List of places of worship in Waverley (borough)
Various Christian denominations own and use 89 churches, chapels and halls across the borough, and a further 26 buildings no longer serve a religious function but survive in alternative uses.
Congregationalist churches can be traced back to the 17th century in the borough, Unitarianism and the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) have a long history in Godalming, and Methodists and Baptists each have several congregations.
[7] At 133 square miles (340 km2) it is the county's largest district, but the majority of the land is given over to agriculture or woodland and there are only four major settlements:[5] the ancient towns of Farnham (population 39,765),[8] Godalming (21,983)[9] and Haslemere (17,010),[10] and the village of Cranleigh which has expanded rapidly in the postwar era[11] and had a population of 11,492 on census day in 2011.
[14] There were Roman fortifications around Hascombe and Farnham,[15] but the early history of this part of Surrey is obscure until the Saxon period, when several churches were built.
[17] Architecturally there was a major change after the Norman conquest of England, but none of Surrey's complete Norman-style churches are in Waverley and the most extensive surviving fabric from that time can be found at Witley and Ewhurst.
[19] Otherwise, only the fonts at Alfold and Thursley, and some wall paintings at Witley, demonstrate how this area of Surrey's churches would have appeared during the Norman era.
[20] Gothic architecture, specifically the Early English style, became established in Surrey in the 13th century and is discernible in many of Waverley Borough's churches.
[27] The next period of significant church-building came in the 19th century, by which time many of the centuries-old churches in the towns and villages had fallen into disrepair.
[28] The Victorian era was characterised by the restoration of such churches, often by nationally prominent architects such as William Butterfield (Cranleigh),[29] Benjamin Ferrey (Farnham St Andrew,[30] Thursley)[31] and Henry Woodyer (Bramley,[32] Chiddingfold).
Woodyer, who lived at Grafham, designed the church there in 1861–64,[34] Hascombe (1864)[35] and St James, Farnham (1876);[36] George Gilbert Scott worked on Farncombe (built in stages from 1847)[37] and Busbridge (1865–67);[38] Ewan Christian designed Tilford (1867)[39] and Churt (1868),[40] and Grayswood (1900–02) was by his pupil Axel Haig;[34] Benjamin Ferrey was responsible for St John the Evangelist Church, Hale, Surrey (1844),[41] C.H.
In contrast, the founding of the (initially interdenominational) Surrey Mission in 1797 gave great impetus to Congregational, Baptist and Independent groups throughout the 19th century, leaving a legacy of dozens of chapels, schools and associated institutions.
[50] General Baptist congregations developed in the late 19th century at Chiddingfold and Dunsfold, both with the help of local resident Samuel Barrow jp,[51] and one was founded in Godalming around the same time.
[70][66] In contrast to Nonconformist denominations, Roman Catholicism was late to develop a presence in the area now covered by Waverley borough.
[75] The eastern part of the borough was served by the friary church at Chilworth from 1945 until the Franciscan friars took the decision to withdraw in 2010.
[78] A geological division runs right through Waverley from west to east, entering the county at Hale and continuing along the line of the Hog's Back towards and beyond Guildford.
[79] Bargate stone—a coarse, light-brown sandstone—was historically quarried around Chilworth, Guildford and Godalming, and was still being used for new buildings until the late 19th century and beyond.
[80] "Irregular veins" of carrstone also occur locally in the Lower Greensand, particularly between Tilford and Albury (near Chilworth).
[107] Bethel Baptist Chapel in Hale maintains links with GraceNet UK, an association of Reformed Evangelical Christian churches and organisations.
