Reffell’s service station opened in 1934 and was in a small service area built next to what is now the southbound carriageway of the A3, by the crossroads serving Onslow which was built around the same time.
Cars were maintained and sold. In 1937 the following cars were being advertised in the Surrey Advertiser; 1929 Riley Saloon £22 10s, 1934 14hp Vauxhall Saloon £70, 1933 Cowley Saloon £45. The following year a 1935 10hp Ford Saloon was on offer at £43.
In 1937 it had a telephone number of Guildford 1995 which had become Guildford 41995 by 1946. In 1955 cars were also available for hire at daily, weekly and monthly rates.
The famous motor racer Mike Hawthorn was killed in the vicinity of the service station on 22 January 1950, after only two months since retiring as world champion. At that time the by-pass was a single carriage way with bollards down the centre of the road. Reports at that time locally called it the Coombs service station as it was being run by John Coombs, the racing driver.
Reffell’s Service Station Limited was formally wound up at a meeting on 3 March 1966 when William Henry Hudson was appointed Liquidator. At that time Alan Herbert Reffell was chairman of the company.
By the 1980s, the A31 and A3 traffic levels had increased considerably and the garage was being run by BP. By modern standards the service area was small and had a dangerous entrance, and by 2007 it had closed.