Ranmore, St Barnabas

Ranmore Common Road, Ranmore, RH5 6AZ Find on map

Number of bells: 8

Tenor Weight: 19 1/4 cwt

Ground floor ring: No

District: Southern

Practice Night: Wednesday

Ringing Times: Sunday Service: 10.25 -11.00am (2nd Sunday only). Practice 7:30-9:00pm

Entry: Entry is via door on the outside of the church, on the South side of the Chancel

Contact: Phil Madden, ranmorebells@gmail.com , mobile 07814498718

Website: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083701786454

The church was consecrated in 1859, having been built by George Cubitt MP who became the first Baron Ashcombe. It was designed by Gilbert Scott, the noted Victorian architect, and is considered to be one of his greatest works. It is a splendid example of Victorian Gothic Revival architecture. The Church was intended to serve solely the Cubitt family and the staff of the Denbies Estate, which, at its most active period, at the turn of the century, numbered 300. After the Second World War the original Denbies House was demolished, and in 1962 the church was handed over to the Church Commissioners. It is now part of the United Benifice with St. Martins Dorking, sharing the Vicar, who is known as the Rector in the Parish of Ranmore. In the early sixties, making the church redundant was seriously considered, and in 1964 the bells were declared unringable, mainly because of a rusted girder supporting the frame. In 1990, as a result of the efforts of the Guildford Diocesan Guild, together with the support of the new owner of Denbies, Adrian White, and other bodies including the Surrey Association, the Bells were restored. They were originally cast as a complete set by Mears and Stainbank in 1859, and after the restoration, a new band of ringers was recruited. The church seats just over 100 people in the nave, but as the population of Ranmore is sparse, the congregation is now formed by people from a wide surrounding area, who have an affection for the church and wish to see it remain active in every sense. Apart from the architectural detail and the original Walker organ, a notable feature is the South Transept which was converted into a Memorial Chapel in 1920 for the Second Baron Ashcombe’s three eldest sons who all died in the First World War.

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