St. George's Church, Esher
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St. George’s Church, Esher is an Anglican church in Esher, Surrey, England. Built in the 16th century, it was the town’s parish church for 300 years, and worshippers included local people and the rich and famous, including a young Queen Victoria. However, by the mid-19th century it was deemed too small for the growing population, and was replaced by Christ Church, built nearby on Esher Green in 1853/4. St. George’s was not therefore subjected to Victorian ‘improvements’, and its Tudor origins remain evident. It is now cared for by the Churches Conservation Trust.
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[edit] History
The church was built in about 1540, a rare example of an English church built during the Reformation. Esher is mentioned in the Domesday Book, but there is no mention of a church then (11th century); the first record of a patron and rector appears in 1292, but little remains of any previous building, except a doorway on the south side of the nave and the priest’s door (now walled in) on the north side of the chancel, both probably 15th century.
The present building is mostly 16th century therefore, with additions between 1724 and 1842. In 1725–26 the south transept was added to house a remarkable family pew built to Vanbrugh’s design for the Duke of Newcastle, who then owned Claremont, and therefore worshipped at St. George’s.
There are historical connections between the church and several residents of Claremont, the country house just outside Esher, all of whom would have worshipped at St. George’s at some time. These include Princess Charlotte, daughter of George IV and heir to the throne, who died there (had she lived, she would have become Queen of the United Kingdom); her husband Leopold, first King of the Belgians; his niece the young Princess Victoria, her youngest son Leopold, and Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone.
After Christ Church was built, St. George’s fell into some disrepair, but it was later restored by the community in 1965, and, having avoided the customary Victorian improvements, remains an unspoilt church with largely Georgian furnishings.
[edit] Features
The church is built of a jumbled assortment of chequered sandstone, clunch, undressed flint and brick, roofed with both stone and clay tiles, with a small timber (oak) bell-cote with pyramid spire. The various additions over the years are clearly visible outside, with several styles of building evident. The brick building added to the south side, with a slate roof and its own entrance, is the Newcastle pew, the brick addition to the north, with castellated gables, is the north aisle.
Inside, there is the original Tudor open roof, with tie and collar beams. Interesting interior features are the Newcastle family pew itself with four fluted Corinthian white piers in front, surmounted by a pediment of pine; the 18th century three-decker pulpit and reredos of 1722 with fine carving; two balconies (no longer in use); hatchments; and a memorial to Princess Charlotte by F J Williamson.
There are a variety of other memorials in and around the church, although a monument to Sir Richard Drake, a relation of Sir Francis Drake, has been moved to the south wall of Christ Church.
[edit] St. George’s today
St. George’s remains a consecrated building, now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust and supported locally by the Friends of St. George’s Church.
As the parish activities are based at Christ Church, St. George’s is not open every day, but several services are held each year. It can also be visited on Saturday mornings during the summer, and is a periodic venue for music and the arts.
[edit] References
- Blatch, Mervyn, (1997). The Churches of Surrey Phillimore ISBN 1-86077-002-9
[edit] External links
- The Churches Conservation Trust website – see page on St. George’s via their Church Gazeteer
