St Joseph's Church, Dorking

St. Joseph's Church
St. Joseph's Church
51.225679°N 0.336368°W / 51.225679; -0.336368
OS grid reference	TQ 16266 48702
Location	Dorking, Surrey
Country	United Kingdom
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Website	SJCC.org.uk
History
Status	Active
Founded	1872 (1872)
Dedication	Saint Joseph
Architecture
Functional status	Parish church
Completed	1895
Administration
Province	Southwark
Diocese	Arundel and Brighton
Deanery	Epsom[1]
Clergy
Bishop(s)	Right Rev Richard Moth
Priest(s)	Fr Simon Hall
Deacon(s)	Rev Tony Kinal

St Joseph's Church is a Roman Catholic Church in Dorking, Surrey. It was founded in 1872 with help from the Duke of Norfolk. It is situated in Falkland Grove in the town. It is the only Catholic parish church in Dorking and is served by the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton.

History

Foundation

Historically, the Dukes of Norfolk were major landowners in the Dorking area. They were a Catholic family and had their own chaplains, who also served the needs of local Catholics in the 18th and 19th centuries. Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk originally owned the site of present-day Falkland Grove, and it was there that the duke and duchess financed the building of a church to serve the local Catholic congregation.^[2] In 1871^[2] or 1872, a temporary structure was erected to be a church.^[3] The "unpretentious structure" stood on Coldharbour Lane. Catholic schools were established soon afterwards.^[2]

Construction

In 1895, the church was rebuilt and the architect Frederick Walters was brought in to design it. It was built in place of the old church and the land was donated by the Duke of Norfolk to the newly created parish. He also made a contribution to the cost of the building.^[4] It was built as a memorial to Minna Fitzalan-Howard and is in the Gothic Revival style. The first Mass was celebrated on 26 June 1895.^[2]

A statue of Saint Joseph is in the garden next to the church.

Saint Joseph with the Christ Child

Parish

School

The church has a close relationship with the nearby St Joseph's Catholic Primary School.^[5] St Joseph's is the only Catholic school in Dorking and was founded alongside the church in 1873, also by the Duchess of Norfolk. In 1887, a group of Servite Nuns ran the school and continued to do so until 1970. In that year the school moved to its present site on Norfolk Road.^[6]

Church

From 1 January 2022, the church has two Masses, 6:00pm on Saturday evening and 10:00am on Sunday morning, with varying times for particular occasions, such as Easter and Christmas.^[7]

See also

• Dorking
• List of places of worship in Mole Valley

References

1. Deaneries from Diocese of Arundel and Brighton retrieved 1 May 2013
2. Kelly 1907, p. 156.
3. Malden, H. E., ed. (1911). "A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 3. Parishes: Dorking". Victoria County History of Surrey. British History Online. pp. 141–150. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
4. St Martin's from Exploring Surrey's Past, retrieved 1 May 2013
5. School from St Joseph's Catholic Church, retrieved 1 May 2013
6. School History from St Joseph's School Dorking, retrieved 1 May 2013
7. [1] from St Joseph's Catholic Church, retrieved 25 February 2020.

Bibliography

• Kelly, Bernard W. (1907). Historical Notes on English Catholic Missions (PDF). London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co. Retrieved 26 June 2014.

External links

• St Joseph's Parish site