HORLEY LOCAL HISTORY CENTRE

 In 1995 the “Horley Local History Centre” came into being in Horley Library.

 It is manned entirely by volunteers from Horley Local History Society and  has a dedicated section within the Library.

It’s prime purpose is to assist local residents with any queries they may have about a local history subject, family history research or even the history of their house or road.  

Many and varied are the questions we are faced with.  Frequently they add to our knowledge and to our photographic archives. 

 The Centre also maintains a constant and varying photographic exhibition on different subjects that is found to be of great interest to the general public when just visiting the library. Volunteers are always ready to discuss with those who view them which often leads to other local enquiries that were not initially intended.

 This type of activity relieves the full-time library staff of having to deal with such enquiries while at the same time having a facility akin to a semi-professional arm about local history within the library. This in turn can often interest the general public to take up the study of the subject and help to improve the desirability and knowledge of the area.

 There are now several such Local History Centres throughout Surrey. Horley set up the very first in Surrey and won an auspicious award for doing so..

At the Annual General Meeting of Horley Local History Society and Horley Local History Centre on 25th February 2025 it was decided to merge the bank account and affairs of HLHC with those of HLHS and cease to treat HLHC as a seperate entity.  HLHS will continue to staff the Library Desk as required.