways_33-34>{{harvnb|Jackson|1988|pp=33–34}}</ref><ref name=Dendy_Marshall>{{harvnb|Dendy Marshall|1968|p=223}}</ref> A west-south connecting spur to the RG&RR was provided on opening, but was removed around 1900, before being briefly restored between 1941 and 1946 as a wartime resilience measure.<ref name=Dorkings_Railways_27-28/>{{refn|In 1923 the Southern Railway proposed a north-east spur to link the town's two railway lines. The necessary land was purchased and parliamentary approval was obtained, but no construction work took place.<ref name=Dorkings_Railways_27-28/>|group=note}}

{{rws|Dorking||Dorking station}} was provided with extensive goods facilities, a locomotive yard and a turntable (later the site of the car park).<ref name=Dorkings_Railways_33-34/> It was built with two platforms, but a third was added in 1925, when the railway line was [[Railway electrification in Great Britain|electrified]] from {{rws|Leatherhead}}.<ref name=Dorkings_Railways_37-38>{{harvnb|Jackson|1988|pp=37–38}}</ref>{{refn|Electrification was extended to {{rws|Horsham}} in 1938.<ref name=Dorkings_Railways_37-38/>|group=note}} The original building was demolished in 1980 and was replaced by a larger structure, designed by Gordon Lavington, which integrated the station with offices for [[Biwater]].<ref name=Dorkings_Railways_42>{{harvnb|Jackson|1988|p=42}}</ref>

In the late 1920s, improvements were made to the Dorking-Reigate road (now the A25), including the construction of Deepdene Bridge over the River Mole.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Reigate-Dorking Road: Last section opened yesterday |date=20 May 1927 |page=11 |issue=44586}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2227491 |title=Plaque, Deepdene Bridge |last1=Capper |first1=I |year=2010 |work=TQ1850 |publisher=Geograph Britain and Ireland |access-date=2 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019112608/http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2227491 |archive-date=19 October 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[bypass (road)|bypass road]] (now the A24) was opened in 1934<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Dorking By-pass Road: Open to traffic to-day at noon |date=2 June 1934 |page=11 |issue=46770}}</ref> following considerable local opposition to the route, which cut through the Deepdene estate.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Dorking By-pass Road: Opposition to present scheme |date=4 May 1929 |page=9 |issue=45194}}</ref><ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Dorking By-pass Schemes: Conflict of views at town's meeting |date=13 December 1929 |page=8 |issue=45385}}</ref>