The Old Town Hall is a municipal building in the High Street,

Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book in 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'' and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The earlie ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, England. It is a Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

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. Although the chapel was not on the

Pilgrims' Way The Pilgrims' Way (also Pilgrim's Way or Pilgrims Way) is the historical route supposedly taken by pilgrims from Winchester, Hampshire, Winchester in Hampshire, England, to the shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury in Kent. This name, of compa ...

, it formed a place where pilgrims might rest on their journey from

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

. The old town hall was designed in the

neoclassical style Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The pr ...

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 window A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels, or "sashes". The individual sashes are traditionally paned window (architecture), paned windows, but can now contain an individual sheet (or sheets, in the case of double gla ...

s was established on the first floor. The east elevation of the building was vertical but the west elevation of the building was curved. In 1811, a

roof lantern A roof lantern is a daylighting architectural element. Architectural lanterns are part of a larger roof and provide natural light into the space or room below. In contemporary use it is an architectural skylight structure. A lantern roof wil ...

with, a clock, a bell and

weather vane A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an instrument used for showing the direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ''vane'' comes from the Old English word , m ...

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, the building was used as a courthouse for petty sessions in the 19th century. The building served as the headquarters of Reigate Municipal Borough Council from its formation in 1863 until the borough council moved to the new town hall in Castlefield Road in 1901. Following the death of

Lady Henry Somerset Isabella Caroline Somerset, Lady Henry Somerset (née Somers-Cocks; 3 August 1851 – 12 March 1921), styled Lady Isabella Somers-Cocks from 5 October 1852 to 6 February 1872, was a British philanthropist, temperance leader and campaigner for w ...

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. In the 1930s, two K6 red telephone boxes of the type designed by

Sir Giles Gilbert Scott Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (9 November 1880 – 8 February 1960) was a British architect known for his work on the New Bodleian Library, Cambridge University Library, Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, Battersea Power Station, Liverpool Cathedral, and ...

were installed at the old town hall, one at the east end and the other in the covered area at the west end. Following the restoration of the building, the ground floor of the old town hall re-opened as a

Caffè Nero Caffè Nero is an Italian-influenced coffeehouse company headquartered in London, England. Founded in 1997 by Gerry Ford, currently the company runs more than 1,000 coffee houses in eleven countries: the UK, Ireland, Sweden, Poland, Cyprus, Croat ...

outlet in February 2008.

References

{{reflist Government buildings completed in 1728 City and town halls in Surrey Reigate Grade II* listed buildings in Surrey