Villages near Dorking

Heritage windows in Brockham: the green, The Borough and the Article 4 question

Brockham lies about a mile and a half east of Dorking, with the River Mole running west through the village. Its green, once a cricket ground where W.G. Grace is said to have played, is the setting for a large Guy Fawkes bonfire every year on the Saturday closest to 5 November.

Start here: Article 4

Brockham is one of only three places in Mole Valley, with Dorking and Leatherhead, where the district council has used an Article 4 direction to add planning controls to part of a conservation area. Where it applies, changes to the front of a house that would normally be permitted, windows and doors among them, need planning permission. Before choosing anything, look up your address with Mole Valley's property lookup or ask the council at planning@molevalley.gov.uk. The council offers formal written pre-application advice, but not informal conservation advice.

What is listed

The Brockham conservation area covers about 52 hectares and has 37 listed buildings, every one Grade II. They include Christ Church, commissioned in 1847 by Sir Henry Goulburn, houses along The Borough and Brockham Green, The Borough Bridge over the Mole, Brockham Court Farmhouse, the old school house, the village pump and pound, and a K6 telephone kiosk. Listed houses need listed building consent for window changes, and timber is the expected result.

Later houses

Outside the old core the parish has a good number of semi-detached and detached houses, and the former Beecham research site is now a housing estate. These are generally outside the Article 4 area and suit flush casements, or steel-look aluminium on the garden side.

What usually fits

On an unlisted cottage within the Article 4 area, an application for flush casements or sashes that closely copy the originals, in a painted-timber colour, stands a better chance than anything modern-looking. On a listed building, timber. On later houses, the owner's choice. The ruins of Betchworth Castle stand on a spur to the north-west, and the village feels older than its newer roads suggest, which is worth keeping in mind on any front elevation.

Read Planning in Dorking for how the Article 4 process works, or timber windows for listed homes. Background: Brockham on Wikipedia.