Reigate Castle is a former castle in the town of

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 ...

in the county of

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 England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. None of the castle buildings survive today, but a cave below the site, considered to be part of the castle, still exists. Known as "Baron's Cave", it is occasionally open to the public for tours. The site of the castle is known as "Castle Grounds", and is a public park. At its entrance stands a

folly In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but suggesting through its appearance some other purpose, or of such extravagant appearance that it transcends the range of usual garden buildings. Eighteenth-cent ...

, built in the 18th century, in the form a medieval castle gateway.

History

King William I granted the land around Reigate to one of his supporters, William de Warenne, who was created

Earl of Surrey Earl of Surrey is a title in the Peerage of England that has been created five times. It was first created for William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey, William de Warenne, a close Companions of William the Conqueror, companion of William the Con ...

in 1088. It is believed that his son,

William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey (died 11 May 1138) was the son of William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey and his first wife Gundred. He was more often referred to as ''Earl Warenne'' or ''Earl of Warenne'' than as Earl of Surrey.G. E. Co ...

, ordered that Reigate Castle be built, although the de Warennes had their southern base in

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

, as well as castles in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

and

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

. Around 1150 the de Warennes ordered that a town be constructed below the castle. This town forms the basis of modern-day Reigate. The origin of the name Reigate is uncertain, but appears to derive from Roe-deer Gate, as the town was situated near to the entrance to the de Warenne's deer park. Another possibility is that Reigate derives from Rhie-gat, roughly translating to the River's Course. In 1216 the castle was one of many captured by the French in southern England, including

Chichester Castle Chichester Castle stood in the city of the same name in West Sussex (). Shortly after the Norman Conquest of England, Roger de Montgomery ordered the construction of a castle at Chichester. The castle at Chichester was one of 11 fortified sites ...

. In 1347 the castle became the property of Fitzalan,

Earl of Arundel Earl of Arundel is a title of nobility in England, and one of the oldest extant in the English peerage. It is currently held by the Duke of Norfolk, and is used (along with the Earl of Surrey) by his heir apparent as a courtesy title. The e ...

. From 1397 it was owned by a number of Lords of the Manor of Reigate, including the influential Howard family. It was occupied until the 16th century, but fell into disrepair afterwards. It was

demolished Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a ...

in 1648 after occupation as a garrison during the Civil War by followers of a Royalist uprising. In 1777 a mock medieval gateway was built over the ruins of the original castle. An inscription is written on the side of the gateway, in English on one side and Latin on the other: None of the original castle buildings have survived, with the exception of the Barons' Cave. Little more is known of the castle which has never been excavated on any great scale. Local legend says prior to the signing of

Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms"), commonly called (also ''Magna Charta''; "Great Charter"), is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the ...

, the rebellious barons met to hammer out the details of the document in the extensive caves below the castle.

Modern day

The Reigate Castle Tunnel runs under the grounds of Reigate Castle and was constructed in 1823. It is believed to be Europe's first

road tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

and is pedestrianised. The castle grounds remain as public gardens. The castle gate is the main feature of

Reigate and Banstead Reigate and Banstead is a local government district with borough status in east Surrey, England. It includes the towns of Reigate, Redhill, Horley and Banstead. The borough borders the Borough of Crawley (in West Sussex) to the south, the Boroug ...

's municipal

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

Caves

Tours of the Baron's and Tunnel Road Caves take place on the second Saturday of every month between May and September inclusive.

References

{{reflist

External links

Photo gallery from oldreigate.com
Castles in Surrey Reigate and Banstead Ruins in Surrey Ruined castles in England Motte-and-bailey castles Reigate