Dorking, High Street 1922

Photo ref: 71736

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There was also a prosperous pleasure fair in the early 1800s which sold a variety of goods and amusements for the children. The trades of the Victorian shops were multifarious, and many businesses stayed open from dawn until after dark, sometimes trading as late as nine o'clock in the evenings. The market moved from the High Street to a new site behind the north side of the High Street in 1926. This was closed as a livestock market in the early 1960s and has been replaced by the new Saint Martin's Walk with shops. There is a market (near to the old site) held in the car park each Friday, and a farmers' market is held here once a month. During the past centuries football was played in the High Street on Shrove Tuesday. Three balls, one white, one red and one blue, were paraded around the town. The balls were inscribed 'Wind and Water is Dorking's Glory'. The shops closed their shutters and boarded up their windows for fear of broken glass. The red ball was kicked off by the boys at 3 o'clock, and the blue ball by the men, and then at 4 o'clock all the players took up the game with the white ball until the church clock chimed six. Ale was consumed after the game had finished, and money was collected for charity. The Dorking Fowl is a breed of chicken and takes its name from the town; it was extensively bred here, and was probably brought to England with the Roman invasion. A peculiar characteristic of the breed is that it possesses a fifth claw. It is compact, plump in build, and bred for the breast; it carries more meat in proportion to its size than any other fowl, and in quantity and flavour its flesh is excellent. As a layer, the hen compares favourably with any other birds of its size and weight. It was a favourite on the table of Queen Victoria, who would only eat eggs from the Dorking hen. The cock has silver and black/green plumage. There are three main colour variations: the Red, the Silver Grey and the Dark Dorking. In 'The Countryman', Spring 1975, there appeared a picture of a Silver Grey Dorking Cock: 'The Dorking is regarded as Britain's oldest breed of fowl. Julius Caesar mentioned the existence of a domestic fowl in Britain in 55BC, and the Roman historian Columbella describes a breed much prized for its table- qualities. His description fits closely to the Dorking fowl of recent centuries, including the unusual fifth toe ...'