St Thomas' Church Chilworth
St Thomas' Church Chilworth, 122 New Road, Chilworth, Guildford, Surrey, GU4 8PU
A chance to view the original reredos which hung above the altar in the sanctuary. Originally intended to be the Greshambury Institute, attached to the nearby Chilworth Paper Mills, worship has taken place here since 1896. St Thomas’ is now a centre of worship for the parish of Chilworth along with the parish church, St Martha-on-the-Hill. According to Nairn & Pevsner (1971) it is a “square plan with tower annexe to the west. Battered corner buttresses, continuous clerestory under big overhanging eaves, pyramid roof with central cupola, itself with battered supports. All brick … it looks more like a fragment of an early Frank Lloyd Wright house than anything else. (The interior is also remarkable: four curved beams, probably laminated, rise from the corners to create a central space astonishingly like churches of the 1960s. NT)”
Over the years the internal decoration has been changed with the natural brick finish of the walls being painted to provide a lighter aspect. In the small sanctuary the original C19th tryptic Arundel Aqua tint depicting the crucifixion originally painted by a C12th Florentine artist was replaced by a large cross in the 1930s.
The attractive garden & grounds surrounding the building is maintained by local volunteers.
Timings & Tours
- Sunday 14 September:
- 12.00 - 4.00pm self-guided tours available
Location & directions
St Thomas' Church Chilworth, 122 New Road, Chilworth, Guildford, Surrey, GU4 8PU
- Directions:
- St Thomas' Church is set in residential New Road next to a relatively new development: St Thomas' Close.
- Contact on day:
- Linda Holden
- Telephone number:
- +447792522421
Booking information
- Pre-booking requirement:
- Pre-booking not required
Accessibility details
On street parking in New Road
Additional information
St Thomas' Church, Chilworth is a prime example of the Arts & Crafts style of architecture. It was built to house the Greshambury Institute for workers at the nearby Gresham Paper Mills (close by site of Chilworth Gunpowder Mills established in 1626) run by the Unwin family. Probably as a result of a fire at the mills, the Institute did not use it and in the year after it was built, 1896, the new building was sold to the Parish of Shalford and became St Thomas’s Church.Seth Smith, commissioned by George Unwin, used the new Arts & Crafts style that broke away from the Victorian Gothic revival.
- Max no of people per tour:
- 10
- Est. tour duration:
- 0 hour(s) 20 minute(s)
