St.Nicholas
St. Nicholas is
Sutton’s ancient parish church and must be one of the two churches
in Sutton recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086. Chertsey Abbey
probably acquired Sutton in the first half of the 8th century so
they must have founded the St Nicholas church. The mediaeval church
shown in the above mid-19th century photograph was quite small with
a nave, chancel and an interesting looking timber framed belfry at
the west end. The belfry was replaced by a brick tower around 1800.
The population of Sutton grew considerably in the 19th century. In
the 1820s a new wooden gallery was erected in the old building to
increase the seating capacity. By 1860 it was obvious that the old
church was not large enough. It was demolished and replaced by a
new church which was consecrated in February 1864. It cost £7,200
and was designed by Edwin Nash. The vestry on the north side of the
chancel was added in the late 19th century. The fine stained glass
is all Victorian. The windows on the north side were destroyed by
bomb blast in the Second World War. The Lady Chapel on the south
side of the chancel replaced a little used area of seating in 1925.
The churchyard contains the tomb of James Gibson and his family. He
was amongst other things, the Master of the Worshipful Company of
Ironmongers, one of the Twelve Great City Livery Companies. The
tomb was erected under the will of his daughter Mary Gibson and is
dated 1777. The church still inspects it on 12th August each year
in accordance with Mary’s will. The tomb is something of a mystery
as there is no other known connection between Sutton and the
Gibsons.
The cache is hidden
very close to the churchyard but on the footpath side of the
boundary fence.
This church is located
in the centre of Sutton a very busy shopping centre, close to the
Civic Centre, Library and High Street and next to two very well
used car parks and a bus stop (80, 151, 213, 280, 407, 413, 420,
470, S1, S2, S4 and for the nightowls N44 and N213 buses stop here)
yes it is a busy area, STEALTH is the key here, you have
been warned.
The cache contains a
log book only so please bring a pen. Please take care to make sure
the cache is well hidden when you leave and make sure passers by
cannot see it!
If any body would
like to expand to this series please do, I would just ask that you
could let SADEXPLORATION know first so he can keep track of the
Church numbers and names to avoid duplication.