History of West Street

West Street is probably the oldest street in Dorking. In the Middle Ages it formed, with Butter Hill and the lower part of South Street, the market area of the town surrounding the well. On each side were large plots containing the houses and workshops of tradesmen such as butchers, tailors and shoemakers.

These gradually expanded or were rebuilt and by the late Tudor period large buildings like Mullin's house, Dorking Lighthouse and numbers 12 to 15 occupied most of the frontage, with a large inn called the Queen's Arms at the corner with North Street.

In time these buildings became divided into separate tenements and by the 18th century housed a multiplicity of trades, including a claypipe maker. A number of tenements became public houses in the Victorian era, of which only the King's Arms, the Old House and the Star remain.

For more information about the History of Dorking visit the Dorking Museum

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