The Friends of Leatherhead Parish Church

drawing by the late Anthony Hill
copyright Helena Hill 1997


  • Quiz Night: Saturday 6 March 2010 was sold out and over £1000 was raised for our work. Prompt booking will be essential for this event when it returns by popular request in 2011.

  • Other dates for your diary are:
    Friday 14 May, Annual General Meeting in the Parish Church Hall;
    Saturday 10 July, A Special Evening with a French flavour;
    Wednesday 10 November, Bridge with Afternoon Tea.

  • Friends 2009 AGM and Coffee Morning It was very encouraging to have so many Friends' support at the AGM on Friday 15 May; click here for the Chairman's 2009 report. After the formal part of the evening, Mike Stewart gave a thought-provoking presentation on his recent visit to the Holy Land and the challenges facing those entrusted with securing a peaceful solution to the political situation there.

    The damp weather the next morning for the Coffee Morning, Plant and Book Sale seems to have discouraged some of the usually intrepid gardeners but, nevertheless, we were able to add another £500 to the funds for maintaining the Church and grounds. Many thanks to all of you who contributed plants and books - there was a wonderful show. June Robinson
The Friends' Churchyard Working Parties - see photo report.

from the November 2009 Parish magazine
Friends of Leatherhead Parish Church Bridge with Afternoon Tea - Wednesday, 14 October; this year the Friends' popular Bridge Tea was enjoyed by nearly 100 people and increased the amount available for projects for the maintenance of the Church and grounds by over £800. Thanks are due to the organising team for all their hard work.

from the October 2008 Parish magazine
The Friends of Leatherhead Parish - Money matters
The Friends are not always concerned with with raising money. Often we have the pleasure of helping the PCC decide how funds are spent or suggesting ways in which the fabric or the amenities of the Church can be improved. We were very pleased therefore to learn that one of the recommendations coming out of the recent structural survey was to install a modern lightning conductor on the Tower.

Surprisingly, there had been no such protection for many years. Maybe even ever! Happily the Friends had funds available and the new lightning conductor was swiftly installed, just in time for a hefty late summer storm rolling across the Surrey Hills ...

Meanwhile Frank Haslam and his small team of helpers continue with their task of clearing areas of the graveyard. Assistance of whatever kind and for however long is always welcomed. Please contact him on 379341 if you would like to help or to find out more! Chris Evans, Chairman FLPC

from the January 2008 Parish magazine
The Friends of Leatherhead Parish Church
The ancient Church of St Mary and St Nicholas, Leatherhead, dates from the 11th century. It is the oldest building in Leatherhead, with one of the largest churchyards in Surrey and consequential ongoing costs.

The Parish Church is appreciated in many ways, as a fine example of mediaeval architecture, as a quiet place for reflection and as a place of worship. It belongs to us all. The objective of the Friends is to raise funds for the maintenance of the fabric and grounds of the Church to ensure our beautiful building and its surroundings are preserved for future generations.

After last year's generous support for the restoration of the 18c Thomas Parker organ, we're looking for ways to raise funds for more exciting (and some not so exciting but nevertheless extremely important) projects. If you have any ideas for fundraising events, we'd love to hear from you. In the meantime, some dates for your 2008 diary are:
Saturday February 9: It's Quiz Time Again (Bookings - J Hampton on 01372 376640)
Saturday March 8: Game Shows for a Laugh - we can guarantee you an evening of great comedy entertainment (Details - J Hampton)
Friday May 16: Annual General Meeting in the Parish Church Hall (details later)
Saturday May 17: Coffee Morning and Plant Sale (more details later)
Thursday October 2: (yes, October) - Bridge with Afternoon Tea (more details later) J Robinson (01372 376650)

from the January 2008 Parish magazine
Friends of Leatherhead Parish Church - Membership Very many thanks to all of you for your continuing support. With your help the Friends have been able to contribute significantly to the maintenance of the fabric and surroundings of the Church and have been delighted to be associated with the restoration of the Thomas Parker organ.

Existing Friends should have received an invitation to renew their membership - if you know of anyone, family, friends or neighbours, who would like to receive details, please do give them one of the leaflets which are available in Church.
If you have a Collecting Box to be emptied, this may be given to the Hon Treasurer, F Haslam (01372 379341)
S Shaw, Membership Secretary (01372 360304)

At our 2007 AGM we welcomed Chris Evans as our new chairman.
We are grateful to retiring chairman Ron Presley OBE for all that he has done for us.

Apr 2007 in church - We had an exhibition on the progress on the restoration of our Thomas Parker Organ and at our 2007 AGM Dominic Gywnn, one of the restorers, gave an excellent talk about his work and the project.
In November 2007 this restoration project came to a glorious conclusion with an Inaugural Concert. Many Friends contributed to the project either individually or through their support of the Friends of Leatherhead Parish Church.

Through the Friends there is an on-line listing of those commemorated in the church and churchyard.