Horley

Horley Town ~ High Street Tour

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• published: 04 Nov 2015
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High Street Tour of my closest Town. Horley is a town in Surrey on the border of Surrey and West Sussex, England. Horley is a small but busy town of over 20,000 people situated almost half way between London and Brighton on the south coast. It is mainly residential and sits astride both the main line railway and the A23 main road, between the two locations, close by London Gatwick Airport. With fast links by train round-the-clock to London. In the past the Weald was a densely forested and marshy 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. The stone building with the ghost sign (Auctioneers Baker &) was a Technical Institute around 1904 but was previously a bank and later became the Public Library. Baker & Baker were two brothers. Baker, Arthur. Born Sussex c 1865. Lived in Massetts Road 1901. "Mr. Arthur Baker of the firm Baker and Baker is the exact counterpart of his brother who overlooks him. It is said that brothers in business seldom agree. This cannot be said of Baker and Baker, who are as they should be, the support of each other. A considerable time since Mr. Arthur Baker passed through a long illness. The amount of sympathy extended to him on that occasion testified to the deep feeling of respect entertained for him." Horley Advertiser Dec. 22, 1906. Baker, George. George was in partnership with his brother Arthur, (above). They were surveyors and valuers and had an estate office in the store building in the High Street. Later they had their office in the new building on the corner of Massetts Road and Victoria Road (now a Salvation Army charity shop). They also ran the Horley Market in Smallfield Road. Records Held by: Surrey History Centre, not available at The National Archives Date: 1896-1952 Description: Baker & Baker records incl out letter books, cash books, sales ledger and rent collection books. In the County Post for 9th December 1960 it states that the Market buildings are being pulled down to make way for modern buildings (presumably part of today’s Windmill Close) It also said that it originally belonged to Messrs Baker & Baker (auctioneers, surveyors & estate agents then on the corner of Victoria & Massetts Roads) and was opened as a market about 1914. Upon the death of Mr George Baker in 1952 it was purchased by Messrs Wood, Son & Gardner of Crawley who carried on the business until it was finally sold and closed in June 1959. Jennings, Arthur Edward. Arthur Jennings was born in Horley c1849 the third son of Stephen Henry Jennings, below, he established a building business in Massetts Rd. The builder's yard was later taken over by E. E. Mitchell. Arthur was a member of Horley Parish Council. He built Horley Fire Station in Albert Road and most of the houses in Russell Crescent, Ringley Avenue and Massetts Road. Arthur married Susan from Horley, they had a son also Arthur was born Horley c 1881 and he was a carpenter. The footbridge is near the site of former Horley Station. However, despite having no connection with the station, this section was not renamed High Street until almost 60 years later, in 1961. Thanks to all the proprietors who kindly spoke to me & were ok with me videoing them & their premises. & Thanks to Matt for the Inspiration to get out there!...Check out the King of High Street Tours here: High Street Tours https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIbTCe-tum0qBVqVT_4z72A Photo (Looking South Towards Horley Station) © Copyright Ian Capper and licensed for reuse under Creative Commons Licence. Music: "Disquiet" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/