Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols

for 1 hour
Ranmore: St Barnabas
Ranmore Common Road Dorking, RH5 6SP, United Kingdom
The Church of St Barnabas has a particular connection with Archbishop Edward White Benson who devised this service of Nine Lessons and Carols when he was Bishop of Truro in 1880. He became Archbishop of Canterbury from 1883 until his death in 1896.
He was an undergraduate at Trinity College Cambridge with George Cubitt MP, the First Baron Ashcombe in 1892, who built this church in 1859.
Archbishop Benson conducted the marriages of George’s and his wife Laura’s four daughters at Ranmore – Mildred in 1883, Mary in 1884 and Beatrice and Adelaide in 1891. The Archbishop was a family friend and it may not be too fanciful to suggest that he might have brought his new service to Ranmore. In 1897 the four daughters donated the brass altar cross, which is displayed at every service, in his memory.

Ranmore: St Barnabas

St Barnabas' Church on Ranmore Common – postcode RH5 6SP – has been known as "The Church on the North Downs Way" for many years and more recently was referred to as "My other Cathedral in the Woods" by the former Bishop [Christopher] of Guildford.

You can download the St Barnabas monthly Newsletter through the News + Notices page. This will give you and idea of life at St Barnabas and you can also down load the leaflets about the history of the church. If you are reading this on a tablet it works best in the landscape format and if you are using a phone there is a Menu line at the bottom which leads you into the rest of the site.

The parish of Ranmore is committed to the safeguarding of children, young people and adults. We follow the House of Bishops guidance and policies and have our own Parish Safeguarding Officer(s), PSOs. The Diocese of Guildford’s safeguarding pages contain vital links and information including contacts for the Diocesan Safeguarding Advisor (DSA) who advise our PSOs. If you are concerned that a child or adult has been harmed or may be at risk of harm please contact the DSA. If you have immediate concerns about the safety of someone, please contact the police and your local authority Children or Adults Services.

We have an associated website – https://ranmorewarmemorial.info (you can click on this) – which was inspired by the names of the men "who went forth from this parish at the call of duty and fell in the Great War" who are listed on the memorial plaque on the wall of the nave in the church. It also contains background information on the Denbies Estate and the Cubitt family. 

Get in touch

St Martin's Church Office,
The Christian Centre,
Church Street,
Dorking.

RH4 1DW
Parish Administrator
01306884229
What's on

Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols

for 1 hour
Ranmore: St Barnabas
Ranmore Common Road Dorking, RH5 6SP, United Kingdom

The Church of St Barnabas has a particular connection with Archbishop Edward White Benson who devised this service of Nine Lessons and Carols when he was Bishop of Truro in 1880. He became Archbishop of Canterbury from 1883 until his death in 1896.
He was an undergraduate at Trinity College Cambridge with George Cubitt MP, the First Baron Ashcombe in 1892, who built this church in 1859.
Archbishop Benson conducted the marriages of George’s and his wife Laura’s four daughters at Ranmore – Mildred in 1883, Mary in 1884 and Beatrice and Adelaide in 1891. The Archbishop was a family friend and it may not be too fanciful to suggest that he might have brought his new service to Ranmore. In 1897 the four daughters donated the brass altar cross, which is displayed at every service, in his memory.

Ranmore: St Barnabas Charity No. 617133