St Mark's Church, Surbiton, is one of two

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

es in Surbiton,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

- the other is St Andrew's. It is dedicated to

Saint Mark Mark the Evangelist ( la, Marcus; grc-gre, Μᾶρκος, Mârkos; arc, ܡܪܩܘܣ, translit=Marqōs; Ge'ez: ማርቆስ; ), also known as Saint Mark, is the person who is traditionally ascribed to be the author of the Gospel of Mark. Acco ...

, and is situated near the top of St Mark's Hill, near the junction with Church Hill Road.

History

Saint Mark's is the oldest church in Surbiton, dating back to 1845. During the course of the 19th century, it was extended, and the spire added towards the end of the century. St Mark's suffered severe bomb damage during the

London Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

of 1940. Its spire survived but the roof and much of the chancel was destroyed, and the graves in the churchyard scattered. The church was closed for two decades before being reopened in 1960, after major restoration work. During this time a temporary church hall with a tin roof was used for worship. In September 2010 the church was closed for restoration again, during which the congregation worshipped at Saint Andrew's. Saint Mark's reopened its doors once more on 24 June 2012. During the restoration, a new hall was installed and the pews replaced by seats. The church has two books of remembrance scribed by the

calligrapher Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

, Mildred Ratcliffe.

Building

Saint Mark's has a light airy interior, with a traditional layout of

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ov ...

and

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

, and also a

Lady chapel A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British English, British term for a chapel dedicated to "Our Lady", Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church (building), church. The chapels are also known as ...

. The church is oriented in the traditional way, with the high

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

at the east end. The main entrance is through the south porch and door. The

tower A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures. Towers are specifi ...

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires a ...

and north wall were the only surviving parts of the original church which survived the bombing, although the tower has since had to be repaired. They are thus the only places where the work of the Victorian masons and stone carvers can be seen. Most of the

gravestones A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a stele or marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. It is traditional for burials in the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religions, among others. In most cases, it has the deceased's name, da ...

have been removed from the churchyard, as they were broken and damaged, but some interesting

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...

s remain.

Gallery

File:Surbiton, St Mark's Church.jpg, St Mark's Church File:Surbiton, St Mark's Church, stained glass window (1).jpg, Stained glass by W T Carter Shapland (1960) File:Surbiton, St Mark's Church, chancel.jpg, Interior

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mark's Church, Surbiton Surbiton Surbiton Surbiton 1845 establishments in the United Kingdom Churches completed in 1845 19th-century Church of England church buildings Surbiton Rebuilt churches in the United Kingdom History of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames