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	| Life here: Ashtead, the Churches and events | St Giles

St Giles' Church, Ashtead

St Giles' is the parish church and originates from the 12th century. It is situated in Park Lane, Ashtead. To find us see local maps

We meet on Thursdays with a loop for the hard of hearing

• 11.00am - St Giles' - Holy Communion 1662 BCP

As well as our main Sunday services with a loop for the hard of hearing

•   8.00am - for Holy Communion Common Worship Order One (2nd & 5th Sunday) or 1662 BCP (4th Sunday)
• 10.00am - Family Worship or Family Communion (1st Sunday); children's groups and crèche
• 11.30am - Matins or 1662 BCP (1st Sunday)
•   6.00pm - 1662 BCP Evensong or Choral Evensong (3rd Sunday)

We are also open on Sunday afternoons if you just want to have a look around. Stewards are also present should you have any questions.

•   2.15 to 4.15pm - (Every Sunday)

I rejoiced with those who said to me, "Let us go to the house of the Lord." Psalm 122:1 NIV

Situated on a former Roman site, the church began in about 1125 as a private chapel built by a Norman lord, Laurence of Rouen. Roman tiles can be seen in the south wall of the nave, the oldest part of the building. The chancel was added in the 13th century. The first known Rector was  Robert de Montfort, 1282 to at least 1318. For 200 years the church had a Vicar as well as a Rector, the latter usually non-resident. There were also chantry priests for a while to say masses for the dead nobility.

The church was rebuilt in the 15th and 16th centuries and the tower as we know it was added. The font dates from this time. At the Reformation under Edward VI the church was stripped of its Roman Catholic ornaments. Samuel Pepys records visiting the church in 1663 after the Restoration of Charles II but found the sermon "dull". He visited again in 1667 and this time reports that there were "not many in the congregation". How things have changed for the better!  Peter Hamelot, a Huguenot from France, was Rector from 1699 to 1742. His tomb lies near the "kissing gate" to the Freeman's School and was badly damaged in a snowstorm in May 1950. There are several monuments to the Howard family, Lords of the Manor for many years.

The church was still very plain in 1820, dark and damp like a cellar. A new Rector, the Rev  William Legge and a caring Lord and Lady of the Manor, Colonel Fulk and Mrs Mary Howard, transformed the church building between 1820 and 1877 both outside and in. The 15th or 16th century east window, installed between 1827 and 1831, which was originally in Herkenrode Abbey near Liège, the decorated stone reredos behind the altar, the panelled cedar roof of the chancel with the carved angels, the braced beams and roof of the nave, the north transept with its high arch, and the little north aisle with seats facing the pulpit, all of these were the legacy of these three Ashtead benefactors.

In 1873 the 6 bells of 1725 (3 in earlier times) were recast as a peal of 8 in honour of Mary Howard. A new method of ringing, the Ashtead Surprise Major, was first performed here in 18 January 1932. Hear for yourself what the Ashtead Surprise Major sounds like. We're in the southern district of The Surrey Association of Church Bell Ringers

The window in the north transept is in memory of William Legge.

In 1891 there was a major restoration. The roof was stripped and renewed, the new organ chamber built with new arches to the chancel and north aisle, the large choir vestry added in place of a small one, the present fixed oak pews, to seat 250, installed and a new pulpit given. There were few changes since then until 1994 when the roof was again stripped and renewed by the same firm who carried out the task a hundred years earlier.

Close to St Giles' Church is a halls complex comprising a modern large hall, kitchen and two smaller rooms. Outside there is an ancient yew, possibly denoting a former Saxon church on the site. The churchyard, still in use, has grown as population increased. 4¼ acres were added in 1929, mostly given by the City of London Corporation. The cedars, many of which were lost in the 1987 and 1990 storms, are over 100 years old. The lych gate was put up in 1903 in memory of Sir Thomas Lucas, former Lord of the Manor. The drive is an ancient right of way to the medieval manor house which stood near the Northeast corner of the church until about 1800.

Life at St Giles' today

What is the church? It is easy to think of it as the building, the bricks and mortar, tastefully constructed for the worship of God. That is partially true. Perhaps, like many people in our modern age, we may think of the Church as a beautiful irrelevance, harmless in its way, but quite out of touch at the end of this fast-moving twenty-first century. There is a real danger that, having learnt about our lovely building, that impression could all so easily be paramount in our minds.

The New Testament tells us that the Church is not a building - indeed Christians of the New Testament had no church buildings at all - but a fellowship. It is not a pile of inanimate stone but a fellowship of living people, who have been called to the service of God's Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

As you can imagine, we are proud of our ancient Parish Church. We are conscious of its beauty and grateful for the tangible links it provides us with those who have lived, worked and worshipped in Ashtead down the centuries. Yet we would not want you to go away thinking it is no more than this to us. First and foremost this is the place that we come to week by week to worship God, to be restored by Him and sent out again joyfully to live our lives as Christians in the community, at work, and at home.

• Easter 2005 50 years and going strong
• Harvest 2004 Grave Matters
• Harvest 2003 A Peal for Prayer
• Harvest 2002 Coming face-to-face with our values
• Easter 2002 Rejoicing with the Saints of Old
• Easter 2002 Angelic voices give way to Grumpy Sheep
• Christmas 2001 Snap-Shot of Ashtead
• Easter 2001 St Giles' Millennium Kneeler Project
• Christmas 2000 What was it like in Ashtead? 1900-2000 AD
• Christmas 1999 The history of church life in Ashtead
• Harvest 1998 Ringing the changes
• Christmas 1997 Ashtead's New Weather Vane

Please check out our new website for all the latest information sgsgashtead.com