Esher: St George
Diocese of Guildford
CCT Church, 617138
http://www.esherparish.org.uk/Overview
Grid reference: TQ 139 646
Seen, as it usually is, from the west, the church presents a charming humble appearance, with the gable of the nave in the centre which represents the original building and the eighteenth century brick additions on the north and south sides.
Visiting and facilities
Building is closed for worship
Building
Ground Plan Description and Dimensions
Ground plan:
Nave with north aisle, south family pew and small vestry (now the parish office); chancel. Small west bell-cote.
Footprint of Church buildings: 308 m²
Description of Archaeology and History
although the church probably stands on an ancient site (and a thirteenth century font is now in the Vietorian church) , there is nothing visible in the present building earlier than about 1540. To this date belongs the body of the nave and chancel. Particular features are the blocked priest's doorway, the south nave window and the small window hith in the west wall. On 6 August 1724 a Faculty was granted to the Most Hon. Thomas Pelham Holles, Duke of Newcastle, who wished to build a gallery on the south side of the church 25 feet into the churchyard. Permission was given to pull down part of the south wall about sixteen feet in length and about five or six feet above the foundations. This pew was designed by Sir John Vanbrugh. The church was beautified in 1760 at a cost of £32.
Exterior Description
Seen, as it usually is, from the west, the church presents a charming humble appearance, with the gable of the nave in the centre which represents the original building and the eighteenth century brick additions on the north and south sides. The west nave gable has a later doorway under a wooden hood at the foot, with a square window of later insertion above inside a brick surround. Above this again is a tiny light, set off-centre, which serves the clock chamber, and the clock face itself, a square set lozenge-wise, appears in the apex of the gable. At the corners are wedge-shaped buttresses of the same clunch as the walls, with sloping weathering surfaces of brick. The weatherboarded bell-cote with a small pyramidal roof stands a little back from the nave gable.
On the south side there is space for one broad pointed window (now without tracery but with later Georgian glazing) before the vestry is reached, set in the angle between the nave and the Newcastle pew. This has a hipped roof, a doorway at the south-west corner and a window in the south wall.
The Newcastle pew is raised above vaults and is roughly square in plan. It originally had two tall round-headed windows in each side wall, typical of Vanbrugh in their slender proportions. The window closest to the church on each side, however, was blocked at a later date so that fireplaces could be inserted. The south wall is blind and has a projecting porch with a round-headed doorway and a tall parapet which hides the roof and a segmental light over the inner door. The roof of the main block is pyramidal.
East of the pew, the chancel has single windows in the north and south walls, both of which have been rebuilt at the same time as the pew with brick surrounds and the same tall, narrow proportions. These are doubtless part of the work carried out after the vestry meeting on 20 April 1725 decided that his Grace the Duke of Newcastle may beautify the Church according to his Grace's pleasure". The east window has been mostly blocked but a semi-circle in the head remains glazed.
The north aisle is built of red brick on stone footings. It has three tall round-headed windows in the north wall, of which the centre one comes down to the ground to form a doorway. The east and west walls each have blind recesses of the same proportions and the gables have parapets with battlements which follow the slope of the gable.
Interior
Interior Description
The church is normally entered by the west door, and this gives access to a small lobby constructed of timber framing and panelling within the west end of the church. It houses a staircase on the north side of complicated and constricted design which leads up to the west gallery and thence to the upper gallery in the roof and the clock chamber. There are double doors covered with baize end pierced by oval glazed openings which give access to the church itself. The floor is of wood blocks with ledger slabs along the middle alley, and one step distinguishes the small sanctuary from the rest of the church. The walls are plastered and there is no chancel arch, the only differentiation being that the chancel is slightly narrower than the nave.
Further east is the opening which links the Newcastle pew to the church. It is like a temple front and must have looked better before the box pews were removed in 1909. It now " floats" instead of standing on a firm base. At each end are fluted Corinthian pilasters and in the middle two free- standing columns. The design is repeated about three feet further south to form a similar front facing the pew. Between the two rows of columns is a panelled dado. The pediment has a dentilled frieze but the architrave is cut away altogether, an anti Palladian trick which was to characterise the work of Gibbs. Here, the scale being relatively small, it helps to reduce the architectural mass and thus lightens the design. The pew is only reached from outside the church, through the small porch with a bench on the east side and thus through a pair of partly glazed doors which give access to a flight of steps. On each side of these there are three box pews, all painted white, with two larger pews at the front. These were inserted slightly later than the date of the building when the pew was divided between the Duke of Newcastle and his brother, Henry Pelham who lived at Esher Place. Each of the two larger pews is provided with a fireplace with a marole surround. These are of differing designs, that on the east having half-octagonal columns with crude entasis and that on the west simply three flat marble panels to the surround with lined out decoration. The ceiling of the pew has a rich medillion cornice and plasterwork which has an octagon in the centre decorated with Greek key pattern on the soffit.
On the opposite side of the church is the later aisle added by John de Ponthieu in 1811-12. It has three tall pillars spanned by a panelled gallery front, though the gallery behind was removed in 1934. Towards the east end of the front is placed the pulpit, which was formerly more central, and the clerk's desk and reading desk have been considerably altered. Against the east wall the reredos with its Ionic columns and pediment blocks most of the east window. The roof of the church is of c.1540 and has large tie-beams at each bay with king posts and curved wind-braces between the purlins. At the west there is a steop upper gallery right up under the roof timbers and the Royal Arms are fixed in a richly carved frame at the point where the chancel arch would come if one existed. The west gallery has a gently curved front supported by an original beam of c.1540. The walls are covered with numerous monuments and the whole atmosphere of the church is one of great historic interest and careful restoration.
Fixtures and fittings
Altar
19th Century
The altar is a small nineteenth-century table.
Reredos
1722
The reredos is a triptych with three panels painted with the usual texts in gold on a black ground, dating from 1722. The middle panel, which is roughly square, is framed by an architectural surround with fluted Ionic pilasters at each side and a pediment above. The whole reredos is of pine, stripped of paint. The later altar piece painted by Sir Robert Ker Porter is now in the gallery.
Pulpit
The pulpit is part of a three-decker arrangement. The pulpit itself, square on plan, is made of oak and stends on a trumpet-shaped support. It has one raised and fielded panel in each face and a square tester supported by two struts at the back and by a rod from the tie-beam above. The stair winds up on the north side and appears to be part of the 1828 work. The reading desk and clerk' desk are also made of fielded panelling, but of deal, not oak, and the clerk's chair, with a curved and shaped back, slides forward on runners once the door is shut.
Lectern
The lectern is an oak pedestal.
Font (object)
1829
The font was provided in 1829 at a cost of £15; it is a white marble bowl mounted on a stout oak baluster.
Organ (object)
The organ is a Philips electronic.
Churchyard
Grid reference: TQ 139 646
Burial and War Grave Information
It is unknown whether the building is consecrated.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has been used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard is used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has war graves.
Environment
Ancient, Veteran & Notable Trees
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
There are no records of Ancient, Veteran or Notable Trees within the curtilage of this site.
Renewables
| Renewable | Installed |
|---|---|
| Solar PV Panels | No |
| Solar Thermal Panels | No |
| Biomass | No |
| Wind Turbine | No |
| Air Source Heat Pump | No |
| Ground Source Heat Pump | No |
| Ev Charging | No |
Species summary
There are no records of species within the curtilage of this site.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
'Seek advice' Species
More information on species and action to be taken upon discovery.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
Further information
Sources
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