Reigate Removals

Early Days

The first trace of life in the area was discovered by a pupil from Reigate Grammar School who uncovered a flint axe on Reigate Heath dating back to the Neolithic period (4000 2200 BC). The next known settlers were the Romans who brought their fancy ways, straight roads and hygiene to this formerly marshy area of Surrey. Evidence of a Roman tile kiln have been found which probably supplied what is believed to have been a grand Roman villa to the South West of the town centre.

After he took the throne, William the Conqueror set about laying roots all across the area of Southern England, Reigate remained the property of Edith of Wessex, the widow of Edward the Confessor whose death had brought about the Battle of Hastings and the arrival of England’s new Norman ruling class. Around 1088 William gave several manors to William de Warenne, who was also made Earl of Surrey, and built a number of castles including one in Reigate.

12^th-15^th Century

Like many towns, the name went through a number of spelling changes (you couldn’t simply Google it back then), it first appeared in the 1190s, later records collated it as Reigata (1170), Regate (1203), Raygate (1235), Rigate (1344) and Reighgate (1604). Through the Medieval Age Reigate had been an agricultural community and was granted a charter for a weekly market in 1270 that continued right through until 1895.

14^th Century

In the 1300s Reigate Priory was formed by the order of St Augustine, after he dissolved the monasteries in 1535 Henry VIII gifted the priory to William Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Effingham, the uncle of Catherine Howard (no attempt to curry favour there clearly!). One of his heirs, Thomas Howard was embroiled in a plot to assassinate Elizabeth I, he was executed and his land forfeited. When Charles II took the throne following his father’s own unfortunate meeting with the executioner, he restored the family’s land and title in a bid to gain support with noble allies.

17^th Century

Reigate Grammar was founded by local man in 1675 after he left £1,000 in his Will to “educate the poor boys of Reigate”. Notable alumni to have been educated there include; Romesh Raganathan, Sir Keir Starmer, Norman Cook (aka Fatboy Slim), Ben Mee, Vice Admiral Sir Geoffrey Dalton KCB, Bill Frindall MBE, Trevor Kavanagh, Ray Mears and David Walliams OBE.

18^th Century

Another Howard came along at the time of the Spanish Armada, Admiral Charles Howard, through his connections Reigate began to produce oatmeal for the Royal Navy (allowing the Howards to increase their wealth and power in the area). This meant transport and in 1755 the Reigate Turnpike was opened to connect Brighton and London. While Reigate gained the road to help increase trade it actually had the opposite effect as goods simply passed through the area and the town fell into decline. Those meddling Howards!!

The town was one of many training bases during both world wars and took in over 5,000 refugees from London. The caves beneath Reigate Castle were used as air raid shelters and Reigate eventually became the South Eastern Command of the British Army.

Modern Day

Today the Romans, Normans, regicide plotters and high-ranking army officers are all long gone. What is left is a charming, much sought after town in a delightful, commuter friendly area of Surrey, it’s no wonder so many are looking for Reigate removals.

Reigate Removals Company
Whether you are moving to or from Reigate, or beyond, we pride ourselves on making the experience as hassle-free and streamlined as possible. With over 160 years of experience as a leading UK removal company, our personable, expert removals team will take the stress out of moving home or office.

The benefit of ‘staying local’ when booking Reigate removals…

• Employing a local removals company in Reigate means we spend less travelling time to your residence.
• Unrivalled geographical knowledge of Reigate & the surrounding areas.
• We know the traffic flow, best times of day to move and where to park.
• We offer overnight storage (or for as long as you require) at our nearby Hampshire-based storage facilities.
• Our size allows us to be more competitive than many other local removal companies across Hampshire, Surrey & Berkshire
• Free removal estimates and removals advice before, during and after your move!
• We employ local people doing local work

Secure Household Storage in Reigate
Are you a homeowner requiring long or short term household storage for furniture and personal effects for which you no longer have room? Do you need secure flexible household storage at short notice, with the minimum of fuss?

With our multiple, large, secure purpose-built Hampshire storage facilities located in Aldershot, Farnborough and Petersfield, we can cater for all your storage needs. We can also arrange to collect and storage your belongings on your behalf. Please visit our Storage Service for further details.

Why use Over’s for your storage needs?

• Our household & commercial storage prices are cheaper than most other storage facilities in Hampshire and Surrey
• Flexible storage – we can even deliver, collect and store your belongings for you
• Friendly staff available on site: our experienced warehouse staff will be on hand to assist customers with packaging, loading and unloading.
• Our facilities incorporate the latest sophisticated fire and security systems

Of course, it’s not just the calibre of our personnel that matters. We are also proud of our modern fleet of specialised removal vehicles, lifting equipment, packaging and dedicated storage facilities to help us best cater to all your storage requirements.