About St. Philip’s Church
Introduction...
St. Philip’s is an active church blessed with a wide ranging and enthusiastic congregation drawn from the parish and beyond.
It serves as a centre for worship, as well as community and church activities throughout the year.
We also link with the local ecumenical secondary school, St Bede’s in Redhill, with our Vicar serving as the Anglican chaplain for the school, working alongside a Roman Catholic and a Free Church chaplain.
St Philip’s celebrated its 150th year during 2013 and it is testament to its enduring role within the community that it remains a popular and well supported church.
St. Philip’s is an active church blessed with a wide ranging and enthusiastic congregation drawn from the parish and beyond.
It serves as a centre for worship, as well as community and church activities throughout the year.
We also link with the local ecumenical secondary school, St Bede’s in Redhill, with our Vicar serving as the Anglican chaplain for the school, working alongside a Roman Catholic and a Free Church chaplain.
St Philip’s celebrated its 150th year during 2013 and it is testament to its enduring role within the community that it remains a popular and well supported church.
Where we are...
The parish
The parish of St Philip’s has a population of 3300 and sits to the north west of the town of Reigate. It encompasses a variety of town and country housing. In addition there is a pub, small industrial area and a number of shops and businesses. There is a rugby club, cricket club and a tennis club nearby.
The parish
The parish of St Philip’s has a population of 3300 and sits to the north west of the town of Reigate. It encompasses a variety of town and country housing. In addition there is a pub, small industrial area and a number of shops and businesses. There is a rugby club, cricket club and a tennis club nearby.
NB - Representative area only
Our church
Built in 1863, the church is a bright open design built of local stone, brick and timber beams.
It is situated on Nutley Lane in the centre of the parish and is also used by the local Guides and for occasional, and popular concerts.
The church provides a welcoming, intimate but relaxed atmosphere for worship and we seek to encourage people of all ages to be part of the family.
It is situated on Nutley Lane in the centre of the parish and is also used by the local Guides and for occasional, and popular concerts.
The church provides a welcoming, intimate but relaxed atmosphere for worship and we seek to encourage people of all ages to be part of the family.
Our church hall
Alongside the church is our newly refurbished church hall which comprises a main high hall with separate side rooms, kitchen and toilets including disabled facilities.
Coffee is normally served here after Sunday services and the hall is regularly used for church lunches and fund raising events.
The hall is let on a regular basis to Reigate Valley College - a school which deals with students with emotional and behavioural difficulties. It is also used for Sunday school, and by the community for various activities, including a Pilates group, an established table-tennis team who have reached UK ranking, a home tutor, the local Brownies, plus children’s parties, weddings, polling, and one off events.
Coffee is normally served here after Sunday services and the hall is regularly used for church lunches and fund raising events.
The hall is let on a regular basis to Reigate Valley College - a school which deals with students with emotional and behavioural difficulties. It is also used for Sunday school, and by the community for various activities, including a Pilates group, an established table-tennis team who have reached UK ranking, a home tutor, the local Brownies, plus children’s parties, weddings, polling, and one off events.
Who we are... the Congregation
Many people in the congregation enjoy participating in different aspects of our worship and other activities. Our average weekly congregations are around 60 and comprise of a wide spectrum from young families to elderly members of the parish. Lots of people minister here, including our vicar, wardens and PCC (church council), a non-stipendiary minister, two readers, three very talented organists, expert flower arrangers, coffee team, Sunday School helpers, the cleaning team...there are lots of ways to get involved!
Our worship together...
Sunday worship is usually at 8am (a traditional said Book of Common Prayer Communion Service) and 10am (Communion Service). Sunday School usually happens on Sundays during term time, apart from first Sundays, when we all worship together.
Communion is also held regularly at two local care homes and the sick are attended by request.
"First steps" is a monthly service for pre-school children and their carers. This is a short time of stories, songs and simple prayers, followed by refreshments, and usually meets on the third Friday of each month (in term time).
Baptisms are held as part of the family communion service, usually on the third Sunday of the month.
Weddings are held as requested and following a motion passed by the PCC divorced couples may marry subject to the resolutions of the Church of England.
Funerals and memorial services are held by request, at church, and/or at the local crematorium.
Communion is also held regularly at two local care homes and the sick are attended by request.
"First steps" is a monthly service for pre-school children and their carers. This is a short time of stories, songs and simple prayers, followed by refreshments, and usually meets on the third Friday of each month (in term time).
Baptisms are held as part of the family communion service, usually on the third Sunday of the month.
Weddings are held as requested and following a motion passed by the PCC divorced couples may marry subject to the resolutions of the Church of England.
Funerals and memorial services are held by request, at church, and/or at the local crematorium.
History of St Philips
The Foundation of St Philip’s
On 20th March, 1863, Nutley Lane Church (now St Philip’s) was opened for public worship. The following announcement was made in the Reigate, Redhill, Dorking and Epsom Journal for that Tuesday, 17th March, 1863:-
“We are requested to state that the new building in Nutley Lane (Which has been erected for religious and moral purposes in connection with the Church of England) will be opened with Divine services by the Right Rev the Lord Bishop of Winchester, on Friday, the 20th inSt, at four o’clock. The doors will be open at half-past three, and the seats will be entirely free and open. Prayers will be read by the Rev A Cazenove, M.A., incumbent of St Mark’s Church, assisted by the Rev S J Hawkes, M.A., curate of St Mark’s, and the sermon will be preached by the Bishop. The building will accommodate 350 persons, and is intended to meet the increasing wants of the working classes, many of whom are settling in its immediate vicinity. It is built at the sole cost of William Phillipps, Esq., of Reigate Lodge. The arrangements for Divine service are as follows: Every Sunday afternoon at half-past three o’clock, and (after Easter) every Wednesday evening at half-past seven o’clock.”
