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A History of Chipstead Church      St Margaret's Greyscale Drawin


Dedicated to St Margaret of Antioch

In the Diocese of Southwark

  • Circa AD675  - Yew Tree gives way to wooden building
  • Frithelwald, Under King of the Surrey Men, gives Chipstead to Chertsey Abbey.
  • 1086 - Domesday Book, Churchfelle Hundred includes “Tepestede”. Chertsey holds the land, with Richard of Tonbridge as tenant.
  • Circa AD1150 - present Church started. “Dog tooth” door can still be seen
  • post AD1200 - Cruciform shape and tower.
  • 1303 - William de Brompton dies – first known date for Chipstead clergyman.
  • 1356  - Two Chipstead men pardoned in the Town & Gown riots in Oxford.
  • 1492  - Wanting to be buried in the Churchyard, William Tanner gives a sheep “to the light of St Margaret’s
  • 1540  - Henry Porter gives £4 for the “Persone’s bell” and asked for 30 Priests to sing at his funeral.
  • 1553  - Sir Thomas Cawarden allows Chipstead to keep its 4 bells, one chalice and one altar cloth: all its other goods sold for 24s. 11d.
  • 1585  and 1607  - Two of the present bells cast.
  • 1614  - Lucie Roper buried and brass made for her tomb.
  • 1645  - Revd. George Moore alleged to be a ‘common drunkard and swearer’; replaced by Robert Mercer a ‘godley and orthodox divine’.
  • 1646  - Robert Mercer accused of wrongfully felling glebe and rectory trees.
  • 1658 and 1785  - Two new bells added.
  • 1746  - Mary Stephens leaves money for ‘teaching 6 poor children, boys or girls, to read …’
  • 1790  - Bitter election to the Vestry with “every injurious report possible spread about one candidate”.
  • 1753 – 1808  - John Grifies Rector for more than half a century.
  • 1808  - The Peter Aubertins, father and son, hold the Parish until 1889.  Church restored, organ installed, South Transept built, Church re-roofed and re-glazed.
  • 1807 - 1834  - St Edward Banks falls in love with Chipstead whilst building the Turnpike and ‘Railed Way’ in the Valley in conjunction with Sir William “Hat” Joliffe.
  • 1827  - the Font (14th Century) was placed on its present base and steps.
  • 1901  - Rev. Young found guilty of ‘conduct unbecoming’ - forward with women and drink, backward in parish duties.
  • 1940  - Windows destroyed by parachute land-mine.
  • 1965  - Crested help of Anthony Stephens stolen from Church.
  • 1985  - ‘New Vestry’ completed and furnished.
  • 1993  - The new Font cover was inaugurated, the greater part being made from wood of the ancient yew destroyed by the hurricane of 1987.
  • 1995  - Celebration of over 800 years of worship in this place.
  • 2012  - The new building in the churchyard, “The Orchard”, was inaugurated and blessed by the Bishop of Croydon.
  • 2014  - Prayer Walk was opened in the churchyard 


PDF - Welcome to Chipstead Church

Diocese of Soutwark 

St Margaret’s, Chipstead, Diocese of Southwark

 

Hello
Hello and welcome to our church. If you are a new visitor, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
Click here to see more.

Planning your Visit

New to Church?

The following information is specifically for those planning a visit, so that you know, beforehand, what to expect on a Sunday morning.

Where and When

We meet at St Margaret’s Church for our Sunday Services . We now have two services of differing styles on offer, Holy Communion will be celebrated at one of these services every week. 
 
The first service starts at 8:45am and this will be BCP (Book of Common Prayer) traditional worship with hymns.
 
The second service starts at 10:15am and will be more contemporary worship with band led music. Groups for under 18's will be held, starting off in church together. Communion will be held at one service each week.
 
We will hold a Unified service at 10am celebrating the best of both traditions. This will be for occasions such as Remembrance Sunday, Christmas Day, Easter Sunday, and our Patronal Festival. We will also come together as one church family when there is a 5th Sunday in the month.  

For your first visit, we recommend arriving 10-15 minutes early to ensure you get a parking space and find somewhere to sit before the service begins. When you arrive, you will be greeted by someone on our Sides Team, please make yourself known, that you are visiting for the first time so that we may give you a welcome pack.

We serve tea, coffee and biscuits after each service.  It is a great way to meet people, or simply take time to find your bearings. All refreshments are free.

Accessibility: There is wheelchair access, and a sound loop for anyone who needs it. Please let one of the Sides Team know on your arrival and they will help you to get set up. There is also a disabled toilet and baby changing facilities.

Our Service

Each service begins with a warm welcome from our Rector. We have a mixture of services, comprising of Morning Prayer, Holy Communion, BCP Communion, Morning Worship and All Together. Our music is organ and band. We typically have 3 or 4 songs. We then share news and notices, usually about what’s going on in the life of the church. Our Rector will then give a sermon that is bible based and that we can apply to our everyday life. We then finish with a final worship song. There is always an opportunity to receive private prayer at the end of the service.

What about my children?

We have a great programme lined up for children of all ages:

  • Bubbles (3-5 years)
  • Juniors (6-11 years)
  • Ignite (11-14 years)
  • Youth (14+ years)
Children stay with their parent or grown-up at the start of the service for the welcome, songs, and notices. We really value worshipping God all together as a family. At the end of the notices someone will announce that it’s time for the younger members to go to their various groups. You will need to go with your children to their groups and register them as part of our child safety policy.

The children’s group activities vary depending on the age but usually there is a friendly welcome, bible stories, testimonies, praying, music, craft, drama, fun games, and free play. Please pick your children up as soon as the service finishes, usually around 11.15am.


Getting Connected

 
Small Groups
While Sundays are a great way to meet new people, it is often in smaller gatherings that you can really get to know someone. Being part of one of our small groups allows you to make new friends, share together and support each other. We have a variety of groups that meet throughout the week, some afternoons, and some evenings. Check out Small Groups and see if there’s one that you could join, or we can put you in touch with a small group leader who will be more than happy to invite you along to their group.

Serving and Volunteering
If you want to get involved in the life of the church and help us, make Sundays run smoothly, you can sign up to serve on a team. 
 
Get in touch with us to plan your visit
If you would like to come and visit the church beforehand you are more than welcome! Get in touch and we can arrange a time that suits you.
Name:
Telephone:
Email Address:
Comments / Questions or anything you would like to say?
Next, we will contact you by email to say hello and help arrange anything necessary for your visit.

 
We hope that whoever you are, you will feel at home at our church.

Best Wishes