The scene shown is familiar because the Old Town Hall, something we are all used to seeing in Reigate, appears in it.

What is not so familiar are the buildings on the left and the way they protrude into the road.

Of course they did not actually protrude into the road then because the road was only that wide in the 1920s.

The point where modern Church Street joins the junction with Tunnel Road, the Market Place and Bell Street is now twice the width seen here.

Road width apart, what other differences from today's scene can be noticed in the picture?

Its quality is not the best but with a magnifying glass on the original image it can be seen that there is a policeman directing the traffic so traffic lights had not yet been installed.

On the left there is a road sign in the form of a circle. The sign immediately beneath it says 10 miles presumably the speed limit then in force.

Slightly further along the pavement is a shop called Pratt's and it has a gas lamp over it, whereas the old gas street lamp on the right has been converted to electricity.

In this picture we have the familiar mixed with the unfamiliar. If only we could go back for a stroll through the 1920s streets to see what other unfamiliar sights we could find.

No doubt there would be a great many and we would realise just how much Reigate has changed.

- Article and picture courtesy of Alan Moore, author of A History of Redhill volumes 1 and 2, www.redhill-reigate-history.co.uk.