| Location: | Reigate, Surrey, England |
| Coordinates: | 51.238°N -0.206°W |
| Status: | open |
| Opened: | 1824 |
| Traffic: | Pedestrian |
| Engineer: | William Constable |
| Construction: | 1823 |
Reigate Tunnel is a former road tunnel in Reigate, Surrey, England.[1] [2] [3] It runs under the hill that was once the site of Reigate Castle and was built during 1823, although some sources report that it only opened in 1824.[4] The narrow and short tunnel formerly carried the A217 road,[5] [6] and is now pedestrianised.[2] It is grade II listed.
The tunnel was designed by William Constable, the surveyor for the Reigate Turnpike Trust.[7] It is long[8] [9] and runs through the Folkestone Beds beneath Reigate Castle. It provides a direct link between the High Street (to the south) and London Road (to the north), reducing the distance between the two by .[7]
Construction began in 1823 and required the demolition of two shops on the north side of the High Street.[7] The two portals were built with bricks made from the local Gault clay and the tunnel is lined with red brick in a stretcher bond. The work was funded by John Cocks, 1st Earl Somers, through whose land it ran, and was completed in the summer of 1824. A toll post was erected at the southern entrance and tolls were levied for horses and horse-drawn vehicles. Pedestrians were not charged for using the tunnel.[7]
| Vehicle type | Toll | |
|---|---|---|
| Coach with four horses | 6d | |
| Coach with two horses | 3d | |
| Chaise with one horse | d | |
| One horse | d | |
| Pedestrian | no charge |
The tolls were removed in 1858.[7] In 1954, the tunnel was closed to southbound motor traffic[10] and was fully pedestrianised in April 1970.[2] It was Grade II listed on 27 January 1989. A plaque above the southern entrance gives the year of construction as 1823.[11]