About Us

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".

ST BARNABAS' CHURCH IS PART OF A UNITED BENEFICE WITH ST MARTIN'S CHURCH IN DORKING

TO DISCUSS MARRIAGES, BAPTISMS OR FUNERALS PLEASE CONTACT THE ST MARTIN'S CHURCH OFFICE                             at The Christian Centre, St Martin's Church, Church Street, Dorking, Surrey RH4 1DW

DURING THE COVID PANDEMIC THE CHURCH OFFICE IS NOT OPEN TO VISITORS, but telephone and email messages will get a response from people working from home. Please be patient.

Telephone: 01306 884229 Other enquiries can be submitted by email to [email protected] or through our Get in touch page which is lower down on the main menu.

 FOR NEWS OF CURRENT ACTIVITIES PLEASE CLICK ON monthly newsletter to the left of this page.

(PLEASE NOTE THAT ON A TABLET THIS WEBSITE IS BEST VIEWED IN LANDSCAPE FORMAT)

Details of Clergy and PCC ‘Management’ officers can be found in the Newsletter.

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 panel to the left.