IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Pixham Lane, DORKING, RH4 1PU

Cul-de-sac of 1950s(?) maisonettes off Pixham Lane.

Narrow road, lined by old cottages, in north-eastern Dorking. www.visitdorking.com

Block of 12 apartments on Pixham Lane, completed in 2002.

Late 19th Century cottages in Pixham Lane - the building in the centre has a plaque "Hope Cottages 1893". (The date is not entirely distinct, but since the building is marked on the 1896 1:2,500 map, 1893 would seem more appropriate the alternative of 1898.) In the left background is Pixham Church.

Seen here at its junction with Leslie Road. On the left is the front of Pixham Church (see Image). The gabled building beyond is the former post office which closed in 1990.

The bridge is for the Redhill - Guildford railway line. The church was designed by Sir Edward Lutyens, 1903.

Block of 12 apartments on Pixham Lane, completed in 2002.

Detail of an early design by Lutyens, dating from about 1900. Lutyens grew up in Surrey and much of his early work in the county shows strong local influence. Here, the materials suggest Italy, while the tympanum (treated rather differently) is typical of Romanesque architecture, especially in France. The infill between the cross motif and the brick courses is made up of tiles, laid on edge - a very typical Lutyens trick http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2204583. I can't help thinking that Lutyens saw the whole composition as a rising sun - imagery which might be seen as a pagan touch. For a more general view of the façade see http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2986929

This building is an early design by Lutyens, dating from circa 1900. Lutyens grew up in Surrey (at Thursley), and many of his early commissions were within the county. Much of his early work was strongly influenced by local traditions, but in the case of Pixham church there is very little to remind you you're in Surrey. To architectural historians, the semi-circular design over the doorway is a 'tympanum' - a feature often found in Romanesque churches (and in Norman churches in England). Here at Pixham, Lutyens seems to have adapted the tympanum motif to represent a rising sun. See also Image

On the north side of the church, seen from Leslie Road. The church was designed by the Surrey-born architect, Edwin Lutyens, at an early stage in his career. There is little about the window to suggest the building's purpose - but the intention was that the nave would also serve as a village hall. A typical 'early Lutyens' touch is the use of tiles - laid so that only their edges are visible - in a frieze just below the eaves - compare http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2986962 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2204583 Lower down in the wall, tiles are again used decoratively - but the arrangement is oddly haphazard.