Redhill and the Railways
Surrey, Terroir’s home county, has plenty to offer when obedience to Tier 2 rules and foul weather makes ‘further afield’ a difficult place to visit. As one of London’s Home Counties, Surrey’s history is worthy of a blog in its own right and I will return to that another day. This week, however, I wanted to write about a single Surrey town – somewhere I could reach easily in a pandemic. The transport hub of Redhill, in the east of Surrey, certainly falls into this category.
Redhill is a Victorian railway town. I would argue that it is the least typical of what many associate with a ‘Surrey style’, whether in terms of architecture, townscape or reputation. Redhill lives under the shadow of the older, prettier and much sought after town of Reigate, and to which it is now joined at the hip by urban expanson. Some residents of Redhill (postcode RH1) actually aspire to live in a house with an RH2 postcode (Reigate of course) and do make the move across the intangible boundary between the two. Redhill (or Red’ill as its detractors like to call it) is perceived as the poor relation with all sorts of unattractive characteristics. Why is this?
Historically the area was a marshy valley with a few scattered hamlets. When the South Eastern Railway Company scouted for a route from London to Dover (to access the continent, how ironic), they tunnelled through the North Downs and turned sharply left for Dover at ‘Warwick Town’, only later renamed Redhill. Some considerable and confusing railway shenanigans later, local stations were rationalised and the one which is now at the core of Redhill was built and roads adapted to provide a decent infrastructure.
Redhill was also lumbered with the re-routed main highway from London to Brighton, but the town still remains amazingly unrecognised. Conversation goes something like this: Q: ‘Where is Redhill?’ A: ‘On the route from London to Brighton’. Response: ‘Oh’. Not helped by the fact that the later (20C) alternative London to Brighton railway route goes under Redhill in a tunnel.
But:
Redhill has some honest and attractive Victorian and Edwardian architecture. It is amazingly well supplied with green space, based on extensive local commons. It has phenomenal transport infrastructure - railway lines in four directions, a not unreasonable bus service, lies between two M25 junctions and is 20 minutes from a major international airport, while not being under the flight path. Newer (and less attractive) office buildings provide some local employment, and commuting to employment hubs such as London, Croydon and Brighton is pretty good.
So what’s wrong? Why do people flee to Reigate which has a significantly poorer train service and where housing is significantly more expensive. I would suggest that there are a number of factors. Housing density is higher in Redhill than in Reigate and there are fewer larger houses in Redhill. Most houses were built without garages and on street parking has made it very difficult to appreciate the architectural details. Where houses have tiny front gardens, most have been converted into off street parking, removing any vestige of personalised, soft, varied, greenscape or characterful fencing, and making on street parking even more difficult.
Infill has been a huge curse, replacing many a charming run of Victorian/Edwardian terraces or semis with a hotchpotch of styles (including uninteresting and unadorned blocks of flats) shoehorned into tiny plots to maximise housing density, and with no garden space in front, let alone down the sides. Many of the local Victorian and Edwardian ‘big houses’ were also pulled down to make way for much smaller dwellings, or facilities such as the local sports centre, or converted into flats with no individual garden space except a sea of car park tarmac. Modern design, whether residential or more public is also poor or bog standard. The result is that much of Redhill is dominated by cars, is invisible, impersonal, uninspiring, unowned and somewhat unloved.
Oh and the brook, which once flowed through the marsh, has been placed in a culvert through much of the town.
But, if you look carefully, there are some amazing details still in existence. Tile hanging, decorative plaster work, a whole series of cupolas and towers, and remants of the former hamlets. The High Street has been pedestrianised (a saving grace in Covid times) and provided with some excellent (but also some not so excellent) tree planting.
Here is Terroir’s take on some of the quirky and often unnoticed Redhill gems. Please note - this is not an architectural tour of the town but a personal response to some of the more heart warming details.
But to end on a postive note in praise of modern additions.
We have only recently come across this little haven of modern housing, illustrated below tucked peacefully away from through routes. Despite the - albeit very sculptural - defences on the sub station wall, the enclave exudes pride, ownership and relaxation.
The pedestrianisation of the old town centre intersection between the High Street (on the line of the London to Brighton Road) and Station Road has been a godsend to Redhill and permits a lively market on three days a week, attractive sitting areas, shade and a restful escape from the hustle and bustle. The tree planting and seat design is of slightly variable quality but the benefit is enormous. And, someone, somewhere, understands plants, climate change, dry gardens and the local authority need for low maintenance, creating some delightful public realm planting. Winter photographs do not do it justice.
