Capel derives its name from the Chapel that was built early in the twelfth century in the parish known as “Dorking cum Capella”. In those days the area was heavily forested, but gradually the land was cleared and farms were developed which grew mostly wheat and oats. Many of the names of those early farms exist today, two of the oldest being Ewekene and Temple Elfold which was recorded in 1235 and became the property of the Knights Templar in 1263; both farms have long associations with the Church.
Capel has remained mainly a farming community over the centuries, but it achieved some importance from the sixteenth century onwards. It is situated on the old turnpike road midway between the market towns of Dorking and Horsham, and, later it became a notable staging post on the stagecoach routes between London and the south coast.