Milton Court, Dorking

Milton Court is currently the Head Office for Unum. Milton Court has a number of original features which have been preserved and restored, and the house will be open for people to visit and enjoy on 12/13th September.

After being farmland, cottages and a Priory in the 1300's, the site on which Milton Court is built was gifted to the Evelyn family by Elizabeth I in the 1600s. It was built around 1608-1611. It then later became a tenant house, a residence for the poor until 1863 when the Rate family bought it and restored it into a beautiful family home. The door and staircase is original to the 1600s house and the Flower Room was a family project whereby prominent painters likely contributed to the hand painted panels (and ceiling), but so did family and perhaps friends of the Rate's. Milton Court retains a host of original features, as well as newly discovered restored ceilings by William Burges which were uncovered in renovations in 1993. The grounds contain two lakes with an abundance of wildlife, a croquet lawn which had been transformed into air raid shelters in WWII, the remains of an old Mill, a pet cemetery and the remains of a cottage bombed in WWII. These are all marked out on a walking map which will be available to do on the day you visit. NEL bought Milton Court in 1965 and NEL later became Unum, an Employee Benefits provider. Unum operate out of Milton Court as its UK Head Office.

Timings

Saturday 12 September:

1000-1600

Sunday 13 September:

1000-1600

Location & directions

Unum Ltd, Milton Court, Westcott Road, Dorking, Surrey, RH4 3LZ

Directions:

On the Westcott Road, heading away from Dorking Town Centre, Milton Court has a large driveway with a blue sign for UNUM on the right (past the Nower and Milton Heath Car Park on the left). As you pass the Nower car park, the road reaches the peak of a hill, and at the bottom of that hill is the entrance to Unum / Milton Court on the right. On the Guildford Road, heading towards the Westcott Road and Dorking Town Centre, Milton Court has a large driveway with a blue sign for UNUM on the left after the turning for Lince Lane. On a SatNav ask it for directions to Unum Dorking - do not follow road directions to the Milton Court Lane which is between Sondes Place and Nutcombe Lane as there is no access to Milton Court from this road (and this is noted on the road sign).

Contact on day:

Nikki Gabriel

Telephone number:

+447824466701

Booking information

Pre-booking requirement:

Pre-booking not required

Accessibility details

While we do have a lift to access the first and second floors, there may be access issues through the doors if wheelchairs are very wide There is a step into the main house lobby

Additional information

As this is a working Insurance office, the main house and garden will be open but there will areas of the buildings and grounds which are not accessible.

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