Our History

History of Denbies timeline
Denbies is located to the north-east of Dorking overlooking the slopes of Box Hill.  

1754 - The farm was owned by farmer John Denby.  The farmhouse was purchased by a Mr .Wakeford who sold the property in 1754 to Jonathan Tyers, the founder and proprietor of Vauxhall Gardens.

He transformed the farm building into a modest Georgian House, which could be regarded as the first 'Denbies' House.

1767 –On Tyler’s death,  the Estate was purchased by the Hon. Peter King

1781 -  His son, Lord King, sold 'Denbies' to James White

1787 -  Joseph Denison London merchant and banker  took ownership of the estate  He died in

1806 – following his death his son, William Joseph Denison, Member of Parliament for West Surrey  but the Speaker to the House of Commons(1818). enlarged the estate by the purchase of land from the Earl of Verulam and the Duke of Norfolk and created extensive gardens. From him it passed to Elizabeth, his daughter and heiress, whose son was Lord Albert Conyngham. He was created Lord Londesborough

1850 - Thomas Cubitt, the builder of much of London and the east wing of Queen Victoria’s Osborne House, purchased 3,900 acres from Lord Londesborough.  Seeking to rival the Deepdene,  Cubitt constructed a grand mansion with almost 100 rooms to replace the original house. It was a huge brick and stucco structure with Italianate detail.

1851 - Prince Albert visited the estate and planted several rare conifers, one of which with commerative plaque survived until the storm of January 1990

1855 – Thomas Cubitt died.  Thomas Cubitt had 12 children. His eldest son and heir, George who in 1853  had married Laura Joyce, daughter of the Vicar of Dorking, inherited the estate.

1859 - George Cubitt built the church, St. Barnabas on Ranmore, to the design of Sir Gilbert Scott RA which was consecrated on All Saints Day of that year. He also built a School, St. Barnabas, and a School House near the Church in 1858 and an Infant's Department was added in 1874. The School was enlarged in 1909 and closed in July 1972. At its peak it could accommodate 124 pupils.

The Dispensary was a cottage nearby where the Bookham or Dorking Doctors visited once a week to attend to the estate employees. In the Dispensary cottage a Training School was run for the daughters of estate works to learn the ways of domestic service in a big house; it was run for many years by Miss Laura Hale. The girls had 12 months training and were kitted out. Some of the girls were absorbed into the Denbies' household, others were found situations with other members of the family or in other great houses. The School closed in 1928.

1892 – George Cubitt became the first Lord Ashcombe after being Member of Parliament from 1865 first for West Surrey and later for Mid Surrey. With true Victorian Empire-building spirit he created his own Village on the Hill and the estate extended northwards as far as Admiral's Road at Polesden Lacey and included parts of all the surrounding parishes. In the Tithe Map of 1898 Lord Ashcombe is recorded as owning 241a.3r.2p in Bookham. I

1917  - Lord Ashcombe died and was succeeded by his only son, Henry, who had moved into Denbies well prior to his father's death. Henry (second baron) had six sons but sadly lost three of them who gave their lives for their Country in the Great War of 1914/18. His fourth son, Roland, became the third baron on Henry's death in 1947. It was Roland who had his forefather, Thomas Cubitt's house, demolished in 1953. The demolition contractor is alleged to have failed financially just prior to completion of his work such that the basement level existed till 1990 adjoining the current Denbies House which itself dates back to the middle of the last century and served as the laundry, staff quarters and coach house to Thomas Cubitt's home.
Lord Ashcombe the fourth, Henry (Harry) was Roland's eldest son and he inherited the title on his father's death in 1962. Henry and his father, who were limited by the restrictions on building imposed after the Second World War, undertook a refurbishment of 'the laundry' and created an impressive Regency style residence.

1984 - Adrian E White CBE DL, Dorking based businessman and engineer purchased the Denbies Estate from the fourth Lord Ashcombe, and embarked upon a complete refurbishment of both farms (Denbies and Bradley) the Denbies House and its Estates properties.

The Estate now comprises 627 acres, 200 of which are woodlands, and includes 10 estate houses. There is no known connection between the current owner and his name-sake James White, who owned Denbies 200 years earlier who could well be the same James White who was a well known auctioneer in Dorking.

Adrian and Gillian White have five children, one daughter and four sons. It is for them that the Estate has been developed to optimise the use of the land with today's difficult balance between preservation and conservation, at a time when Britain's entry into the European Economic Community (Common Market) has made farming a questionable investment. Lateral thinking, because of farming's depressing position, led to the development of the Estate's south facing slopes, of little grazing value, into a vineyard. Dr. Selley, Professor of Geology at Imperial College, London and longtime Dorking resident, had suggested that Adrian White consider planting vines in view of the similarity of Denbies soil and climate to that of the Champagne area of France.

Subsequently research revealed that vines had thrived in the area previously. In AD 100 the Romans planted a vineyard at Bagden Farm, less than 350 yards from Denbies Estate. In Daniel Defoe's 'A Tour Through the Whole Islands of Great Britain', written in the early eighteen century, we read of Charles Howard of Deepdene House, laying down a vineyard on the south facing slopes of Dorking, "which, they say, has produced since most excellent good wines, and a very great quantity of them." It is interesting to note that in the early 1680's Defoe was at school near Dorking.

The vineyards of Denbies Estate are situated on the North Downs with its famous chalky soil, in a protected valley of south facing slopes. A total 265 acres have been planted which is three times the size of any other in the United Kingdom and has met the promise of producing some of the finest sparkling and table wines in Europe through repeated certification in the annual International Wine Challenge.