This was the climax of the labours of one man, Mr William Phillipps of Reigate Lodge, a large house near the corner of Croydon Road and Church Street. He had the previous year bought the site of the church, and had the church built at his own expense. The site was part of a field formerly known as “the Nutley Field”, but then called “Bachelor’s Field”.
We do not know all the motives which lay behind this generous action. One tradition was that it was a protest against the amount of singing which was being introduced into the services of local churches at the time, singing in which Mr Phillipps’ view prevented ordinary people from joining in the services to the full. The practice of demanding pew rents was something else to which he objected. But no doubt his action was prompted also by a real desire to benefit the people of the fast growing district. The cottages in Nutley Lane extended from the town to a point just south of the present Yorke Road (which did not then reach Nutley Lane). Beaufort Road did not exist South Albert Road had been built (ending with the White Horse Inn, now Nos. 35 and 37), and the south side of North Albert Road. Only two pairs of cottages in East Road (then called Gashouse Road) were built and the church had in effect fields on three sides of it.
All Mr Phillipps’ motives are shown in the trust deed, which was signed on 13th August, 1866, when he handed over the Church to a body of private trustees. This states at the outset that:-
“The said William Phillipps …. Is desirous of providing for the religious and moral intellectual improvement of the Labouring Classes in the vicinity of such building.”
Detailed regulations for the type of service to be performed were laid down. The language seems very curious, and rather patronising in these democratic and comparatively classless days. The Trust Deed provides:-
“It being the intent and meaning of the said William Phillipps that the said Church or Building shall for ever hereafter be used on Sundays as and for a “Poor Man’s Church” and that the services performed therein shall as far as possible be suited to the capacities and adapted to the wants of persons belonging to the Labouring Classes.”
“Upon Trust to permit the usual Morning and Evening Services of the Church of England to be performed therein either with or without abbreviations thereof or omissions therefrom but so that such services shall be performed in the simplest manner possible ….. and so that any Psalms or Hymns used in the course of such Services shall always be of such a character as a General Congregation may be enabled to join in. And so that all Sittings in such Building shall be wholly free and unappropriated.”
Many changes have taken place during a hundred years, but the founder’s wishes are still fulfilled for all services at St Philip’s are fully congregational, and the congregation is enabled to play an increasingly active part in the worship of the church and its ceremonies and ritual.
Mr Phillipps was not only interested in the services but also in providing suitable activities on weekdays. It would gladden his heart to see the regular use to which the Church Hall is placed. In those days there was no Hall, so Mr Phillipps provided for the use of the Church (except on Sundays) “for such religious moral educational or intellectual purposes of innocent recreation or amusement and the general purposes of a Lecture Room)” as Mr Phillipps or the Trustees thought proper.
That the Ministers of the “Poor Man’s Church” were concerned with the bodily as well as the spiritual needs of the district is shown by the part played by the first Minister (the Rev L H P Maurice) in the foundation of the cottage hospital which has developed into the East Surrey Hospital. This opened its doors in two cottages in North Albert Road on 1st September, 1866. Mr Maurice, from whom the proposal originated, was the Secretary and Manager, and Dr John Walters the Medical Officer. The hospital moved to its present site in Pendleton Road (increasing in size from six to twelve beds) in 1871. The Lectern Bible at St Philip’s is in memory of Dr Walters who died in 1917.
Mr Phillipps had made due provision for the Minister by buying the house next door (102A Nutley Lane) in 1865 to be the Parsonage, and provided £3,000 as an endowment. The Trust Deed laid down a minimum stipend for the Minister of £100 per annum, but the Trustees were empowered to pay more if funds permitted. The capital has been carefully administered and invested as shown in the Church Accounts; it will in 1963 bring in an income of nearly £600 towards the Minister’s stipend, and this is augmented by the congregation. The parsonage was used as such until in 1912 the present parsonage at 12 Evesham Road was bought by public subscription for £1,000 and the “Old Parsonage” is at present let. The Trustees were, however, careful to retain in their ownership the whole of the valuable corner site along Nutley Lane, and running back along East Road as far as the first cottages.
On 20th March, 1863, Nutley Lane Church (now St Philip’s) was opened for public worship. The following announcement was made in the Reigate, Redhill, Dorking and Epsom Journal for that Tuesday, 17th March, 1863:-
“We are requested to state that the new building in Nutley Lane (Which has been erected for religious and moral purposes in connection with the Church of England) will be opened with Divine services by the Right Rev the Lord Bishop of Winchester, on Friday, the 20th inSt, at four o’clock. The doors will be open at half-past three, and the seats will be entirely free and open. Prayers will be read by the Rev A Cazenove, M.A., incumbent of St Mark’s Church, assisted by the Rev S J Hawkes, M.A., curate of St Mark’s, and the sermon will be preached by the Bishop. The building will accommodate 350 persons, and is intended to meet the increasing wants of the working classes, many of whom are settling in its immediate vicinity. It is built at the sole cost of William Phillipps, Esq., of Reigate Lodge. The arrangements for Divine service are as follows: Every Sunday afternoon at half-past three o’clock, and (after Easter) every Wednesday evening at half-past seven o’clock.”
This was the climax of the labours of one man, Mr William Phillipps of Reigate Lodge, a large house near the corner of Croydon Road and Church Street. He had the previous year bought the site of the church, and had the church built at his own expense. The site was part of a field formerly known as “the Nutley Field”, but then called “Bachelor’s Field”.
