The Church of St Andrew, Gatton is a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

church in Gatton, near

Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'', and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The ea ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It is a

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. The earliest record of a church on the site is in 880AD. Some fabric from the 13th century survives including a

piscina A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, or else in the vestry or sacristy, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Lutherans and Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a pisci ...

and the font, but the church we see today mostly dates from an idiosyncratic restoration by Frederick, Baron Monson, and his architect E. Webb in 1834.

Location

The church sits in

Gatton Park Gatton Park is a country estate set in parkland landscaped by Capability Brown and gardens by Henry Ernest Milner and Edward White (landscape architect), Edward White at Gatton, Surrey, Gatton, near Reigate in Surrey, England. Gatton Park is n ...

(landscaped by

Capability Brown Lancelot "Capability" Brown (born c. 1715–16, baptised 30 August 1716 – 6 February 1783) was an English gardener and landscape architect, a notable figure in the history of the English landscape garden style. Unlike other architects ...

), and next to Gatton Hall, the former home of the Barons Monson. St Andrew's served as much as the family's private chapel as the parish church. The last private owners of Gatton Hall moved out after 1945 and the Hall has since been acquired by The Royal Alexandra and Albert School.

Interior

The interior is laid out like a collegiate chapel rather than a parish church, with pews facing each other across the central aisle. There area an unusual number of high-quality antique fittings collected by Frederick, 5th Baron Monson from around Europe and installed in the church which was next to his residence at Gatton Hall. These include a pulpit and altar from

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

, carved doors from

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

, presbytery stalls from a disestablished monastery in

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

, altar rails from

Tongeren Tongeren (; ; ; ) is a city and former municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg, in the southeastern corner of the Flemish region of Belgium. Tongeren is the oldest town in Belgium, as the only Roman administrative capital wit ...

and stained glass from Aarschot. Some of the carvings on the altar and pulpit appear to come from a lost altarpiece from the workshop of Jan Genoots, perhaps dating from circa 1525–30. The

Pevsner Architectural Guides The ''Pevsner Architectural Guides'' are four series of guide books to the architecture of the British Isles. ''The Buildings of England'' series was begun in 1945 by the art historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, with its forty-six original volumes pu ...

describe this as "perhaps the best example in the country of the tendency for the church to become an extension of the landlord's parlour or sculpture gallery".

Family pew

The Monson family pew is particularly unusual. It occupies the north transept and has its own private entrance connected to the hall by a covered walkway. It contains a fireplace and is furnished with upholstered chairs and benches. The

describe it as "the perfect example of the English nobleman's wish to worship in comfort... With its atmosphere of being a sumptuous private chapel that has somehow got detached from the house, it is among the best in the country."Nairn, Pevsner and Cherry 1971, pp. 250–251.

Gallery

Gatton St Andrews - Interior 2.jpg, Interior St Andrew's, Gatton Family Pew.jpg, Monson family pew St Andrew's, Gatton - Baptistry.jpg, Baptistry: C13 font; stained glass probably c.1830

References

Sources

*{{Cite book , first1=Ian , last1=Nairn , author1-link=Ian Nairn , last2=Pevsner , first2=Nikolaus , author2-link=Nicholas Pevsner , first3=Bridget , last3=Cherry , author3-link=Bridget Cherry , title=Surrey , series=The Buildings of England , location=London , publisher=Penguin Books , edition=2nd , year=1971 , isbn=0140710213 , pages=250–251 Listed churches in England