The Old Railway Hotel

A Memory of Cranleigh.

The old Railway Hotel previously occupied the adjacent timber-clad building to the south west of the Cranley Hotel before it closed its doors in 1910. It was then converted into 2 dwellings and a laundry in an adjoining barn. It is now 3 dwellings known as 1 (Oaklea), 2 and 3 Laundry Cottages.
Early this century it transferred to the present red-brick building with'Dutch' gables. The name of the Railway Hotel was changed to the more acceptable Cranley Hotel in 1929. The old Railway Hotel is clearly shown on the County Map: Surrey, Scale: 1:2,500 dated 1871, as is a barn alongside the main road on the Common which was, due to the popularity of motor transport by the 1920's, used as a garage by the Hotel. The garage has since been demolished and there is no evidence on this map of any building being on the site of the present Cranley Hotel at that time. Apparently the old Railway Hotel was originally known as 'The Oak' public house and parts of the present building date back to the 17th century(?)

Waverley Borough Council's list of Buildings of Local Merit (BLM) includes 1 (Oaklea), 2 and 3 Laundry Cottages (the old Railway Hotel) and the present Cranley Hotel.