We do not know all the motives which lay behind this generous action. One tradition was that it was a protest against the amount of singing which was being introduced into the services of local churches at the time, singing in which Mr Phillipps’ view prevented ordinary people from joining in the services to the full. The practice of demanding pew rents was something else to which he objected. But no doubt his action was prompted also by a real desire to benefit the people of the fast growing district. The cottages in Nutley Lane extended from the town to a point just south of the present Yorke Road (which did not then reach Nutley Lane). Beaufort Road did not exist South Albert Road had been built (ending with the White Horse Inn, now Nos. 35 and 37), and the south side of North Albert Road. Only two pairs of cottages in East Road (then called Gashouse Road) were built and the church had in effect fields on three sides of it.
All Mr Phillipps’ motives are shown in the trust deed, which was signed on 13th August, 1866, when he handed over the Church to a body of private trustees. This states at the outset that:-
“The said William Phillipps …. Is desirous of providing for the religious and moral intellectual improvement of the Labouring Classes in the vicinity of such building.”
Detailed regulations for the type of service to be performed were laid down. The language seems very curious, and rather patronising in these democratic and comparatively classless days. The Trust Deed provides:-
“It being the intent and meaning of the said William Phillipps that the said Church or Building shall for ever hereafter be used on Sundays as and for a “Poor Man’s Church” and that the services performed therein shall as far as possible be suited to the capacities and adapted to the wants of persons belonging to the Labouring Classes.”
“Upon Trust to permit the usual Morning and Evening Services of the Church of England to be performed therein either with or without abbreviations thereof or omissions therefrom but so that such services shall be performed in the simplest manner possible ….. and so that any Psalms or Hymns used in the course of such Services shall always be of such a character as a General Congregation may be enabled to join in. And so that all Sittings in such Building shall be wholly free and unappropriated.”
Many changes have taken place during a hundred years, but the founder’s wishes are still fulfilled for all services at St Philip’s are fully congregational, and the congregation is enabled to play an increasingly active part in the worship of the church and its ceremonies and ritual.
Mr Phillipps was not only interested in the services but also in providing suitable activities on weekdays. It would gladden his heart to see the regular use to which the Church Hall is placed. In those days there was no Hall, so Mr Phillipps provided for the use of the Church (except on Sundays) “for such religious moral educational or intellectual purposes of innocent recreation or amusement and the general purposes of a Lecture Room)” as Mr Phillipps or the Trustees thought proper.
That the Ministers of the “Poor Man’s Church” were concerned with the bodily as well as the spiritual needs of the district is shown by the part played by the first Minister (the Rev L H P Maurice) in the foundation of the cottage hospital which has developed into the East Surrey Hospital. This opened its doors in two cottages in North Albert Road on 1st September, 1866. Mr Maurice, from whom the proposal originated, was the Secretary and Manager, and Dr John Walters the Medical Officer. The hospital moved to its present site in Pendleton Road (increasing in size from six to twelve beds) in 1871. The Lectern Bible at St Philip’s is in memory of Dr Walters who died in 1917.
Mr Phillipps had made due provision for the Minister by buying the house next door (102A Nutley Lane) in 1865 to be the Parsonage, and provided £3,000 as an endowment. The Trust Deed laid down a minimum stipend for the Minister of £100 per annum, but the Trustees were empowered to pay more if funds permitted. The capital has been carefully administered and invested as shown in the Church Accounts; it will in 1963 bring in an income of nearly £600 towards the Minister’s stipend, and this is augmented by the congregation. The parsonage was used as such until in 1912 the present parsonage at 12 Evesham Road was bought by public subscription for £1,000 and the “Old Parsonage” is at present let. The Trustees were, however, careful to retain in their ownership the whole of the valuable corner site along Nutley Lane, and running back along East Road as far as the first cottages.
The Trustees in whom Mr Phillipps vested the Church, the Parsonage and the Endowments were his wife Jane; three friends (Thomas Hughes of Wallfield House, Percival Highes of Wray Park and Arthur Wilkinson of Lingfield House, Reigate); and the Rev Arthur Cazenove, the first Vicar of St Mark’s, then itself a very new church.
The link with St Mark’s was always a close one, and whenever a vacancy occurred among the trustees it was offered first to the Vicar of St Mark’s, if he was not already a trustee. The last Vicar of St Mark’s to serve as a trustee was the Rev R M Faithfull Davies. Nutley Lane Church was not a chapel of ease or daughter church in the ordinary sense of the word, not having been set up by St Mark’s, but by a private individual. For nearly ninety years it remained which is technically called a “proprietary chapel”, that is to say one belonging to private individuals (the trustees) who were its “proprietors”.
The Minister of Nutley Lane Church was licensed by the Vicar of St Mark’s; no clergyman of the Church of England can officiate in a parish without the permission of the incumbent. It is for that very reason that Mr Phillipps provided in the Trust Deed that a clergyman of some other denomination whom the Trustees thought eligible might be appointed as Minister “in the event of the Incumbent refusing to license any Clergyman who may be appointed by the Trustees”. The existence of this clause amply demonstrates that Nutley Lane Church was not a daughter church of St Mark’s. Nevertheless there was usually a large degree of co-operation and friendship between Nutley Lane Church and the parish church of St Mark’s.
In 1920 the name of “St Philip’s Church” was given to Nutley Lane Church. It was formally dedicated to St Philip by the Vicar of St Mark’s after the third collect at evensong on the Feast of St Philip and St James, Saturday, 1st May 1920. There is a tradition that this patronal festival was chosen because it fell only six days away from that of St Mark’s and the two could therefore be celebrated together. It was felt to be a happy choice (and the church was dedicated to St Philip rather than St James) in view of the name of the founder.
on the east, West Street on the south, and the borough boundary on the west. The agreement between the Bishop of Southwark and the Rev W H J Fenton, then Vicar of St Mark’s, is dated 13th June, 1950.
A conventional district, although not a parish (St Philip’s district is still legally part of St Mark’s parish), has many of the rights of a parish: in particular it has its own Parochial Church Council and its own representative on the Diocesan Conference. It also has a separate quote!
