St John the Baptist, Busbridge

St John the Baptist (also known as Busbridge Church) sits in the village of Busbridge, up the hill from Godalming. The church has associations with Gertrude Jekyll and has some notable arts & crafts fittings. 

The church itself was built in 1865-67 to designs by Sir George Gilbert Scott, and consists of an unaisled nave and chancel, and an attractive central shingled bell tower, supported by an impressive pair of queen-post roof trusses inside. It is most notable for its fittings, which include east and west windows by Burne-Jones (executed by Morris & Co), and a remarkable chancel screen by Edwin Lutyens. This is a lovely, delicate work, suspended from the top of the arch, with Christ in Majesty at the centre of a tree, and angels beneath forming the roots. Lutyens also designed the tomb in the graveyard for the renowned horticulturalist Gertrude Jekyll (1843-1932), who is buried alongside her brother Herbert  Jekyll and his wife Agnes.

The church is the centre of a busy parish life with nearby Hambledon, with a mixture of traditional and contemporary worship (including youth-led services). 

St John the Baptist (Busbridge Church), Brighton Road, Godalming GU7 1XA

St Nicolas, Guildford

St Nicolas sits at the western end of Guildford, just across the old town bridge from the centre. Observed from the High Street, it forms a pleasing vista: up close, and the appalling town planning of the area between the High Street and the railway station becomes apparent. St Nicolas ought to have a lovely spot between a pub and the river. Instead, the area is dominated by the car park, inner ring roas and a clutch of grim office buildings.

The best antidote to this is to enter the church. A mediaeval foundation, it was first rebuilt in 1837 by Robert Ebbels to a neo-Gothick design, incorporating the mediaeval tower. Of poor quality, this was not a success and both tower and church were replaced in 1875 by the present 13th-Century design by Samuel Sanders Teulon (1812-1873) and executed by Ewan Christian (1814-1895). Only the 15th Century Loseley Chapel on the south side survived from the mediaeval church. 

Teulon's design consists of an aisled nave, transepts and a short apse, with a central tower. One of the aisles has an odd traversal vault, but otherwise the design is simple and pleasing, a feeling emphasised by the whitewashed walls, with the ceiling panels picked out in red. In stark contrast, the highly decorated west wall is by Joseph Aloysius Pippet of Howard & Hardman. This forms a backdrop to the church's main fitting, the elaborate marble font with its towering Victorian High-Gothic cover, designed by Thomas Woodyer (left). The stained glass and other mosaics are by Clayton & Bell.

The separate Loseley Chapel - entered from the adjoining church centre - contains the tomb of Arnold Brocas (d. 1395), whose defaced but still impressive effigy lies under an elaborate canopy of three cinquefoiled arches. Brocas was both rector here, a canon of Lincoln and Wells, and Clerk of the King's works at the Palace of Westminster. Adjacent is the equally impressive memorial to Sir William (d. 1600) and Margaret More. Their life-size alabaster effigies are surrounded by Corinthian columns and cherubs, the whole edifice further flanked by matching memorials with kneeling effigies of their son (Sir George More) and wife and 2 daughters.

The church has a weekly mass and hosts regular concerts, a 'Cafe Play' baby & toddler group and a Friday morning coffee shop.

St Nicolas, Bury St, Guildford GU2 4AW

Holy Trinity, Guildford

St Mary, Guildford

St Matthew, Wimbledon

St Matthew's sits on the quiet corner of a leafy, suburban road, a short walk from Raynes Park station - a location which belies both its challenging past, and its testimony to a determined congregation.

The church originated in an Anglo-Catholic congregation that started worshipping in Cottenham Park school in 1880. The growing congregation had something of a nomadic existence, moving first to a small rented hall, then a kit-built "iron church", before the need for a permanent home was recognised in the construction of a substantial brick basilica-style church to designs by Ernest Shearman (1859-1939).

Construction began in 1909 and the church was completed in 1927. Photographs show a rather eccentric neo-Gothic design, with two spindly bell turrets, a large rose window resembling a Celtic Cross and, inside, a large apse with ambulatory. It was not to last: in June 1944, the main body of the church was almost completely destroyed by a flying bomb, leaving only the north wall and apse standing. The congregation once again endured a nomadic existence, worshipping successively in nearby Christ Church, once more in Cottenham Park school, and finally in Raynes Park Methodist Church. 

Work on a replacement church began in 1957 to designs by Sebastian Comper (son of Sir Ninian Comper). Dedicated in 1958,  Comper's spare neo-Gothic includes an extraordinarily wide, aisled nave, lit by generous clerestory windows, a polygonal apse, and a large rose window in the west wall. The immediate impression on entering is one of spaciousness beneath a series of huge, red-painted roof trusses.

The church is now part of the Wimbledon team ministry, and the centre of a busy parish life, with close links to the local primary school. The worship is faithful to its Anglo-Catholic roots: the website proudly proclaims it to be "traditional - in a modern kind of way; liberal - in an orthodox kind of way".

St Matthews, Durham Road, West Wimbledon SW20 0DE

St Peter & St Paul, Kedington

Cathedral Church of St James & St Edmund, Bury St Edmunds

 

St Edmund, Caistor St Edmund

St Nicholas, East Dereham

All Saints, Marsham

St Mary the Virgin, Burgh-next-Aylsham

St Andrew, Blickling

 

St Nicholas, Great Yarmouth