Old Town Hall, Reigate Explained

Old Town Hall, Reigate
Coordinates:51.2377°N -0.2063°W
Location:High Street, Reigate
Built:1728
Designation1:Grade II* Listed Building
Designation1 Offname:The Old Town Hall (including the K6 Telephone Kiosk on the East Side of the Old Town Hall, High Street)
Designation1 Date:19 October 1951
Designation1 Number:1188608
Designation2:Grade II Listed Building
Designation2 Offname:K6 Telephone Kiosk on West Side of Old Town Hall, High Street
Designation2 Date:17 November 1987
Designation2 Number:1029046

The Old Town Hall is a municipal building in the High Street, Reigate, Surrey, England. It is a Grade II* listed building.

History

The site on the north side of the High Street was previously occupied by the 13th chapel and hospice of St. Thomas of Canterbury.[1] [2] [3] Although the chapel was not on the Pilgrims' Way, it formed a place where pilgrims might rest on their journey from Winchester to Canterbury.[4] [5]

The old town hall was designed in the neoclassical style and completed in 1728. The design involved arcading on the ground floor to allow markets to be held; an assembly room with segmental headed sash windows was established on the first floor. The east elevation of the building was vertical but the west elevation of the building was curved.[6] In 1811, a roof lantern with, a clock, a bell and weather vane was removed from the tower of the adjacent prison building, which was itself then demolished, and installed on the roof of the old town hall. As well as accommodating the local horse-drawn fire engine and the local police station,[7] the building was used as a courthouse for petty sessions in the 19th century.[8] [9]

The building served as the headquarters of Reigate Municipal Borough Council from its formation in 1863[10] until the borough council moved to the new town hall in Castlefield Road in 1901. Following the death of Lady Henry Somerset of Reigate Priory, the old town hall formed part of the estate which was acquired by a local benefactor, Randel Vogan, and donated to the borough council in 1922.[11]

In the 1930s, two K6 red telephone boxes of the type designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott were installed at the old town hall, one at the east end and the other in the covered area at the west end.[12]

Following the restoration of the building, the ground floor of the old town hall re-opened as a Caffè Nero outlet in February 2008.[13] [14] [15]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 'Parishes: Reigate', in A History of the County of Surrey. 3. H. E.. Malden. London. 1911. 229–245. British History Online. 28 December 2020.
  2. Web site: Old Town Hall, Reigate. Surrey Archaeological Society. 27 December 2020.
  3. Web site: A Geological, Historical and Topographical Description of the Borough of Reigate and the Surrounding District. Robert Phillips . Anderson. 1885. R. Phillips. 62.
  4. Book: Malden, Henry Elliot. A history of the County of Surrey. 3. 1902. Constable. London. 229–245. 2979914.
  5. Book: Wright, Christopher John . 1971. A Guide to the Pilgrims' Way. Constable and Co, London.. 134. 0-09-456240-7.
  6. Book: Douglas, Roy. Redhill & Reigate Through Time. Amberley Publishing. 2016. 978-1445633237. 24.
  7. Web site: Surrey Joint Police Force 1943-1947. British Police History. 27 December 2020.
  8. Web site: Timely repairs carried out to Reigate's historic Old Town Hall clock. 22 October 2013. Redhill, Reigate and Horley Life. 28 December 2020.
  9. Web site: Reigate. Kelly's Directory of Surrey. 1891. 28 December 2020.
  10. Web site: Policing the Victorian Countryside 1851-1901. Open University. 28 December 2020.
  11. Web site: A Lady not partial to a drink. 9 March 2007. Redhill, Reigate and Horley Life. 28 December 2020.
  12. Web site: Phone Box Plans Refused. Reigate.uk. 7 September 2015. 27 December 2020.
  13. Web site: 'Win win deal' - Council celebrates historic building's takeover by coffee chain as leading trader asks: Will Caffe Nero look after the Old Town Hall?. 1 September 2005. Redhill Reigate Horley Life. 28 December 2020.
  14. Web site: Town hall and park schemes up for award. 17 April 2009. Get Surrey. 28 December 2020.
  15. Web site: Priory Park beacon and Old Town Hall illumination for armistice centenary. 9 November 2018. Reigate.uk. 27 December 2020.