As a result of this arrangement the private trustees (of whom Mr Peter Ashton was the last) were relived of their duties. The property and endowments were transferred in 1957 by a Scheme of the Charity Commissioners to the Rochester and Southwark Diocesan Church Trust who act as custodian Trustees; their management and spending of the income is entrusted to the Parochial Church Council who act as Managing Trustees. The appointment of the Minister now rests with the Bishop of Southwark.
The link with St Mark’s was always a close one, and whenever a vacancy occurred among the trustees it was offered first to the Vicar of St Mark’s, if he was not already a trustee. The last Vicar of St Mark’s to serve as a trustee was the Rev R M Faithfull Davies. Nutley Lane Church was not a chapel of ease or daughter church in the ordinary sense of the word, not having been set up by St Mark’s, but by a private individual. For nearly ninety years it remained which is technically called a “proprietary chapel”, that is to say one belonging to private individuals (the trustees) who were its “proprietors”.
The Minister of Nutley Lane Church was licensed by the Vicar of St Mark’s; no clergyman of the Church of England can officiate in a parish without the permission of the incumbent. It is for that very reason that Mr Phillipps provided in the Trust Deed that a clergyman of some other denomination whom the Trustees thought eligible might be appointed as Minister “in the event of the Incumbent refusing to license any Clergyman who may be appointed by the Trustees”. The existence of this clause amply demonstrates that Nutley Lane Church was not a daughter church of St Mark’s. Nevertheless there was usually a large degree of co-operation and friendship between Nutley Lane Church and the parish church of St Mark’s.
In 1920 the name of “St Philip’s Church” was given to Nutley Lane Church. It was formally dedicated to St Philip by the Vicar of St Mark’s after the third collect at evensong on the Feast of St Philip and St James, Saturday, 1st May 1920. There is a tradition that this patronal festival was chosen because it fell only six days away from that of St Mark’s and the two could therefore be celebrated together. It was felt to be a happy choice (and the church was dedicated to St Philip rather than St James) in view of the name of the founder.
on the east, West Street on the south, and the borough boundary on the west. The agreement between the Bishop of Southwark and the Rev W H J Fenton, then Vicar of St Mark’s, is dated 13th June, 1950.
A conventional district, although not a parish (St Philip’s district is still legally part of St Mark’s parish), has many of the rights of a parish: in particular it has its own Parochial Church Council and its own representative on the Diocesan Conference. It also has a separate quote!
As a result of this arrangement the private trustees (of whom Mr Peter Ashton was the last) were relived of their duties. The property and endowments were transferred in 1957 by a Scheme of the Charity Commissioners to the Rochester and Southwark Diocesan Church Trust who act as custodian Trustees; their management and spending of the income is entrusted to the Parochial Church Council who act as Managing Trustees. The appointment of the Minister now rests with the Bishop of Southwark.
The Building and its Furnishings
The illustrations show the gradual development of the church into the spacious open building it now is. It is quite amazing how much can be changed without touching the structure, which remains exactly as it was in the days of Mr Phillipps. The earliest picture was taken between 1905 and 1908. Only three features now remain: the east window, which is a memorial to William and Jane Phillipps; and the pulpit given in 1898 in memory of Mr Edward Horne, one of the Trustees; and the priest’s stall.
The organ seen in the picture opposite was the first thing to be replaced. In 1908 £500 was collected by the Rev C H Goodall to purchase a bigger organ, chosen by Mr George Oakshott (organist from 1883 to 1933) and by Mr Gritton (organist of St Mary’s) as suitable for the new church for West Reigate which was then planned. The existing organ was disposed of to the Methodist Church, where it can still be seen. The plans for the new church were subsequently abandoned, and the large organ remained at St Philip’s until 1960.
The same picture shows the old tortoise stove on the left which survived until 1951, when a new Gurney stove was installed. Attempts were made at one time to supplement the heating with gas radiators, but the church was never satisfactorily heated until the present electric infra-red heaters were installed in 1958 by the generous gift of an anonymous parishioner.
The illustrations show the gradual development of the church into the spacious open building it now is. It is quite amazing how much can be changed without touching the structure, which remains exactly as it was in the days of Mr Phillipps. The earliest picture was taken between 1905 and 1908. Only three features now remain: the east window, which is a memorial to William and Jane Phillipps; and the pulpit given in 1898 in memory of Mr Edward Horne, one of the Trustees; and the priest’s stall.
The organ seen in the picture opposite was the first thing to be replaced. In 1908 £500 was collected by the Rev C H Goodall to purchase a bigger organ, chosen by Mr George Oakshott (organist from 1883 to 1933) and by Mr Gritton (organist of St Mary’s) as suitable for the new church for West Reigate which was then planned. The existing organ was disposed of to the Methodist Church, where it can still be seen. The plans for the new church were subsequently abandoned, and the large organ remained at St Philip’s until 1960.
The same picture shows the old tortoise stove on the left which survived until 1951, when a new Gurney stove was installed. Attempts were made at one time to supplement the heating with gas radiators, but the church was never satisfactorily heated until the present electric infra-red heaters were installed in 1958 by the generous gift of an anonymous parishioner.
The gas pendants in the old picture were later replaced (or supplemented) by gas brackets on the pillars, but these have long ago given place to electric lighting.
On the east wall were the words “O worship the Lord in the Beauty of Holiness”, which were painted out long since, but the metal plates with the Lord’s Prayer, Creed and Ten Commandments were removed as recently as 1951. The banner “Christ our Life” obscured the dedication of the window (now clearly visible). The curtains were replaced by the present reredos in 1919. This was made by the late Mr W J White who died in 1961 and of whose craftsmanship many examples are to be found in the church. It is a memorial to four members of the Mould family. The wooden cross formerly fixed to the reredos was made by Mr Oakshott. A carved wooden cross at one time stood upon the altar; this was made in 1934 by the Rev W E Hobbes in memory of his wife. This cross is now in the vestry. Panelling was added on either side of the reredos in 1947 as a memorial to Miss Ethel Mould.
The lectern so prominent in the old picture was replaced in 1926, when the present one (also made by Mr White) was given as a memorial to the Rev Robert Mumford, Minister of St Philip’s from 1923 to 1925.
The altar itself is of course not visible in the picture. It was replaced in 1930 by the present altar, but the frontal which can be seen continued in use until 1959, when a wider top was put on the present altar, and a complete new set of frontals was provided. Money was raised by subscription to purchase one complete set of green frontal, burse, veil and markers, and to obtain material from which white, red and blue sets were made by a member of the congregation, Mrs Rusbridge, to whose care and expert needle so much is owed.
The wooden vestry was enlarged at a later date and remained until 1961. The long bench seats were replaced in 1930 by the present pews. These, together with the folding doors at the west end (made by Mr White), were dedicated on 2nd June 1930 by the Bishop of Kingston. The processional cross was given later in the same year.
On the east wall were the words “O worship the Lord in the Beauty of Holiness”, which were painted out long since, but the metal plates with the Lord’s Prayer, Creed and Ten Commandments were removed as recently as 1951. The banner “Christ our Life” obscured the dedication of the window (now clearly visible). The curtains were replaced by the present reredos in 1919. This was made by the late Mr W J White who died in 1961 and of whose craftsmanship many examples are to be found in the church. It is a memorial to four members of the Mould family. The wooden cross formerly fixed to the reredos was made by Mr Oakshott. A carved wooden cross at one time stood upon the altar; this was made in 1934 by the Rev W E Hobbes in memory of his wife. This cross is now in the vestry. Panelling was added on either side of the reredos in 1947 as a memorial to Miss Ethel Mould.
The lectern so prominent in the old picture was replaced in 1926, when the present one (also made by Mr White) was given as a memorial to the Rev Robert Mumford, Minister of St Philip’s from 1923 to 1925.
The altar itself is of course not visible in the picture. It was replaced in 1930 by the present altar, but the frontal which can be seen continued in use until 1959, when a wider top was put on the present altar, and a complete new set of frontals was provided. Money was raised by subscription to purchase one complete set of green frontal, burse, veil and markers, and to obtain material from which white, red and blue sets were made by a member of the congregation, Mrs Rusbridge, to whose care and expert needle so much is owed.
The wooden vestry was enlarged at a later date and remained until 1961. The long bench seats were replaced in 1930 by the present pews. These, together with the folding doors at the west end (made by Mr White), were dedicated on 2nd June 1930 by the Bishop of Kingston. The processional cross was given later in the same year.
We are told that the building was designed to accommodate 350 persons. The pews installed in 1930 will hold 176 persons, together with a choir of 16, clergy and organist. It may well be that the original seats were closer together, and there appear to have been two gangways instead of the present three. It is also to be noted that the pews now only occupy half the area of the church, with the chancel taking up two out of five bays, and the vestries at the back.
The present priest’s stall is to be seen at the right hand side of the old picture. This stall was brought from St Luke’s in 1905. But the old choir stalls remained until some time after 1908, when St Philip’s were fortunate to be able to purchase from St Luke’s the choir stalls to match. The old choir stalls can be seen in a picture taken soon after the new organ was installed.
Until some date after the First World War the whole floor was at one level; the raising of the floor of the chancel by two steps must have been a great improvement. This took place after 1919 (for the reredos was designed to suit the lower level flooring, and was originally well below the window) and before 1930 when the re-seating of the nave was carried out. The enlargement of the wooden vestry took place at the same time.
The deacon’s desk was made in 1932 by Mr B J Jupp; it was given as a thank-offering for recovery after a motor accident by Mrs Hastings; a plate in her memory was fixed to it on her death in 1941.
The present priest’s stall is to be seen at the right hand side of the old picture. This stall was brought from St Luke’s in 1905. But the old choir stalls remained until some time after 1908, when St Philip’s were fortunate to be able to purchase from St Luke’s the choir stalls to match. The old choir stalls can be seen in a picture taken soon after the new organ was installed.
Until some date after the First World War the whole floor was at one level; the raising of the floor of the chancel by two steps must have been a great improvement. This took place after 1919 (for the reredos was designed to suit the lower level flooring, and was originally well below the window) and before 1930 when the re-seating of the nave was carried out. The enlargement of the wooden vestry took place at the same time.
The deacon’s desk was made in 1932 by Mr B J Jupp; it was given as a thank-offering for recovery after a motor accident by Mrs Hastings; a plate in her memory was fixed to it on her death in 1941.
We have described the difference between the church before 1908 and the church as it was after 1903 (as shown on page 9). It will be noted that many of the improvements took place during the ministry of the Rev H P Kennedy-Skipton who was priest-in-charge from 1927 until his death in 1934. Further improvements during that period were the gift of the font cover in 1930 by Mrs Gittens, and the beautification of the base in 1935 by subscription as recorded on the brass plate below the font. The font itself is described in the inventory as “an old stone one, plain, with an oak cover”. It is knot known when it was given or what its previous history was. The baptismal registers go back to August 1874.
From 1930 until 1957 the interior of the church was not much altered. In 1957 the artistic vision of the Rev L C Young started the complete reconstruction of the East End. The first stage was a modest one, though the improvement was striking. The choir stalls were moved to their present position on the north side, the altar rails were moved further west, giving more room to the celebrant, and a new brass cross, chandelier and chancel carpet were given. Two years later a wider top was fitted to the altar. The picture below shows the church after these improvements.
