Church of Holy Trinity

Church of Holy Trinity

This church was built in 1842 by a builder named Horseman, who worked with his son and lived at 2 Church Gates where the stone was cut. The architect is unknown. The church was funded by Charles Warde of Squerryes Court, Westerham, with an endowment provided by his sister Mrs E Mildmay. The lack of Anglican worship at Crockham Hill prompted the building of this church, which became a separate parish in 1845.

The church is constructed from tooled local sandstone ashlar quarried from Limpsfield, Chiddingston and Crockham Hill, with clay tiled roofs. It follows an archaeologically faithful though rather severe Gothic Revival style, combining Perpendicular motifs in the nave and tower with Decorated ones in the chancel.

The plan consists of a nave, lower chancel, south porch, west tower, a modern room north of the nave, and a north-west vestry. The three-stage tower features a square-headed window in its west face, diagonal buttresses, and belfry windows of two lights with transoms. It is topped by an embattled parapet. The nave fenestration consists of two-light square-headed windows. The chancel side windows are pointed with simple reticulated two-light forms; the east wall has a three-light window with flowing tracery. A notable feature is the numerous grimacing heads forming head-stops to the window hoods.

The interior is plastered and whitened. The two-cell structure of nave and chancel is linked by a tall chancel arch. The dominating feature is the nave roof, which is of hammerbeam design with long hammer beams and arch braces to a collar carrying a crown post and curved struts. Tear-shaped infill pieces fill the spandrels over the hammer beams. The chancel roof is of similar construction. The choir floor consists of alternating bands of off-white and green wavy-patterned marble. The sanctuary floor is laid with patterned tiling.

The east end contains a reredos with three Decorated arches set behind a stone altar with three panels of quatrefoil decoration. These date to 1842, though the rich mosaic filling of the arches likely dates from a generation later. Either side of the reredos are a pair of tall Decorated arches framing the Creed, Lord's Prayer and Ten Commandments.

A large screen installed as a First World War memorial stands in front of the chancel, combined with a pulpit to the north. The chancel screen and pulpit are of unusual design, blending Arts and Crafts with 17th-century touches. They were designed by Walter Knight Shirley, 11th Earl Ferrers, and executed by Ernest Gimson with assistance from carver George Jack. The solid oak nave seats are of square-headed form, a Victorian design derived from medieval precedents.

The font is a conventional octagonal piece with quatrefoils in the sunk panels of the bowl. A large high-relief royal arms hangs over the north door. Victorian cast-iron radiators at the west end, signed J Weeks and Co, Chelsea, are particularly striking, with horizontal piping mounted between ends with Gothic detail.

In the north-east corner is a tomb-chest to Octavia Hill (1838-1912), on top of which is her effigy wearing a shawl, carved by Dora Abbott. She lived in the village and is buried at the church with her sister Miranda. A stained-glass window of 1995 to Octavia Hill by Chapel Studios of King's Langley, Hertfordshire is among the church's windows.