Nutley Lane Church

Index

• Nutley Lane Church
• St Philip's
• A Conventional District
• The Building and its Furnishings
• Curate and Ministers of St Philip's
• Verger and Caretaker
• Photos of St Philip's
• St Philip's Church Hall
• Then and Now



• Nutley Lane and S. Philips Pamphlett from early 1900s

The Foundation and Development of St Philip's

Nutley Lane Church (now St Philip's) was opened for public worship on 20th March 1863. The following announcement was made in the Reigate, Redhill, Dorking and Epsom Journal for 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. Casenove, 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.”

The building of the church was due to one man, Mr William Philipps of Reigate Lodge (a large house near the corner of Croydon Road and Church Street). Mr Phillipps had bought the site of the church the year before and had the church built at his own expense. The site was part of a field, formarly known as “the Nutley Field”, but then called “Bachelor's Field”.

The motives that lay behind this generous action are not all known, but one tradition is that it was a protest against the amount of singing that was being introduced into the services of local churches at the time, singing, which in Mr Phillipps' view, prevented ordinary people from joining in the services to the full. The practice of demanding pew rents was something else that he objected to; but no doubt his action was also prompted by a real desire to benefit the people of the fast-growing district.

On 13th August 1866, the church was handed over to a body of private trustees, when a Trust Deed was signed by Mr Phillipps; this stated at the outset that:

“The said William Phillipps ... is desirious of providing for religious moral and intellectual improvement of the Labouring Classes in the vicinity of such building.”

The Deed also detailed regulations for the type of service to be performed:

“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 abbreviation 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.”

Mr Phillipps was not only interested in the services, but also in providing suitable activities on weekdays. 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 (including purposes of a Lecture Room)” as Mr Phillipps or the Trustees thought proper.

Mr Phillipps had made due provision for the Minister by buying the house next door (102A Nutley Lane) in 1865 to be the Parsonage, which was used as such until 1912 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 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 Hughes 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).

Nutley Lane Church was not a Chapel of Ease or daughter church in the ordinary sense as it had not been set up by St Mark's, but by a private individual and for nearly 90 years it remained, what 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 clergymen of the Church of England can officiate in a parish without the permission of the encumbent. 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 licence and Clergyman who may be appointed by the Trustees”.

In 1920, the name of “St Philip's” 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 on 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. The church was dedicated to St Philip, rather than St James in view of the name of the founder.

After the Second World War, it was agreed that the status of the church should be changed to that of a “Conventional District” - this is an area placed with the consent of the incumbent and the bishop under the care of a “curate-in-charge” or “minister”, who is responsible for the cure of souls in the district. The district entrusted to St Philip's and its Minister is bounded by the railway line to the North, London Road to the East, West Street to the South and the Borough boundary to 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 Chruch Council, its own representative on the Diocesan Conference and it also has a separate quota. As a result of this arrangement, the private trustees were relieved 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 the 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 church developed gradually into the spacious, open building that it is now, without affecting the structure, which remains exactly as it was in the days of Mr Phillipps. The earliest known picture was taken between 1905 and 1908 and from this time only three features now remain: the east window (which is a memorial dedicated to William and Jane Phillipps), the pulpit (given in 1898 in memory of Mr Edward Horne, one of the Trustees) and the priest's stall.

The organ seen in this picture 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, but the plans for the new church were abandoned and the large organ remained at St Philip's until 1960.

The same picture shows the old tortoise stove, which survived until 1951, when a new Gurney stove was installed. Attempts were, at one time, made 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 parishoner.

The gas pendants were later replaced (or supplemented) by gas brackets on the pillars, but these also 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” obscurred the dedication of the window (now clearly visible). The curtains were replaced by the present reredos in 1919; this was made by 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 at one time stood upon the alter; this was made in 1934 by Rev. E. 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 was replaced in 1930, but the frontal 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 the expert needle and care of Mrs Rushbridge, a member of the congregation.

The wooden vestry was enlarged at a later date and remained until 1961 and 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 2nd June 1930 by the Bishop of Kingston; the processional cross was given later in the same year.

