Old Town Hall, Reigate

The Old Town Hall is a municipal building in the High Street, Reigate, Surrey, England. It is a Grade II* listed building.[1]

Old Town Hall, Reigate
Old Town Hall, Reigate
LocationHigh Street, Reigate
Coordinates51.2377°N 0.2063°W / 51.2377; -0.2063
Built1728
Architectural style(s)Neoclassical style
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official nameThe Old Town Hall (including the K6 Telephone Kiosk on the East Side of the Old Town Hall, High Street)
Designated19 October 1951
Reference no.1188608
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameK6 Telephone Kiosk on West Side of Old Town Hall, High Street
Designated17 November 1987
Reference no.1029046
Shown in Surrey

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.[2][3][4] Although the chapel was not on the Pilgrims' Way, it formed a place where pilgrims might rest on their journey from Winchester to Canterbury.[5][6]

The old town hall was designed in the neoclassical style and completed in 1728.[1] 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.[1] The east elevation of the building was vertical but the west elevation of the building was curved.[1][7] 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.[1] As well as accommodating the local horse-drawn fire engine and the local police station,[8] the building was used as a courthouse for petty sessions in the 19th century.[9][10]

The building served as the headquarters of Reigate Municipal Borough Council from its formation in 1863[11] until the borough council moved to the new town hall in Castlefield Road in 1901.[12] 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.[13]

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.[1][14][15]

Following the restoration of the building, the ground floor of the old town hall re-opened as a Caffè Nero outlet in February 2008.[16][17][18]

References
  1. Historic England. "The Old Town Hall (1188608)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  2. Malden, H. E. (1911). "'Parishes: Reigate', in A History of the County of Surrey". London: British History Online. pp. 229–245. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  3. "Old Town Hall, Reigate". Surrey Archaeological Society. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  4. Anderson, Robert Phillips (1885). "A Geological, Historical and Topographical Description of the Borough of Reigate and the Surrounding District". R. Phillips. p. 62.
  5. Malden, Henry Elliot, ed. (1902). A history of the County of Surrey. 3. London: Constable. pp. 229–245. OCLC 2979914.
  6. Wright, Christopher John (1971). A Guide to the Pilgrims' Way. Constable and Co, London. p. 134. ISBN 0-09-456240-7.
  7. Douglas, Roy (2016). Redhill & Reigate Through Time. Amberley Publishing. p. 24. ISBN 978-1445633237.
  8. "Surrey Joint Police Force 1943-1947". British Police History. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  9. "Timely repairs carried out to Reigate's historic Old Town Hall clock". Redhill, Reigate and Horley Life. 22 October 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  10. "Reigate". Kelly's Directory of Surrey. 1891. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  11. "Policing the Victorian Countryside 1851-1901". Open University. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  12. Historic England. "Town Hall (1260489)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  13. "A Lady not partial to a drink". Redhill, Reigate and Horley Life. 9 March 2007. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  14. Historic England. "K6 Telephone Kiosk on West Side of Old Town Hall, High Street (1029046)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  15. "Phone Box Plans Refused". Reigate.uk. 7 September 2015. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  16. "'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?". Redhill Reigate Horley Life. 1 September 2005. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  17. "Town hall and park schemes up for award". Get Surrey. 17 April 2009. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  18. "Priory Park beacon and Old Town Hall illumination for armistice centenary". Reigate.uk. 9 November 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
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