M25 Reigate Hill




Post to the east Gatton
Post to the west Colley Hill

Blackhorse Lane
The end of the road has been diverted slightly to the north of its original route, to make way for the M25 junction.
Old chalk pit. This is shown on 1890s maps as lying on the north side of the road, on a site which now appears to be part of Junction 8.

Brighton Road
Crossways House. This stood at the junction of Brighton Road and Reigate Hill. It offered refreshments – and dinner, bed and breakfast for six shillings. It also appears to have been the home of Arthur Sherwell, MP and temperance reformer. The site is now under the mway junction 8.

Fort Lane
Margery Hall. The house was built by George Taylor. He was the owner and operator of a hearthstone mine on Colley Hill, to the west, and the local water company. He wanted to provide Reigate with fresh water.  He sunk a well with feeder adits at the base near Margery Hall area, but wanted to tap the water from below. His idea was to drive boreholes upwards into the roof of mine galleries, and tap the water. His water company was bought by East Surrey Water Company before he could do this. Margery Hall, was supplied with water pumped from a well at the base of Colley Hill. At Margery Hall a pitch covered waer main has been found.
Furzefield Copse. In the 1890s two small covered reservoirs are shown here. The copse was north of Margery Hall.
Two Acre Wood. This wood is now south of Junction 8. In the 1890s it is shown as an old chalk pit
British Broadcasting Association Reigate Radio Transmitter Station
National Air Traffic Services Mast
Blackhorse Wood, woodland
East Surrey Water tower plus two telecoms masts.
Rock Farm
Reigate Fort. This was built in 1898 as part of the London Defence Scheme and was decommissioned and sold in 1907. In the Great War it was used for storing ammunition. It was reopened in the Second World War and is thought to have been part of the communications network for the army's South East Command which was based in nearby tunnels. After the war the fort was used by the Scout Association. It was designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument in 1972 and has since been restored with the help of various grants and volunteers. The whole area of hillside below the fort is said to be full of tunnels, now inaccessible, where military activities took place during the Second World War.
Memorial on Bomber Crash site. In 1945, an area of mowed, open grass is where a US Flying Fortress bomber crashed having been on its flight home from a bombing raid on the Czech border. Clouds had made visibility impossible in the plane had descended to 300ft and collided with the hill.  In 2015  a sculpture was installed at the site, It is two wing tips the size and shape of a B-17(G) by sculptor Roger Day. Molten fuselage aluminium, from the crash site, has also been incorporated into it.
Fort Lodge. This was built in the 1940’s and used as the home of the Bishop of Woolwich.
East Fort Cottage. Hilltop Holiday Home for Cats.
Four Acre Upper Woods, Woodland

M25
Reigate Lane Interchange Junction 8. The M25 here is crossed by the A217 Brighton Road via Reigate


Margery Lane
Margery Hall Pig Farm. This was in fact a well known garden where specialist varieties of exotic plants were developed, An arboretum is shown on site.
Kiln field pit – south of Margery Lane this seems to have been another chalk pit – maybe with lime kilns.
Margery Hall Nursery. This is a stables and stud
Margery Farm, Farm with a large covered reservoir on site


Sources
Lower Kingswood Village News. Web site
National Trust. Web site
Reigate and Banstead Council. Web site
Royal Automobile Society. Web site
SABRE. Web site
Surrey County Council. Web site
Wealden Cave and Mine Society. Web site
Wikipedia. As appropriate

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