The church was designed to accommodate 350 persons; the pews, installed in 1930, will hold 176 persons, together with a choir of 17, clergy and organist. It may be that the original seats were closer together and there appear to have been two gangways instead of the present three. 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 was bought from St Luke's in 1905, but the choir stalls to match were not purchased from St Luke's until some time after 1908. The old choir stalls can be seen in a picture taken soon after the new organ was installed.

The raising of the floor of the chancel by two steps at some date after the end of the First World War must have been a great improvement. This happened after 1919 (for the reredos was designed to suit the lower flooring and was originally well below the window) and before 1930 when the reseating 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 a recovery after a motor accident by Mrs Hastings; a plate in her memory was fixed to it on her death in 1941.

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 1943. 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 not 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, but in 1957, the artistic vision of 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 occasion soon came to continue the work which Rev. Young had begun; in 1960, the organ, which for years had given trouble and needed constant repair, required such an expensive 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 on 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 location 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 extended and the new altar rails constructed, and the whole was dedicated by the Bishop of Southwark on the 23rd 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, but 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 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 until his death in 1931 and gave the chalice and paten to St Philip's.

To commemorate the centenery, the approach to the church was improved in keeping with the beautified interior; the wall was curved back to leave and 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.

• 1866-1869 Lyttleton Henry Powys Maurice
• 1869-1877 William Hillis
• 1877-1880 Joseph White Horne
• 1880-1882 Samuel Rogers
• 1882-1889 Joseph Adamson
• 1889-1890 David Marshall Lang
• 1891-1892 Thomas Henry Montague Hobbs
• 1894-1906 Edward John Baker
• 1906-1917 Clarence Herbert Goodall
• 1919-1923 Henry John Leneve Norman
• 1923-1925 Robert Philip Arthur Mumford
• 1925-1927 Robert William Shaw
• 1927-1943 Horace Pitt Kennedy Skipton
• 1943-1944 George Ernest Adams
• 1944-1948 Robert Haultain Grierson
• 1948-1948 Goronwy Davies
• 1949-1956 George Arthur Grenier
• 1956-1958 Leslie Clement Young
• 1958- John Edward Allin Smith

• 1976-1907 Mrs Palmer
• 1907-1930 Mrs Annie Bryant
• 1930- Miss Edith Bryant

The early history of St Philip's Church Hall demonstrates the debt which St Philiips 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”, which was erected by public subscription. The upper room acted as an “Assembly Room for the poor inhabitants of those 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 table in the clergy vestry at St Philips records that Miss Peate was a Sunday-School teacher for 60 years; the table was erected by her “fellow workers”, Mrs Cazenove and Mrs Hillis (the wife if 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 the building, Mr Cazenove erected (apparently at his own expense) a stable and coach house for the Minister of Nutley Lane Church. An octogenerian correspondent (baptized in Nutley Lane in 1872), wrote in 1956:

“I remember seeing a horse in the stable … and a Sunday School … One memory or 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 10 years, the stable and coach house had been converted into a school room 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 thus disappeared.

In 1938 a large plan for the improvement of the Hall was completed; the size of the Hall was doubled by the addition of the flat-roofed portion, the kitchen was added and the passage and cloakroom joined to the Club House. Details of how the money was raised will remain in the memories of people. Church organisations worked hard and they were backed-up by generous private donors - the names of Rev Kennedy Skipton (the then Minister) and Miss Neison, who lived at the White House in Beaufort Road, are associated with this work. The extensions were opened by Mr W K Clarke of Broke's Lodge 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 fundraising started again to provide the present parquet floor. Opportunity was taken to add the men's lavatory and a store room beyond the cloakroom. Since then, the maintenance of the Hall has largely been done by voluntary effort - the large hall has been completely redecorated by the men (and women!) of the congregation on more than one occasion.

The lease of the land and the buildings thereon were handed over to Trustees - The Mission House in 1871 and the School Room 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 Commissioners' Scheme of 1957 entrust the management of the Chruch, Hall and Parsonage to one body, the Parochial Church Council.

Select this photo to see a Then and Now comparison.