St John the Baptist, Old Malden

After Woking, here's another mediaeval church which provides a charming enclave among sprawling suburbs, this time in south-west London.

St John's origins date back to the Saxon period, although archaeology has confirmed that the site has been occupied continuously since the Iron Age. In mediaeval times, the manors of Malden and nearby Chessington were acquired by one Walter of Merton. A prominent courtier to Henry III, he became Chancellor of all England in 1261, founding and endowing Merton College, Oxford. After navigating the turbulent Baronial rebellion of Simon de Montfort and subsequent restoration, he eventually became Bishop of Rochester.

The church itself had a less happy fate in the Tudor period, for - despite the resistance of the College - it was acquired by Elizabeth I and then given the manor to the Earl of Arundel in exchange for the Palace at Nonsuch. Arundel sub-let the manor, resulting in the neglect of the church to the extent that, by the time College regained possession in 1627, it had needed complete rebuilding. This was funded largely through the efforts of the then Bishop of London (who had been born in Malden) and completed by one John Goode, then Lord of the Manor, in 1611.

For us, this complex history means that we have, happily, a largely intact, early 16th Century church, comprising a tower (with porch under), nave and chancel. This is mostly of brick, but earlier flintwork from the mediaeval church survives  and is clearly identifiable outside. This includes what may have been a Saxon doorway. The memorial to John Goode (d. 1627) records his work on rebuilding the church, and the adjacent south window contains heraldic Jacobean glass, including the arms of the diocese of Rochester impaled with those of de Merton.

The Victorians extended the church to the north in 1866 by firstly adding an aisle and then, in 1875, a new nave and chancel, relegating the earlier church to a south aisle and chapel. This is sympathetic to the original and decent in its own right, with a good chancel screen, a brilliantly painted chancel roof and rather low but wide pulpit, with carved Italian marble panels. A new northern 'transept' added in 2004 and provides a meeting room and kitchen.

The church proclaims an open and inclusive welcome to all alongside traditional eucharistic worship, as part of a busy parish life with groups for children, mothers & toddlers, a Mothers' Union and men's group.

St John the Baptist, Church Rd, Worcester Park KT4 7RY