From 1930 until 1957 the interior of the church was not much altered. In 1957 the artistic vision of the Rev L C Young started the complete reconstruction of the East End. The first stage was a modest one, though the improvement was striking. The choir stalls were moved to their present position on the north side, the altar rails were moved further west, giving more room to the celebrant, and a new brass cross, chandelier and chancel carpet were given. Two years later a wider top was fitted to the altar. The picture below shows the church after these improvements.
The occasion soon came to continue the work which Mr Young had begun. In 1960 the organ, which for years had given trouble and needed constant repair, required so expensive an overhaul that it was decided to scrap it and purchase the present electronic organ, which was dedicated on Harvest Thanksgiving Sunday the same year.
The consequent opening up of the north-east corner inspired a plan to remove the vestry from the south-east corner, and one Friday and Saturday in April 1961 the men of the parish built the present temporary vestries at the west end, and demolished the old one. The font was moved to its present poison near the chancel steps, the necessary alterations to the flooring carried out (including the raising of the altar by a further six inches), the panelling was extended and the new altar rails constructed, and the whole was dedicated by the Bishop of Southwark on 23 July, 1961.
The Church possesses three sets of Communion Plate. The oldest, of plated silver, may have been provided when the church was first built and is no longer in use. Two silver chalices and a silver paten, now in regular use, were given in 1912 by Mr Woods in memory of his wife. For festal services we have a gold paten and a lovely silver gilt chalice; these were the personal property of the Rev W B Tremenheere, and jewels belonging to members of this family are set in the base of the chalice. Mr Tremenheere lived in the district during his retirement from 1916 till his death in 1931 and gave the chalice and paten to St Philip’s.
One major task remains, to build permanent outside vestries. Meanwhile to commemorate the centenary, the approach to the church is being improved, in keeping with the beautified interior. The wall is being curved back to leave an open paved courtyard, with no obstruction between the church and the road. Here people can congregate after services, or sit on sunny days on the seats provided. Once again as we commemorate Mr Phillipps’ gift, we remember to think of weekdays as well as Sundays, of social as well as religious life, and try to maintain St Philip’s as a centre of the life of what is in spirit a village community within the borough of Reigate.
The consequent opening up of the north-east corner inspired a plan to remove the vestry from the south-east corner, and one Friday and Saturday in April 1961 the men of the parish built the present temporary vestries at the west end, and demolished the old one. The font was moved to its present poison near the chancel steps, the necessary alterations to the flooring carried out (including the raising of the altar by a further six inches), the panelling was extended and the new altar rails constructed, and the whole was dedicated by the Bishop of Southwark on 23 July, 1961.
The Church possesses three sets of Communion Plate. The oldest, of plated silver, may have been provided when the church was first built and is no longer in use. Two silver chalices and a silver paten, now in regular use, were given in 1912 by Mr Woods in memory of his wife. For festal services we have a gold paten and a lovely silver gilt chalice; these were the personal property of the Rev W B Tremenheere, and jewels belonging to members of this family are set in the base of the chalice. Mr Tremenheere lived in the district during his retirement from 1916 till his death in 1931 and gave the chalice and paten to St Philip’s.
One major task remains, to build permanent outside vestries. Meanwhile to commemorate the centenary, the approach to the church is being improved, in keeping with the beautified interior. The wall is being curved back to leave an open paved courtyard, with no obstruction between the church and the road. Here people can congregate after services, or sit on sunny days on the seats provided. Once again as we commemorate Mr Phillipps’ gift, we remember to think of weekdays as well as Sundays, of social as well as religious life, and try to maintain St Philip’s as a centre of the life of what is in spirit a village community within the borough of Reigate.
St Philip’s Church Hall
The early history of St Philip’s Church Hall demonstrates the debt which St Philip’s owes to the people of St Mark’s. In 1870 the Vicar of St Mark’s, the Rev Arthur Cazenove, rented the land immediately to the north of Nutley Lane Church, and two separate buildings were erected on it. At the front was built the two-storied building which bears the inscription “St Mark’s Mission House”, and this was erected by public subscription. The upper room acted as an “Assembly Room for the poor inhabitants of these parts”, while the two rooms on the ground floor (now thrown into one) provided a home for the “Mission Woman”, Miss Eliza Peate, from 1873 to 1903. A memorial tablet in the clergy vestry at St Philip’s records that Miss Peate was a Sunday-school teacher for sixty years; the tablet was erected by her “fellow-workers”, Mrs Cazenove and Mrs Hillis (the wife of the Rev William Hillis who was minister of Nutley Lane Church from 1869 until he left to become vicar of St Luke’s in 1877).
Behind, Mr Cazenove erected (apparently at his own expense) a stable and coach house for the Minister of Nutley Lance Church. An octogenarian correspondent (baptized at Nutley Lane in 1872) wrote in 1956:
“I remember seeing a horse in the stable which is now ?? ?? ?? and was a Sunday School…. One memory of Rev Hillis was him having had a horse and carriage and a Mr Simpson a coachman on the box waiting at the door of the Parsonage.”
Within ten years the stable and coach-house had been converted into a schoolroom, and this building still survives as the pitched-roof part of the Church Hall. The need to use the Church for recreation and as a Lecture Room then disappeared.
Matters remained so until 1938, with two separate buildings. In that year a large plan for the improvement of the Hall was completed. The size of the Hall itself was doubled by the addition of the flat-roofed portion. The kitchen was added and the passage and cloakroom joined the Hall to the Club House. Details of how the money was raised will be within the memory of many readers. Church organisations worked hard, and they were backed up by generous private donors. The names of the Rev Kennedy Skipton, the then Minister, and of Miss Neison, who lived at the White House in Beaufort Road, will be associated with this work. The extensions were opened by Mr W J Clarke of Broke’s Lodge, who had been Chairman of the Building Committee, on 16th November, 1938.
