Editing Reigate (section)

{{good article}}
{{Short description|Town in Surrey, England}}
{{distinguish|Ryegate (disambiguation){{!}}Ryegate}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox UK place
 | country                  = England
 | type                     = [[Town]]
 | coordinates              = {{coord|51.237|-0.206|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
 | label_position           = left
 | official_name            = Reigate
 | static_image_name        = Old Town Hall, Reigate, Surrey (June 2022).jpg
 | static_image_caption     = [[Old Town Hall, Reigate|Old Town Hall]], High Street
 | population               = 21,820
 | population_ref           = (electoral definition) or 22,123 (Built-up Area)<ref name=NOMIS>{{NOMIS2011|id=1119884973|title=Reigate Built-up area sub division|access-date=24 August 2020}}</ref>
 | shire_district           = [[Reigate and Banstead]]
 | shire_county             = [[Surrey]]
 | region                   = South East England
 | constituency_westminster = [[Reigate (UK Parliament constituency)|Reigate]]
 | post_town                = Reigate
 | postcode_district        = RH2
 | postcode_area            = RH
 | dial_code                = 01737
 | os_grid_reference        = TQ2649
 | london_distance          = {{cvt|18.94|mi|km|adj=ri0|0}}
 | london_direction         = N
}}

'''Reigate''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|aɪ|ɡ|eɪ|t}} {{respell|RY|gate}}) is a [[town status in the United Kingdom|town]] in [[Surrey]], England, around {{convert|18.94|mi|km|adj=ri0|0}} south of central London. The settlement is recorded in [[Domesday Book]] of 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'', and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The earliest archaeological evidence for human activity is from the [[Paleolithic]] and [[Neolithic]], and during the [[Roman Britain|Roman period]], tile-making took place to the north east of the modern centre.

A [[motte-and-bailey castle]] was erected in Reigate in the late 11th or early 12th century. It was originally constructed of [[lumber|timber]], but the curtain walls were rebuilt in stone about a century later. An [[Augustinians|Augustinian]] [[priory]] was founded to the south of the modern town centre in the first half of the 13th century. The priory was [[dissolution of the monasteries|closed]] during the [[English Reformation|Reformation]] and was rebuilt as a private residence for [[William Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Effingham]]. The castle was abandoned around the same time and fell into disrepair.

During the [[Middle Ages|medieval]] and [[early modern period]]s, Reigate was primarily an agricultural settlement. A weekly market began no later than 1279 and continued until 1895. Key [[crop]]s included [[oats]], [[hops]] and [[flax]], but there is no record of [[rye]] being grown in the local area. The economy initially declined in the 18th century, as new [[turnpike trust|turnpike roads]] allowed cheaper goods made outside the town to become available, undercutting local producers. Following the arrival of the railways in the mid-19th century, Reigate began to expand and the sale of much of the priory estate in 1921 released further land for housebuilding.

Reigate is part of the [[London commuter belt]], and since 1974 it has been one of four towns in the [[borough status in the United Kingdom|borough]] of [[Reigate and Banstead]]. The borough council is based at the [[Reigate Town Hall|town hall]] in Castlefield Road, and [[Surrey County Council]] has its headquarters at [[Woodhatch Place, Reigate|Woodhatch Place]]. Much of the [[North Downs]], to the north of Reigate, is owned by the [[National Trust]], including [[Colley Hill]], {{convert|722|ft|m}} above [[ordnance datum]] (OD) and Reigate Hill {{convert|771|ft|m}} above OD.