St Thomas of Canterbury, East Clandon

East Clandon has a homely little church, clearly well cared for by its congregation.

The Victoria County History records the nave as dating back to c. 1100, although the windows were renewed in the Perpendicular style in the 15th century. The chancel dates to around 1220, with the unusual feature of twin lancets at the east end, rather than the usual three. The communion rails date from the late 1600s.

The small aisle is entered through a single arch, although it ends at the west end in a pillar rather than the usual respond, indicating either that there was another bay or that one was intended. The aisle itself was rebuilt in the 1900s, and contains the tomb-chest of Stuart, Lord Rendel (1834-1913), beneath a mock-Jacobean ceiling. Rendel was an industrialist, Liberal politican and an early benefactor to the University of Wales.

In the wooden bell turret, one of the three bells dates from 1500, a happy pre-Reformation survivor.

St Thomas of Canterbury, East Clandon, The Street, East Clandon, Surrey, GU4 7RY

Old St Peter & St Paul, Albury

Albury boasts four churches: the original Saxon church of St Peter and Paul; the Victorian replacement (in the re-sited village) of the same dedication; a 19th century church north of Albury Park, erected by Henry Drummond in 1840 to house the Catholic Apostolic Church (of which he was an enthusiastic convert and advocate); and a modern 'Church in Barn'. The Saxon church, splendidly isolated in Albury Park, is now redundant and in the care of the Church Conservation Trust, although occasional services are still held here.

The north wall and tower base are Saxon, but the nave is mostly Norman work, with a 13th century chancel and south transept, and a large 14th century aisle of 3 bays. The tower is topped by a jolly 18th century cupola with wooden shingles.

Stripped of its pews and furnishings, the interior is atmospheric but bare, save for a late 14th century wall painting of a wonderfully bearded St Christopher and the fantastical, deeply coloured decoration of the south transept, designed by Pugin in 1839, as a setting for Drummond's memorial. Simpler is the brass to John Weston (d. 1440) on the south transept floor.

St Peter and St Paul Old Church, Albury Park, Surrey, GU5 9BB

Albury, Guildford, Surrey, GU5 9BB

Albury, Guildford, Surrey, GU5 9BB

All Saints, Ockham

Ockham is chiefly famous for William of Ockham (c. 1287-1347), the philosopher whose maxim that hypotheses must be reduced to their constituent parts, is known as "Ockham's Razor". The other razor is the church's magnificent 13th century 7-stepped lancet window, one of only two in England.

The church sits away from the main road, and dates back to the around 1220. In fact the famous window (dated to around 1250) is framed by the remains of a slightly earlier 3-light window and a later Tudor one, giving rise to the theory that the present window was rescued from nearby Newark Priory at the Dissolution and inserted here in the 16th century. Either way, the window, with its internal array of shafts with stiff-leaf capitals, is a magnificent composition. The nave and chancel windows were renewed around 1350, and the tower erected around 1400. The ceiling was renewed in Tudor times.

As well as the famous window, the church has some notable monuments, including a small collection of brasses, the best of which commemorates John (d. 1483) and Margaret (d. 1475) Weston. In the King Chapel is the vast and magnificent monument by the celebrated sculptor Rysbrach to Peter King, 1st Baron King of Ockham, who was Lord Chancellor 1725-33.

The church has an extensive collection of mediaeval glass, some of it original, from the 14th century onwards, and some 18th century Flemish armorial brass.

All Saints Church: Ockham Road North, Ockham, GU23 6NL

St Cadoc's, Cadoxton, Barry

St Cadoc's is a pretty little church and a surprising discovery, in what is now effectively a suburb of Barry. It nestles in a little green enclave in the midst of Victorian terraces and modern estates.

The origins of the church are obscure, and made harder to read because of a very thorough rebuilding in 1885. It is said to have been founded by Cadoc himself (who lived in the 5th-6th centuries), but another version suggests a founding in 800AD. Either way, the present structure is based on a later Norman stone-built church, and a couple of round-headed windows (one rest by the Victorians in the nave and one in the tower) suggest a 12th century rebuilding.

The tower, porch and chancel are largely 15th century, but the nave is largely Victorian. The nave has the remains of a 15th century rood loft staircase, as well as mediaeval water stoups and font. The aisle-less interior has a countrified feel, enhanced by the pretty 17th century altar railings.

During the Victorian renovations, fragmentary remains of wall paintings were discovered, as well as a Lord's Prayer and Ten Commandments, presumably dating from the 16th-17th centuries. The church has regular services in the Anglo-Catholic tradition.

Coldbrook Road West, Cadoxton, Barry CF63 1 LF

St Mary, Brownsea Island

St Mary's is a picture-postcard church on the island of Brownsea in Poole Harbour, famed for being the site where the Scouting movement started and for its red squirrel colony.

For a Victorian church, it has had a complex history. It was built in 1853 by Colonel Waugh, one of a series of owners during the 19th century. A retired Colonel from India, he tried to establish a porcelain industry on the island, but the clay turned out to be suitable only for heavy earthenware such as pipes and tiles, and the business venture failed. One of the later owners was the Dutch tobacco magnate Charles van Raalte, who was buried in a fine mausoleum in the church, and whose wife established an early daffodil industry on the island.

The church fell into disrepair under the subsequent owner, Mary Bonham-Christie, who lived as a recluse and expelled most of the population from the island on its purchase in 1925. On her death in 1961, the island was made over to the National Trust in lieu of death duties. The church, along with the rest of island, was restored, although it is the only building on the island not in National Trust ownership.

The church is in the Decorated Gothic style and consist of an aisleless nave, chancel, porch, tower, mausoleum and vestry. The church has neither water nor electricity, and its chief interest lies in it being almost unaltered, and for containing a range of interesting imported furnishings. These include extensive 16th century linenfold panelling brought from Crosby Hall in London, a grand 17th century imported fireplace under the tower with carved figures and a canopy, further 17th century panels on the nave walls, and a carved marble effigy of Charles van Raalte in the mausoleum.

The church has regular services in the summer months, attendance varying according to the number of visitors on the island (during scout camps there can be hundreds).

Brownsea Island, Poole Harbour, BH13 7EE

Lady St Mary, Wareham

St Martin's-on-the-Wall, Wareham