By the end of the Second World War further work was needed for the floor of the Hall was found to be suffering from dry rot, and fund raising started again to provide the present fine parquet floor. Opportunity was taken to add the men’s lavatory and a store-room behind the cloakroom. Since then the maintenance of the Hall has been done largely by voluntary effort, and twice the large hall has been completely redecorate by the mend (and women!) of the congregation.
The lease of the land, and the buildings thereon were handed over to the Trustees – the Mission House in 1871 and the Schoolroom in 1881. The freehold was bought in 1922 from the Somerset Estate. The Trustees were largely and increasingly the same as those of the church, and the Charity Commissioner’s Scheme of 1957 entrusts the management of the Church, Hall and Parsonage to the one body, the Parochial Church Council.
Curates and Minister of St Philip’s
1866 – 1869 Lyttleton Henry Powys MAURICE (See note 1)
Curate of Blechingley, 1870-1873; Rector of Northover 1872-1902
1869 – 1877 William HILLIS
Vicar of St Luke’s, South Park, 1877-1885
1877 – 1880 Joseph White HORNE
Vicar of St James. Islington, 1880-1901; Vicar of Monkton, 1901-1903
1880 – 1882 Samuel ROGERS
Vicar of Long Compton, 1886-1887; Vicar of St Mark, Liverpool, 1887-1889
1882 – 1889 Joseph ADAMSON
Vicar of Colston Bassett, 1889-1897; Vicar of St Luke, Croydon, 1897-1905; Vicar of Exminster, 1905-1924
1889 – 1890 David Marshall LANG
C.M.S. Missionary in Japan 1890-1920; Rectopr of Fillingham, 1920-1946
1891 – 1892 Thomas Henry Montague HOBBS
Chaplain of Ospedaletti, Italy, 1899-?
1894 – 1906 Edwin John BAKER
Missioner (1906-1915) and Vicar (1915-1936) of St Barnabas, Mitcham
1906 – 1917 Clarence Herbert GOODALL
Vicar of St Crispin, Bermondsey, 1917-1926; Vicar of Christchurch, East Greenwich, 1926-1942; now Permission to Officiate, St James, Kidbrooke
1919 – 1923 Henry John Leneve NORMAN
Curate of Beccles, 1923-1925, Rector of Freckenham, 1925-1927; Chaplain of All Saints, Quilmes, Argentine, 1927-1931; Rector of Burstead, 1932-1935; Organising Secretary, South American Missionary Society, 1931, 1935-1957; R.A.F.V.R. 1941-1943
1923 – 1925 Robert Philip Arthur MUMFORD
Last celebrated Holy Communion at St Philip’s 15th October; died 20th October, 1925
1925 – 1927 Robert William SHAW
Organising Secretary, Waifs and Strays, 1927-1929; Vicar of St John the Evangelist, Maidstone, 1929-1933; Curate-in-Charge, St Martin, Maidstone, 1933-1937; Vicar of Hellingly, 1937-1958
1927 – 1943 Horace Pitt Kennedy SKIPTON
Last celebrated Holy Communion at St Philip’s. 25th November 1942; died 16th February 1943, aged 81. A sketch of him appears overleaf.
1943 – 1944 George Ernest ADAMS
Vicar of Gestingthorpe, 1944-1947; Rector of Belchamp-Otten, 1947-1956; Chaplain R.A.F. 1956-1959; now Vicar of Wrestlingworth and Dunton
1944 – 1948 Robert Haultain GRIERSON
Chaplain, Sheffield General Hospital, 1948-1958; now Vicar of Bredhust
1948 Goronwy DAVIES
Vicar of Ambleston, 1948-1953; Vicar of Miskin, 1953-1957; now Vicar of Bettws Cedewain
1949 – 1956 George Arthur GRENIER
Vicar of Outwood, 1956-1960
1956 – 1958 Leslie Clement YOUNG
Vicar of St Paul, Westleigh, 1958-1961; now Vicar of St John, Terrington
1958 John Edward Allin SMITH
The list of those who have served St Philip’s would be incomplete without the names of those who have acted as Verger and Caretaker: Mrs Palmer (1876-1907); Mrs Annie Bryant (1907-1930); and her daughter, Miss Edith Bryant, the present Verger, who succeeded her.
Note 1. The Rev L H P Maurice, who was ordained priest in 1865, first appears in the St Mark’s Baptism Register on 13th January 1866, when he signed himself “Curate of Nutley Lane Church”. It appears that before his appointment services were taken by the staff of St Mark’s.
Note 2. During the period 1917-1919 duties were taken at Nutley Lane Church by the Rev E Bury and the Rev H J L Norman, Curate of St Mark’s. Mr Norman was appointed as Curate of Nutley Lane Church in 1919.
The early history of St Philip’s Church Hall demonstrates the debt which St Philip’s owes to the people of St Mark’s. In 1870 the Vicar of St Mark’s, the Rev Arthur Cazenove, rented the land immediately to the north of Nutley Lane Church, and two separate buildings were erected on it. At the front was built the two-storied building which bears the inscription “St Mark’s Mission House”, and this was erected by public subscription. The upper room acted as an “Assembly Room for the poor inhabitants of these parts”, while the two rooms on the ground floor (now thrown into one) provided a home for the “Mission Woman”, Miss Eliza Peate, from 1873 to 1903. A memorial tablet in the clergy vestry at St Philip’s records that Miss Peate was a Sunday-school teacher for sixty years; the tablet was erected by her “fellow-workers”, Mrs Cazenove and Mrs Hillis (the wife of the Rev William Hillis who was minister of Nutley Lane Church from 1869 until he left to become vicar of St Luke’s in 1877).
