Wellingtonia 91

Coming up to the cockerel roundabout outside Dorking this morning, I spotted what might be a Wellingtonia to the west. Checking it out on the way home, some hours later, so it proved to be, a rather fine specimen. Maybe being a little to the south of Pipp Brook, a subsidiary of the River Mole, means that there is a regular supply of water within reach.

Accessed by driving up the ramp off the Reigate Road, up to the back of the Mole Council Offices there, the bit with the funny roofs, snapped from gmaps above. Wellingtonia visible right.

Snapped from the railings, looking towards the tennis courts which occupy what was the grounds of Pippbrook House. At which point I was taken in hand by the very personable representative of a care agency operating out of one of the pods with the funny roofs, rented from the council. A lady who had done time with the NHS, as a district nurse and with social care for the council. She was quite happy to learn all about Wellingtonia, with her not really having noticed this one, despite it being right outside her front door, as it were. Sadly, I cannot now trace her agency.

Next the map service provided by the Scots from reference 2, to find that Dorking is very close to the edge of the relevant maps, so the snap above is a composite assembled in Powerpoint. Composition more or less destroyed zoom capability, but it did serve as a view finder.

Resulting in the snap above, using which I decided that the house which had been just visible behind the tennis courts was Pippbrook House. Once owned by a magnate from South Wales who wanted to sample metropolitan life - close enough to the big town to pop in occasionally, far enough away to be able to grow peaches, pigs and other country things - the house eventually falling into the hands of the council. Reference 4 tells us that after doing good service, it is now listed and in transition, to what we do not yet know. A place to be visited on the ground.

The view from above. The tree in question underlined below, complete with good sized shadow extending left. Pippbrook House overlined above. Tennis courts between, as previously advertised. Ramp bottom right, just above the Reigate Road. Complete with a sign explaining that parking was not possible. Dorking off-snap, below left.

References

Reference 1: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2022/08/wellingtonia-90.html.

Reference 2: https://maps.nls.uk/.

Reference 3: https://dorkingmuseum.org.uk/.

Reference 4: https://dorkingmuseum.org.uk/pippbrook-house-2/.

Group search key: wgc.