In November 2015 we began a ‘Call for Memories’ about the Deepdene Estate, Dorking. We aim to gather stories and memories about the Deepdene Estate. These memories will form part of our records and interpretation of the ever-changing life of this great landscape.

News so far

We have already been contacted by former Southern Rail employees who used to work in the house in the 50’s and 60’s, locals who lived in the new housing that spread across the Estate and even descendants of those who worked for one of the House’s last owners before it became a hotel.

These generous individuals have told us little snippets of their experiences of Deepdene – how there was a Southern Railway Home Guard made up from workers at Deepdene in World War Two, how a large computer was transported in pieces up to Deepdene House and how the large marble fireplaces were the only heating for the House in the 1950s.

As well as these stories shared in passing and via email we will also be recording memories as part of an Oral History Project in partnership with Dorking Museum.

The project

An initial meeting for those who had a story to tell or wanted to learn how to help collect memories from others was held at Dorking Museum in late December last year. We were delighted to meet locals with memories to share and potential interviewees. A particular highlight was the arrival of a visitor with an actual piece of Deepdene House, a brass plate from one of Deepdene House’s fireplaces!

 

We were delighted that a group of volunteers signed up to learn about collecting, archiving and interpreting Oral Histories. These volunteers will be trained up by an expert from the Oral History Society in interviewing, editing and transcription techniques. The mix of audio and video recordings will then be archived with the support of Dorking Museum to preserve these memories for the future. A mix of the memories and stories will also be displayed in a variety of ways as part of the project including on the new project website (coming soon!) and at events such as our launch in September 2016.

Look out for updates on our progress in our quest for memories over the next few months.