Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: Reigate

  • Reigate – Reigate Tunnel

    Reigate – Reigate Tunnel

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    Whilst other people are going on fancy holidays around the world, enjoying decadent dining and lying by swimming pools with craft beer, I decided to visit what might be the oldest road tunnel in Europe. It was originally opened in 1823 when there was a toll of 6 old pence per coach, but they removed the toll in 1858 and pedestrians were never charged for using it, a decision that I applaud.

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    This seems a sensible name for the road. Its construction was needed as the town is on a hill that was proving challenging for the road traffic of the time, namely horses, and there were fears that the developing settlement of Redhill might steal their trade. There’s perhaps a slight irony that the railway line then promptly went straight through Redhill rather than Reigate, which might not have entirely delighted the denizens of the town.

    It’s clear from this 1880s map why they decided to make this direct tunnel through to the town centre. In the early twentieth century, the council started to buy up properties so that they could widen the road, but then after doing so, they decided not to widen the road.

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    The road was made one way in the 1930s and then pedestrianised in the 1970s.

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    They’ve currently doing some work on the structure.

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    Inside the tunnel. There were originally vaults here, now accessible on occasional tours, which have been used for numerous purposes over the decades including as a war shelter, munitions storage, as a billiards hall and for alcohol storage. They’ve part of a wider caves network which had been created when they dug out silver sand, but they got a bit enthusiastic and in 1858 there was a bit of collapse which initially seemed sub-optimal, but they instead created sunken gardens to make things feel more positive.

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    Old signage from when there was a licensed premises here.

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    The bridge from the town side. They had to demolish two properties on the main street when they constructed it. It remains an important pedestrian link from the railway station and I like the efforts made to provide information boards about its heritage.

  • Reigate – Red Cross Inn

    Reigate – Red Cross Inn

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    Whilst in Reigate I popped into the Red Cross Inn in the hope of cooling down slightly, which I’m not sure was an aim that was entirely successful, but I left refreshed if nothing else. It’s a Stonegate pub which is branded as part of their Craft Union chain.

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    Some of the pub’s history (transcript below).

    “The Red Cross Inn can be traced back to the 17th century.

    In 1652 the inn was owned by William Castleman who was substantial enough to issue his own farthing tokens. This is the earliest record of the inn clearly indicating a going concern.

    Situated at the foot of the castle owned by the Earls of Surrey and beside the medieval market place.

    The inn stands opposite the site of the medieval chapel of the Holy Cross that stood on an island in the middle of the road after the Reformation used as a barn and demolished in late 1785.

    For centuries this hostelry was used by traders & farmers on market day, travellers and generations of townspeople.

    Today this inn remains a well known Reigate landmark.”

    It was reported in March 1900 that the pub was set back six feet to allow for road widening, so the frontage of the pub likely dates entirely from then. Ironically, there’s quite a gap between the pub and the road now, so that sacrifice might not have ultimately been necessary.

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    The beer was the London Pride and was well kept and reasonably priced. The beer selection was weak, mostly relying on lagers, with no craft keg beers of note, but I have to accept this is Craft Union and it’s not what they claim to be about. The venue was clean, although it was quite warm in terms of the temperature, although so were most places.

    In terms of the negatives, there was no real engagement at the bar as the landlord just kept talking to another customer which I take no offence at, but if I was a new customer coming in for the first time, it wouldn’t have been the most welcoming of services. The landlord also was perhaps quite brave with his commentary on some first time customers who had walked in (and out) and I think I’ll limit my comments to that as I don’t want to be too downbeat about any pub.

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    An old door in the corner of the venue, which I assume is some sort of nod towards the heritage of the building. Stonegate have recently spent £200,000 on doing up this venue, although it wasn’t immediately obvious to me how they’d invested this money, although architectural features such at the fireplace had been retained.

    Overall, it’s all OK and actually the sort of venue that I’d go, which is indeed why I do visit Craft Union pubs. I accept their drinks aren’t really what I want, but their pricing is reasonable and there’s usually some vibrancy to the atmosphere. It was quiet when I went, but I understand it’s busy on weekends and so they must be doing quite a lot right to surprise and delight customers.