Behind, Mr Cazenove erected (apparently at his own expense) a stable and coach house for the Minister of Nutley Lance Church. An octogenarian correspondent (baptized at Nutley Lane in 1872) wrote in 1956:
“I remember seeing a horse in the stable which is now ?? ?? ?? and was a Sunday School…. One memory of Rev Hillis was him having had a horse and carriage and a Mr Simpson a coachman on the box waiting at the door of the Parsonage.”
Within ten years the stable and coach-house had been converted into a schoolroom, and this building still survives as the pitched-roof part of the Church Hall. The need to use the Church for recreation and as a Lecture Room then disappeared.
Matters remained so until 1938, with two separate buildings. In that year a large plan for the improvement of the Hall was completed. The size of the Hall itself was doubled by the addition of the flat-roofed portion. The kitchen was added and the passage and cloakroom joined the Hall to the Club House. Details of how the money was raised will be within the memory of many readers. Church organisations worked hard, and they were backed up by generous private donors. The names of the Rev Kennedy Skipton, the then Minister, and of Miss Neison, who lived at the White House in Beaufort Road, will be associated with this work. The extensions were opened by Mr W J Clarke of Broke’s Lodge, who had been Chairman of the Building Committee, on 16th November, 1938.
By the end of the Second World War further work was needed for the floor of the Hall was found to be suffering from dry rot, and fund raising started again to provide the present fine parquet floor. Opportunity was taken to add the men’s lavatory and a store-room behind the cloakroom. Since then the maintenance of the Hall has been done largely by voluntary effort, and twice the large hall has been completely redecorate by the mend (and women!) of the congregation.
The lease of the land, and the buildings thereon were handed over to the Trustees – the Mission House in 1871 and the Schoolroom in 1881. The freehold was bought in 1922 from the Somerset Estate. The Trustees were largely and increasingly the same as those of the church, and the Charity Commissioner’s Scheme of 1957 entrusts the management of the Church, Hall and Parsonage to the one body, the Parochial Church Council.
Curates and Minister of St Philip’s
1866 – 1869 Lyttleton Henry Powys MAURICE (See note 1)
Curate of Blechingley, 1870-1873; Rector of Northover 1872-1902
1869 – 1877 William HILLIS
Vicar of St Luke’s, South Park, 1877-1885
1877 – 1880 Joseph White HORNE
Vicar of St James. Islington, 1880-1901; Vicar of Monkton, 1901-1903
1880 – 1882 Samuel ROGERS
Vicar of Long Compton, 1886-1887; Vicar of St Mark, Liverpool, 1887-1889
1882 – 1889 Joseph ADAMSON
Vicar of Colston Bassett, 1889-1897; Vicar of St Luke, Croydon, 1897-1905; Vicar of Exminster, 1905-1924
1889 – 1890 David Marshall LANG
C.M.S. Missionary in Japan 1890-1920; Rectopr of Fillingham, 1920-1946
1891 – 1892 Thomas Henry Montague HOBBS
Chaplain of Ospedaletti, Italy, 1899-?
1894 – 1906 Edwin John BAKER
Missioner (1906-1915) and Vicar (1915-1936) of St Barnabas, Mitcham
1906 – 1917 Clarence Herbert GOODALL
Vicar of St Crispin, Bermondsey, 1917-1926; Vicar of Christchurch, East Greenwich, 1926-1942; now Permission to Officiate, St James, Kidbrooke
1919 – 1923 Henry John Leneve NORMAN
Curate of Beccles, 1923-1925, Rector of Freckenham, 1925-1927; Chaplain of All Saints, Quilmes, Argentine, 1927-1931; Rector of Burstead, 1932-1935; Organising Secretary, South American Missionary Society, 1931, 1935-1957; R.A.F.V.R. 1941-1943
1923 – 1925 Robert Philip Arthur MUMFORD
Last celebrated Holy Communion at St Philip’s 15th October; died 20th October, 1925
1925 – 1927 Robert William SHAW
Organising Secretary, Waifs and Strays, 1927-1929; Vicar of St John the Evangelist, Maidstone, 1929-1933; Curate-in-Charge, St Martin, Maidstone, 1933-1937; Vicar of Hellingly, 1937-1958
1927 – 1943 Horace Pitt Kennedy SKIPTON
Last celebrated Holy Communion at St Philip’s. 25th November 1942; died 16th February 1943, aged 81. A sketch of him appears overleaf.
1943 – 1944 George Ernest ADAMS
Vicar of Gestingthorpe, 1944-1947; Rector of Belchamp-Otten, 1947-1956; Chaplain R.A.F. 1956-1959; now Vicar of Wrestlingworth and Dunton
1944 – 1948 Robert Haultain GRIERSON
Chaplain, Sheffield General Hospital, 1948-1958; now Vicar of Bredhust
1948 Goronwy DAVIES
Vicar of Ambleston, 1948-1953; Vicar of Miskin, 1953-1957; now Vicar of Bettws Cedewain
1949 – 1956 George Arthur GRENIER
Vicar of Outwood, 1956-1960
1956 – 1958 Leslie Clement YOUNG
Vicar of St Paul, Westleigh, 1958-1961; now Vicar of St John, Terrington
1958 John Edward Allin SMITH
The list of those who have served St Philip’s would be incomplete without the names of those who have acted as Verger and Caretaker: Mrs Palmer (1876-1907); Mrs Annie Bryant (1907-1930); and her daughter, Miss Edith Bryant, the present Verger, who succeeded her.
Note 1. The Rev L H P Maurice, who was ordained priest in 1865, first appears in the St Mark’s Baptism Register on 13th January 1866, when he signed himself “Curate of Nutley Lane Church”. It appears that before his appointment services were taken by the staff of St Mark’s.
Note 2. During the period 1917-1919 duties were taken at Nutley Lane Church by the Rev E Bury and the Rev H J L Norman, Curate of St Mark’s. Mr Norman was appointed as Curate of Nutley Lane Church in 1919.
