Horley

Horley is a town in Surrey, England, situated south of the twin towns of Reigate and Redhill, and north of Gatwick Airport and Crawley. With fast links by train round-the-clock to London from Horley railway station, it is a commuter town.

History
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. The Manor passed to Henry VIII on the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539 and changed hands several times during the next sixty years.

To the south-east is the overgrown but well-preserved site of Thunderfield Castle, a twelfth-century ring 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.

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.



In 1908 the first scout patrol, the pewit patrol, was established. After gaining members this patrol formed 1st Horley scout group which them merged with 2nd Horley in 2006.

The Horley Master Plan, which was approved by Reigate & Banstead Borough Council in February 2005, will see almost 2,600 new homes built. This has caused much controversy as the area as with most of non-metropolitan Surrey, i.e. since its reduction in 1974, is green-belt and any development had to be in pursuant to such a local plan, sustainable, and various requirements protecting character of existing localities.

Economy
At one time the airline Dan-Air had its head office in the Newman House in Horley. At times in history, British Caledonian, British United Airways, and Laker Airways had their head offices on the property of Gatwick Airport in Crawley, West Sussex, near Horley.

Horley was 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.

Horley is the present home of Scotia Gas Networks.

Today, about a third of the population work locally, while another third commute south to Gatwick and Crawley, and the final third travel farther to London, Redhill and Reigate.

Education
Horley has one secondary school (Oakwood School), one primary school (Manorfield), two junior schools (Yattendon and Meath Green Junior), and three infant schools (Langshott, 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.

Politics
The town is within the East Surrey constituency, currently represented by the MP Sam Gyimah.

Horley is part of the Borough of Reigate and Banstead, but also has a town council. The Town Mayor and Chairman of the Town Council in July 2013 is Councillor Richard Olliver. Horley (along with Charlwood) was moved into West Sussex with Gatwick Airport by the Local Government Act 1972. Due to public opposition to these the changes, they were returned to Surrey in the Charlwood and Horley Act 1974, although the Airport and Lowfield Heath stayed in West Sussex.

Sports
Horley is the home town of Horley Town F.C. established in 1898. It also has a cricket club, a hockey club, a tennis club, a bowls club and a newly formed rugby club.

Culture and the arts
Horley is home to the Archway Theatre. Located under the arches of the Victoria Road railway bridge, the theatre 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.

Transport
Horley is served by Metrobus bus routes connecting with Redhill, Three Bridges, Crawley, East Grinstead, Caterham and Gatwick Airport, as well as the outlying villages of Charlwood and Smallfield.

Horley railway station is served by Southern on the Brighton Main Line.

Notable locals

 * Judi Dench lives nearby in Outwood, Surrey and is a patron of the Archway Theatre
 * Jack Fairman was from Horley and has a local pub named after him
 * Lol Tolhurst is a former member of The Cure who lived in the town
 * Faye White the former captain of England Women's Football team was brought up in, and went to school in the town

Surrounding areas
Villages buffered from Horley are: