Welcome to St Barnabas' Church on Ranmore Common which has been known for many years as "The Church on the North Downs Way". A few years ago Bishop Christopher [of Guildford] visited the church for the first time and remarked "I have discovered that I have another cathedral in the woods".

FOR NEWS OF CURRENT ACTIVITIES PLEASE CLICK ON "NEWSLETTER" on “News” panel to the right. Details of Clergy and PCC ‘Management’ officers can be found here.

The parish of Ranmore is sparsely populated and most of the small but faithful congregation come from surrounding parishes to experience the special spiritual ambience of this remarkable building, a gem of art and architecture. Most, but not all, services follow the Book of Common Prayer (the church is affiliated to the Prayer Book Society and the Royal School of Church Music) and new members are always welcome and we invite them to help us maintain the life and the fabric of this church.

The church was built in 1859 by George Cubitt MP who became the 1st Baron Ashcombe in 1892. His architect was Sir George Gilbert Scott who designed a 'High Victoriana' scaled-down cathedral to serve the people who worked on the Denbies Estate and a school in a similar style was built next door. A hundred years ago the number of people working on the estate and their families was counted as between 300 and 400 and a full time Rector looked after them living in the Rectory behind the trees opposite the church. The church is listed Grade II* and is virtually unchanged since 1859. A more detailed history of the church can be found in the “Brief History of the Church” in the ‘Pages and Links’ panel.

The current general concern about the risks of metal theft and vandalism mean that the church cannot be left open when it is unattended. We are happy to arrange visits for interested groups such as local history societies, NADFAS, U3A etc. and the Victorian Society have visited twice recently!

In recent years, from the beginning of June until the Heritage Open Days in September we have been able to offer Teas in the Churchyard on Sunday afternoons from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. although this does depend on the availability of volunteers to make and serve the cakes. This is an important part of our fund-raising activities but it also gives us an opportunity share the ambience and history of the building with visitors.

This year we are planning a Jubilee tea and concert on Tuesday June 5th and the annual Church fête known as the “Cherry Fair” will be held on Saturday July 21st. The church will also be open for Heritage Open Days in September and the theme will be “St Barnabas School” which finally closed its doors in 1972, forty years ago. We hope to contact as many former pupils as we can and welcome them back for a cup of tea and an exhibition of memorabilia at the church.

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