Church of St Nicholas, Charlwood facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Church of St Nicholas, Charlwood |
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St Nicholas, Charlwood
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 Church of St Nicholas, Charlwood
Location in Surrey
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| 51°09′21″N 0°13′39″W / 51.1558°N 0.2276°W | |
| Location | The Street, Charlwood, Surrey, RH6 0EE |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Website | St Nicholas Church |
| History | |
| Status | Grade I listed |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | William Burges |
| Style | Norman |
| Years built | 11th to 15th centuries |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Charlwood |
| Diocese | Diocese of Southwark |
The Church of St Nicholas, Charlwood is a very old church in Charlwood, Surrey, England. It has parts that are over 900 years old! The church is a Grade I listed building, which means it's a really important historic place.
Contents
History of the Church Building
The oldest parts of St Nicholas's Church, like its tower and a section called the nave (the main part where people sit), were built around the year 1080. Imagine, that's almost a thousand years ago! More parts were added later, around 1280 and in the 1400s.
A famous architect named William Burges helped to fix up the church between 1857 and 1867. During this work, some amazing wall paintings from the 1200s were found. Burges helped to clean and protect them.
What's Inside?
The church has many old and interesting features. You can see detailed carvings and old furniture. The pulpit (where the priest gives sermons) is from the Tudor period. The font (where baptisms happen) is even older, from before the Victorian era.
In one of the windows, there are tiny pieces of very old stained glass. You can see a bit of a saint's figure and other small designs. There's also a beautiful screen with the initials and coat of arms of Richard Sander, who died in 1480. This screen was once around his special chantry chapel, a small area for prayers.
The church also has a room for the choir and clergy, and a newer room called the Nicholas Room for church activities.
The Church Grounds
The church has a graveyard all around it. Nearby, there's a path leading to the church, which is a stone walkway. The entrance gate, called a lychgate, is also very old and important. Both the path and the lychgate are listed as Grade II historic buildings.
Records of baptisms, marriages, and deaths at the church go all the way back to 1595!
The Parish of Charlwood
The Church of St Nicholas is the main church for the parish of Charlwood. A parish is like a local area that a church serves. This area is close to the town of Horley.
Who Looked After the Church?
For many centuries, different groups and families were in charge of choosing the priest for the church. For a long time, from the 1200s to the 1500s, the monks from Canterbury Cathedral had this right.
Later, after King Henry VIII changed things with the church, the right to choose the priest moved to different important families. One family, the Lechfords, owned this right for a while. Then it passed to the Sander family.
During the English Civil War in the 1600s, there were some disagreements about who should be the priest. Later, the right to choose the priest passed through several more families, including the Wises, until it eventually came under the care of the local church area, called the diocese.
For a long time, Charlwood church was connected to the Bishop of Canterbury. But over the years, it moved to different areas, and now it's part of the Diocese of Southwark.
Worship and Activities
The Church of St Nicholas is part of the Diocese of Southwark. The church has a modern high church style of worship. This means they focus a lot on music, modern hymns, and using language that everyone can understand, rather than lots of old rituals.
The same priest also looks after another smaller church nearby, called Emmanuel, Sidlow Bridge.
The church has regular services every week, plus lots of activities for young people and families:
- Pre-School Praise: A monthly gathering with worship, crafts, music, and snacks for young children and their parents or carers.
- NicsMix: Monthly activities, music, and learning sessions especially for children.
- Venture Week: An exciting annual week of activities held in the first week of August, for children up to 14 years old.
- Bellringers: If you're interested in ringing church bells, they have practice every week!
See also
- Diocese of Southwark
- List of places of worship in Mole Valley
