1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Reigate

REIGATE, a market town and municipal borough in the Reigate parliamentary division of Surrey, England, 24 m. S. by W. of London by the South-Eastern & Chatham railway. Pop. (1901) 25,993. It is situated at the head of the long valley of Holmsdale Hollow, beneath the North Downs. A very fine prospect over a great part of Surrey and Sussex, and extending to Hampshire and Kent, is obtained from the neighbouring Reigate Hill. Of the old castle, supposed to

have been built before the Conquest to command the pass through the valley, there only remains the entrance to a cave beneath, 150 ft. long and from 10 to 12 ft. high, excavated in the sandstone, which was used as a guardroom. The grounds are laid out as a public garden. Near the market house is the site of an ancient chapel dedicated to Thomas à Becket. In the chancel of the parish church of St Mary, a building ranging from Transitional Norman to Perpendicular, is buried Lord Howard, the commander of the English navy against the Spanish Armada. Above the vestry there is a library containing choice manuscripts and rare books. The grammar school was founded in 1675. Among the other public buildings are the town hall, the public hall, the market hall, and the working men's institute. The borough includes the township of Redhill, adjacent on the east. The town has some agricultural trade, and in the neighbourhood are quarries for freestone, hearthstone and white sand. The borough is under a mayor, 6 aldermen and 18 councillors. Area, 5994 acres.