St Martha's Hill

According to a local tradition the hill has this name due to it being the location where some early Christian martyres were burned in Saxon times.

[4][5][6] Another curious historical note of this site is it being said to have been the location, until recently, of an ancient folk custom that took place on St. Martha's Hill on Good Friday seemingly until the end of the 19th Century.

"A custom, the origin of which is lost in the obscurity of time, prevails in the neighbourhood of Guildford of making a pilgrimage to St. Martha's (or Martyr's) Hill on Good Friday.

Thither from all the countryside youths and maidens, old folks and children, betake themselves, and gathered together on one of the most beautiful spots in Surrey, in full sight of an old Norman church which crowns the green summit of the hill, beguile the time with music and dancing.

The church was rebuilt in 1848–50 to the designs of Henry Woodyer who incorporated many of the original 12th-century architectural features including Norman arches to the main entrance as well as zig zag moulded lancet windows on the tower.

[9] The interior is a plain, restrained style with the majority of fittings of a post 1850 date, the main exception being a 12th-century font (albeit re cut in 1850).

The eastern end of St Martha's Hill is notified as part of Colyers Hanger Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).