Why visit Horley
Townapedia lists 4 museums and landmarks, 15 parks and trails, 93 places to eat, 21 places to stay and 1 attraction in and around town.
Highlights include Archway Theatre, Wrays, Earlswood Common and Grattons Park.
Weather in Horley
Forecast from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0). Full forecast
About Horley
Horley is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England, south of the towns of Reigate and Redhill. The county border with West Sussex is to the south with Crawley and Gatwick Airport close to the town.
From the Wikipedia article Horley (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photos of Horley
Things to do1
Museums and landmarks4
Parks, trails and playgrounds15
Worth Park Gardens
Park · 3.3 mi
Formal garden, parkland and lake area in Crawley, UK
3 more on the map.
Restaurants and cafes93
Taj Balti House
Restaurant · Indian · 0.4 mi
169 Victoria Road, Horley
Su-Th 17:00-22:00, Fr-Sa 17:00-23:00
Ye Olde Six Bells
Bar and pub · 0.8 mi
Church Road, Horley
Mo-Fr 12:00-23:00; Sa 09:00-23:00; Su 09:00-22:00
Curry Bengal
Restaurant · Indian
25 Station Road, Horley
Tu-Su 12:00-14:30,17:00-23:00; Mo off; PH 12:00-14:30,17:00-23:00
The Shipley Bridge
Bar and pub · Regional, Burger, Chicken · 2.1 mi
Antlands Lane East, Shipley Bridge
Su-Th 11:00-22:00; Fr,Sa 11:00-23:00
81 more on the map.
History
In the past the Weald was a densely forested and water-logged clay area. During Saxon times, the Manor of Horley came under the control of the Benedictine Abbey of St Peter at Chertsey. In the Domesday Book of 1086, the Manor was within the hundred known as Cherchefelle which in 1199 became known as Reigate. The Manor passed to Henry VIII on the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539 and changed hands several times during the next sixty years.
About 1 mile (1.6 km) to the east is the overgrown but well-preserved site of Thunderfield Castle, a twelfth-century motte and bailey castle.
In 1602 it became the property of Christ's Hospital in London and the original map of the manor is now held at the Guildhall in the City of London. This shows that Horley consisted of three hamlets around a huge open common. One was around the area occupied by St Bartholomew's Church and the Six Bells public house; another by the River Mole and the third in Horley Row where some of Horley's oldest buildings can still be seen.
Read more of the history
The Common was enclosed in 1816, new roads were laid and the intervening land was sold. In 1809 and later in 1816, two turnpikes were introduced to allow the operation of regular coach services from London to Brighton. The railway was laid in 1841 and a station was built in the town. From that position, and from that date, Horley grew at a slow rate until 1950. Since then its population has doubled as it became a dormitory town for London commuters.
From 1904 until 1909 the Horley Motor & Engineering Co. manufactured cars and vans at their premises on Balcombe road. These were reportedly sold as Horley and No Name.
In 1908 the first scout patrol, the Pewit Patrol, was established. After gaining members this patrol formed the 1st Horley Scout Group. In 2006 1st Horley merged with 2nd Horley due to a lack of leaders. Notably Robert Baden-Powell was briefly a resident of Horley. When he left for Kenya in 1938 he gifted a Malayan basket and autographed photograph of himself to the Scouts Horley District.
The Local Government Act 1972 changed the boundary of Surrey and West Sussex and placed Horley, Gatwick and Charlwood in West Sussex. The removal of Gatwick Airport and the surrounding area from Surrey into West Sussex met some fierce local opposition with the result that the parishes of Horley and Charlwood were subsequently returned to Surrey in the eponymous Charlwood and Horley Act 1974, leaving the airport to stay in West Sussex.
The Horley Master Plan, approved by Reigate & Banstead Borough Council in February 2005, permits almost 2,600 new homes to be built. This prompted immediate controversy as the area as with most of non-metropolitan Surrey, i.e. since its reduction in 1974, is Metropolitan Green Belt however is permitted where in pursuance with the local plan, and meeting national criteria including demonstrating environmental sustainability and upholding the character of existing localities.
From the History section of Horley on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
More about Horley
Geography
Horley is at an altitude of around 54 m (177 ft) above mean sea level.
Salfords in the civil parish of Salfords and Sidlow, on the road to Redhill, is to the north and Gatwick Airport is between Horley and Crawley to the south. The village of Charlwood is to the west and Smallfield is to the east across the M23 Motorway.
Economy
At one time the airline Dan-Air had its head office in the now demolished Newman House in Horley.
From 1947 until 1955, Horley was home to the Wade Engineering Ltd, who made Wade superchargers. Horley was also home to the Matbro works which produced forklift trucks from the 1950s to the 1980s and pioneered telescopic handlers. The bright yellow Teleram 40 and Teleram C machines were very popular with farmers and construction companies.
Today, about a third of the population work locally, while another third commute south to Gatwick and Crawley, and the final third travel further to London, Redhill and Reigate.
Arts and culture
Horley is home to the Archway Theatre under the arches of the Victoria Road railway bridge. It consists of a bar, auditorium, studio theatre and rehearsal rooms. The main auditorium seats 95 and the studio seats 40. The company presents 10 full productions each year as well as a number of studio events and youth productions.
Education
Horley has one secondary school (Oakwood School), three primary schools (Manorfield, Trinity Oaks and Langshott), two junior schools (Yattendon and Meath Green Junior), and two infant schools (Meath Green Infants and Horley Infants). There is currently no sixth form provision, so most students go to Redhill, Crawley or Reigate (e.g. East Surrey College and Reigate College) to continue their studies.
All the local schools are part of the Horley Learning Partnership, a local educational confederation which enables schools to develop a range of shared services. It also runs the Horley SureStart centre.
From the Wikipedia article Horley, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Notable people from Horley
Faye WhiteEnglish association football player (born 1978)Photo: The original uploader was Wufong at..., CC BY-SA 2.5
Lol TolhurstBritish drummer and keyboardistPhoto: Tolhurst1, CC BY-SA 4.0- Jack FairmanBritish racing driver
- Robert EmmsBritish actor
- Dick MorrisseyBritish jazz musician (1940–2000)
- Teddy BateupFootballer (1881-1939)
- Allan Jonescricketer (born 1947)
Born in Horley, according to Wikidata (CC0). Each name links to its Wikipedia article.
Where to stay21
Churches and places of worship17
Shopping18
Gas and EV charging15
Schools, colleges and libraries13
Healthcare8
Map of Horley
205 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
Getting there and nearby towns
London Gatwick Airport (LGW) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 2 miles away.
- Crawley 4 mi south, about 7 min by car
- Reigate 5 mi northwest, about 8 min by car
- Oxted 9 mi northeast, about 14 min by car
- Kenley 11 mi north, about 17 min by car
- Sutton 12 mi north, about 20 min by car
- Sanderstead 12 mi north, about 19 min by car
- Wallington 13 mi north, about 21 min by car
- Croydon 15 mi north, about 24 min by car
- Worcester Park 15 mi north, about 24 min by car
- West Wickham 15 mi northeast, about 24 min by car
Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.
Towns near Horley
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Keep exploring
Local news
Headlines from INDB.
Reviews, tips and questions
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Sources and licences
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, coordinates, regions and time zone
- Mapillary (see each image): photos
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): places, airports, map data
- Wikidata (CC0 1.0): elevation, founding date, time zone, website, landmarks and historic places
- Wikimedia Commons (see each image): photos
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
Photo credits
- Grattons Park (7), Dudley Miles, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Former Providence Chapel, Chapel Road, Charlwood (NHLE Code 1277978), The Voice of Hassocks, CC0
- St John the Evangelist's Church, Woodlands Road, Redhill (NHLE Code 1029141) (September 2012), The Voice of Hassocks, CC0
- St. Michael's, Lowfield Heath (26090195976), grassrootsgroundswell, CC BY 2.0
- St Bartholomew's Church, Church Road, Horley (NHLE Code 1378035) (May 2012), The Voice of Hassocks, CC0
- Horley Library, Arriva436, CC BY 3.0
- St Wilfrid's Church, Horley Row, Meath Green, Horley (August 2016) (3), Hassocks5489, CC0
- St Francis' Church, Balcombe Road, Horley (August 2016) (3), Hassocks5489, CC0
- Img089 MauriceCarpenterMickeyDunnRRA, Hastingsccarchive, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Archway Theatre Horley, Head-it-behind, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Earlswood Common - May 2011 - Great Crested Grebe, Gareth Williams, CC BY 2.0
- Street-level photo, gmc, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, gmc, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, RyanBush, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, laye, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, laye, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, southglos, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, southglos, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, gmc, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, southglos, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, southglos, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, southglos, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, smoe, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, southglos, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, laye, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, southglos, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, smoe, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, southglos, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, gmc, CC BY-SA 4.0
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