St Joan of Arc Church is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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 com ...

Farnham Farnham is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a tributary of the ...

, Surrey. It was founded in 1890 and built in its present location in 1929. It was decided that the Farnham church should be dedicated to St Joan of Arc because

Farnham Castle Farnham Castle is a 12th-century castle in Farnham, Surrey, England. It was formerly the residence of the Bishop of Winchester, Bishops of Winchester. History Built in 1138 by Henri de Blois, Bishop of Winchester, grandson of William I of En ...

was a residence of Cardinal Henry Beaufort who was present at her trial. It is a

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...

church and a Grade II listed building. It is situated between Tilford Road and Waverley Lane, south of Farnham Railway Station.

History

Frensham Place

In 1888, a Fr Mathieu Gerin came from France to say Mass for the Catholics in

. Originally, he did this in a temporary chapel in Frensham Place, a country house that became Edgeborough School.

Bear Lane

By 1890, a larger place was needed to accommodate an increasing congregation. So Fr Gerin bought an old disused police station in Bear Lane, down hill from

. The top floor was turned into a church, dedicated to

Saint Polycarp Polycarp (; , ''Polýkarpos''; ; AD 69 155) was a Christian bishop of Smyrna. According to the '' Martyrdom of Polycarp'', he died a martyr, bound and burned at the stake, then stabbed when the fire failed to consume his body. Polycarp is rega ...

and the ground floor became a school. Soon the school outgrew its location and had to move next door.History
from St Joan of Arc Farnham. Retrieved 3 March 2013

Tilford Road

In 1913, eight years after Fr Gerin retired, Fr Etienne Robo came to serve the local church. After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he returned from France in 1919. In 1922 he realised that a new church site had to be sought to accommodate the larger congregation.

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc ( ; ; – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the Coronation of the French monarch, coronation of Charles VII o ...

was

canonised Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of sai ...

in 1920 and Fr Robo wanted a church dedicated to the saint in the town that was a principal residence of

Cardinal Beaufort Henry Beaufort (c. 1375 – 11 April 1447) was an English Catholic prelate and statesman who held the offices of Bishop of Lincoln (1398), Bishop of Winchester (1404) and cardinal (1426). He served three times as Lord Chancellor and played an ...

who presided at her trial in 1431, was present at her execution and ordered her ashes to be thrown into the

River Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres p ...

. In 1923, a site was bought at Tilford Road. It was originally a gravel and rubbish pit. In 1928, after the ground was levelled and made safe, work started on the new church. Waverley Lane leads from the church to

Waverley Abbey Waverley Abbey was the first Cistercian abbey in England, founded in 1128 by William Giffard, the Bishop of Winchester. Located about southeast of Farnham, Surrey, it is situated on a flood-plain; surrounded by current and previous channels ...

, the ruins of an old Cistercian Monastery. In 1928, a huge celebration of the abbey's foundation, in 1128, took place with Cardinal Francis Bourne in attendance. This helped gain local public support for the new church. In 1929, the foundation stone was laid by Bishop Peter Amigo of

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

. The church was designed by John Edward Dixon-Spain (d. 1955) in the

Romanesque Revival style Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a Architectural style, style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Reviv ...

and contains statues by the sculptor Vernon Hill. On 30 May 1930, the feast day of St Joan of Arc, the church was opened and two years later it was given the status of a parish church.

Parish

The church shares the site around it with St Polycarp's Catholic Primary School; the school keeping its original name from when it was located with the church in Bear Lane. The church has a close relationship with the school; Mass and services with the children are regularly held throughout the term, and are also attended by parents. The school states that its ethos and curriculum 'places great emphasis on religious education, worship and respect.' It is also a feeder school for All Hallows Catholic School in

Weybourne, Surrey Weybourne is a small village in Surrey, England. It lies on the outskirts of Farnham, Surrey and borders Aldershot in Hampshire. Geography Weybourne lies to the northeast of Farnham, bordering the villages of Hale, Heath End and Badshot Lea a ...

. The church celebrates Mass everyday and has four Sunday Masses. The Sunday Masses are at: 5pm (Saturday Vigil), 9.15am, 11.15am and 5pm (Sunday Youth Mass). In 2008, the St Joan's Centre was opened next door to the church. It acts as a hall for parish events and groups and can host other organisations that want to use it. The parish groups and associations include youth groups, adult formation groups, and prayer groups, as well as those working with the

Make Poverty History Make Poverty History were organizations in a number of countries, which focused on issues relating to 8th Millennium Development Goal such as aid, trade and justice. They generally formed a coalition of aid and development agencies which worked ...

campaign, a

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

club and Arcaid, a small, independent overseas aid charity, based in the parish. Also within the parish is More House School, an independent boys' school for those with learning difficulties. The school prospectus states that it has close links with the local parish. A Catholic service is held in the school chapel every week. Further down Waverley Lane from the church is the Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice, which offers

palliative care Palliative care (from Latin root "to cloak") is an interdisciplinary medical care-giving approach aimed at optimizing quality of life and mitigating or reducing suffering among people with serious, complex, and often terminal illnesses. Man ...

to sick adults. The parish priest acts as chaplain to the hospice.Chaplaincy
at Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice. Retrieved 4 March 2013

References

External links

*
St Joan of Arc Parish site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Joan of Arc's Church, Farnham Roman Catholic churches completed in 1930 Grade II listed churches in Surrey Roman Catholic churches in Surrey Saint Joan of Arc Church Buildings and structures in Farnham Grade II listed Roman Catholic churches in England Romanesque Revival church buildings in England 1930 establishments in England 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom