At Goodwood c.1980 (tail wheel conversion in the 3PFG Chipmunk) they certainly did QGH (controller-interpreted VDF) let-downs, I suspect just because the ex-RAF ATCO liked doing them. I did hear stories of him controlling several aircraft in VDF holds overhead, while he talked another aircraft down the QGH procedure. I did think at the time it was mostly for amusement value: the South Downs just north of Goodwood are quite high and therefore the DH for a non precision approach was around 1500 ft and in extremis a more rational get-home technique might have been to fly south for five minutes, let down over the sea and then Bradshaw over the low ground back to Goodwood, avoiding the cathedral en route.