A museum in a Surrey town has created an exhibit which celebrates the town’s history and landmarks in a unique and creative way; through Lego. In December 2024, Dorking Museum came up with the charming idea of creating an exhibit which commemorates important landmarks and points in history for the town through creating Lego models.
The museum’s Lego display, which is open until May 10, features Lego models of a number of landmarks and important parts of Dorking’s history. These include well-known locations in the area such as; Leith Hill Tower, an 18th Century gothic tower which reaches 294 meters above sea level, making it the second highest point in southeast England.
The second landmark the museum has made out of Lego is the Dorking Halls building, a theatre inspired by 1920s and 30s architecture. Overlooking the Surrey Hills, the theatre has featured appearances from Jimmy Carr, Jason Manford, Katherine Ryan and many more.
Kathy, a spokesperson for the museum told Surrey Live that the Lego exhibit has allowed them to “present something a little bit different” going onto say:
“We have been thrilled at the reactions of visitors, adults as well as children, many of whom visited the Lego House at Denbies or saw the programme on TV and have been amazed to see their town represented in model format.”
The iconic Dorking Halls theatre was also recreated in Lego form at the museum
(Image: Dorking Museum)
There are also Lego models in the exhibit which signify important parts of the town’s history. These being a model of a Tardis, created in reference to scenes of Doctor Who which were filmed in the area. Another charming model in the exhibit is a Lego A1 Terrier Tank engine named the ‘Boxhill’ and celebrates that Dorking was the first location which established the South Eastern Railway in 1848.
One of the most iconic parts of Dorking’s recent history is the role of Box Hill in the 2012 London Olympics, giant Olympics rings were placed on the side of the hill, and the hill’s infamous zig zags were the location of the men’s and women’s cycling races. To commemorate this, the exhibit features a model of the Olympic rings.
And the final model is a Johnston’s road sweeper, which signifies the Johnson’s Sweepers, now known as Bucher Municipal which has been manufacturing sweeping vehicles in Dorking for over 100 years.
Lego models in the exhibit of; the Olympic rings, A1 Terrier Tank engine named the ‘Boxhill’, a Doctor Who Tardis, and a Johnson’s Sweeper vehicle.
(Image: Dorking Museum)
Kathy, told Surrey Live the Museum will host a Dorking in Lego model-making day for children on Saturday February 22, where visitor’s creations will be added to the display window. As part of this, they will also launch a model train for younger children; based on a small Lego model of the Dorking 5 Toed cockerel.
The idea for this exhibit was inspired by a quirky part of the town’s recent history which involves James May, an iconic British television presenter best known for his part in the BBC hit-show Top Gear. In 2009, as part of the BBC TV series, James May Toy Stories, a full-sized Lego house was built in Dorking on the Denbies Wine estate. As well the Lego models inspired by Dorking; the museum’s exhibit also features the story of how the house was built.