We stopped for an early lunch in Reigate as we headed home from a trip to Kent. Reigate is an historic market town in Surrey with the main shopping area centred on two roads, running at right angles with each other, and featuring plenty of independent shops, as well as the larger chains you’d expect in a busy town. The Waterstones is in a Grade II listed building dating from the early 1800s, which was originally just a dwelling. Before Waterstones took the building over, it was run as a Draper’s shop by the Knight family, opening in 1885 until the shop closed in 2017.
Reigate Castle Grounds
The castle in Reigate fell into disrepair and was eventually demolished in 1648. The site is now a park. In 1777, a folly – a mock gateway – was built on the location of the old castle buildings. The inscription on the folly, which is in English on one side, and Latin on the other, reads “To save the memory of William Earl Warren who in old days dwelt here, and was a loyal champion of our liberties from perishing like his own castle by the ravages of time, Richard Barnes at his own expense erected this gateway in the year 1777.”
The Old Town Hall (now a Caffè Nero Coffee shop)
Currently reading: A Tidy Ending by Joanna Cannon and Friend of the Devil by Peter Robinson
Janet's Adventures in Waterstones 