Church Heritage Record 617044

Single cell, with attached store house in south-west corner.

[Approximate] Interior 8m (26ft) x 4m (13ft)

The area around Old Compton Lane is rich in archaeology and history. Early settlement of the area is evidenced for example by a number of Palaeolithic hand-axes found south-west of St Mary’s. A Bronze Age cremation cemetery and Iron Age cremations have also been found to the south-west. Farnham was settled by the Romans and the Roman pottery kilns are to the south-west and north-west of St Mary’s. There are also houses dating to c.1600 within the vicinity and to the north-west are a number of WWII related records including pillboxes.

A short history of the building displayed inside the church records that it is also known as the ‘Church in the Woods’ and was built 1863-4 by J F Bateman of Moor Park as a school for children of his employees. It was subsequently made available for a Sunday service for villagers and as a Sunday School for the children. It was sold to the Parish of Farnham in 1913-14, for the benefit of Compton residents and became known as Compton Mission Church. Gifts of furnishings, font (no longer there) and altar rails were received in memory of former worshippers. In 1962, it was dedicated to St Mary after the nearby ruins of Waverley Abbey. The interior has undergone very little change since it became a church.

There is evidence on the exterior south wall of a previously abutting structure, probably storage.

The archaeological potential of the site is low, though the archaeological interest of the wider area is high. There are no known designations relating to the ecology of the plot, though it contains mature trees (unclear if any tree preservation orders) and is situated within an area of great landscape value, close to a designated Natural Area.

Small church of some charm given its position virtually camouflaged with its mossy roof hidden in the dip of a narrow road with woodland to either side. Its use of local building materials adds to the way the building blends with its surrounding environment.

The simple building has pitched tile roofs with overhanging eaves. A timber bell-cote on the east gable contains a single bell. The tiny churchyard is entered through a gap in the wall to the west. A tiled canopy projects over the west door forming a porch with a small area of paving outside. A cross is fixed to the gable above. The walls have a brick stringcourse encircling the building at sill height and ventilation grates above ground level. The east window is of three square-headed lights beneath a round arch marked in brick. There are three windows in the north wall. In the west wall small lancet windows sit either side of the porch and in the gable. A small boiler house projects from the south-west corner. There are no windows on the south side but there is evidence of a previously attached structure.

The west door provides the only access into the building, inside a simple projection has a curtain around it. A desk and storage is located in the north-west corner. The interior has probably changed very little since its conversion in the early-20th century. The small space has a pitched roof structure of two simple scissor trusses with a boarding ceiling above. Four brass chandeliers hang above the nave and are supplemented by modern light fittings. Two ornate wrought-iron candelabra are fixed to either wall at the east end. Natural light enters through clear diamond-leaded glazing.

The nave is floored with level wood boards, laid with a strip of carpet, with fixed benches to either side of the aisle. Boarded panelling rises to dado height on the north and south walls. Short sections of barley-twist balustrade stand in front of the foremost benches. A harmonium and lectern are situated in a space beyond.

At the east end is a step up to the chancel area separated behind wooden altar rails. The north, east and south walls are panelled in oak, which are recorded as Jacobean in a plaque, along with the altar rails. The east window lights are set within a recessed pointed arch.