Reigate, Market town in Surrey, England
Reigate is a town in Surrey, located about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of central London in southeast England. The main commercial street runs through the town center and is lined with brick buildings dating from the 18th and 19th centuries that now house shops, restaurants and flats.
The settlement was first recorded in the 11th century and grew during the Middle Ages as a trading point on the route between London and the south coast. The town received its charter to hold a weekly market in the 13th century, which established its economic role in the region.
The weekly Saturday market draws residents who gather to buy fresh produce and chat with stallholders who have been trading here for decades. Many locals spend their weekends walking on Reigate Heath, a common land that has long served as an open space for recreation and community gatherings.
The railway station offers regular services to central London in under an hour, with trains running throughout the day in both directions. The town center is compact and easy to explore on foot, with most shops and points of interest within a short walk of each other.
A system of hand-carved tunnels runs beneath the streets, originally dug to extract sand for building and later used for storage. These underground chambers remain accessible in parts and show how residents made use of the soft sandstone layer below the surface.
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