Redhill, Surrey Family History Guide
Redhill, a town with two ecclesiastical parishes within the municipal borough of Reigate, Surrey.
Parish church: St John; St Matthew
Parish registers begin:
- Parish registers: 1843
- Bishop’s Transcripts: None
Nonconformists include: Baptist, Congregational, Wesleyan and Primitive Methodist, and Roman Catholic
Table of Contents
Parish History
Comprehensive Gazetteer of England and Wales 1895
Redhill, a town with two ecclesiastical parishes within the municipal borough of Reigate, Surrey.
The town has an important junction station on the L.B. & S.C.R. and S.E.R., 21 miles from London, and 2 from Reigate. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office. Population, 13,789.
It takes its name from a hilly elevation of the Lower Greensand formation, commanding fine views over the Weald; was, prior to the railway epoch, a mere hamlet; rose rapidly into importance in consequence of its position at the railway Junctions; and now has several good inns, a corn exchange, market-hall, assembly rooms, literary institution, and reading-room.
The corn exchange was built in 1860 at a cost of £3400, and additions costing £6000 were made in 1891.
The town is conjoint with Reigate in the publication of three or four weekly newspapers; partakes also in some of the trade of that town, and has a brewery, tannery, timber yard, silver sand and fullers’ earth works.
The two ecclesiastical parishes are St John and St Matthew, and they include Wray Common, Warwick Town, Linkfield Street, Earlswood, Meadvale, Copyhold, Radstone, High Trees, and the Reigate suburb of Wood Hatch.
St John’s Church, built in 1843 at a cost of about £5000, is a structure of brick in the Gothic style; it was thoroughly restored in 1889, and the spire rebuilt in 1895 at a cost of £3000. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Rochester; gross value, £180 with residence.
St Matthew’s Church was erected in 1866, and is a stone edifice in the Early Decorated style, with a lofty spire. The living is a perpetual curacy; net value, £300 with residence. Patron, the Bishop of Rochester.
There are Baptist, Congregational, Wesleyan and Primitive Methodist, and Roman Catholic chapels.
Redhill Common was the scene of a skirmish between the Royalists and the Parliamentarians in the Civil Wars of Charles I. In 1882 an extensive public pleasure ground was laid out on the Common.
An asylum for idiots stands at Earlswood; it was built in 1856 at a cost of more than £30,000, and is a handsome edifice in the Tudor style. It was extended in 1869.
The Philanthropic Society’s Farm School, for the reformation of criminal boys, stands about three-quarters of a mile from the railway station, was founded in 1849 by the late Prince Consort, and includes a tasteful chapel and several neat extensions.
The Reigate Workhouse stands also at Earlswood.
The schools of the Royal Asylum of St Anne’s Society were built in 1884 on a site of 20 acres adjoining Redhill Junction, and have accommodation for about 500 children.
High Trees, formerly the seat of the Waterlow family, is the chief residence, and stands in a beautiful park.
Source: The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England and Wales 1895 by Brabner, John Henry Fryden
Parish Records
FamilySearch
Maps
OS Grid Reference: TQ2755050545 (all-numeric format: 527550 150546)