History -

History

The Parish Church of St Paul was opened in 1856, to help meet the needs of the growing town of East Molesey. The property developer Francis Jackson Kent wanted a church to encourage residents to his estate and to cater for the expanding Molesey population. St Paul’s is a Grade II listed building, a fine example of a mid-Victorian church in the perpendicular style, designed by the architects Salter & Laforest.

The image shows St Paul’s Church from a painting, said to have been made by, or for, the architect before the church was constructed, to show how it was intended to look.

The design was to be built in phases. The first part was consecrated in 1856 and included the Chancel and Nave. The South Aisle was added in 1860-61, and the North Aisle in 1864. The Nave was extended in 1870. A tower and spire were built in 1887, completing the main structure of the church as it stands today.

1885 saw the completion of churchyard wall around the garden. St Paul’s does not have a graveyard.

Building the spire of St Paul’s Church, 1888. The Tower and Spire completed the design, built in 1887-88 by local builders, Wheatly & Sons for £1,925.

The inscription on the St Paul’s bell reads: ‘GLORY TO GOD IN MEMORY OF THE SIXTIETH YEAR OF THE HAPPY REIGN OF H.M. QUEEN VICTORIA – 1897 CAST BY JOHN WARNER & SONS, LONDON 1888’. (Photograph: Sam Salzman)

The bell is fixed in its frame and does not swing. A rope is attached to a single clapper and when the rope is pulled the clapper swings and strikes the inside of the bell. (Photograph: Sam Salzman)

The St Paul’s Bell Tower

(Photograph: Sam Salzman)

St Paul’s was officially opened in 1887 by the second cousin of Queen Victoria, HRH Princess Frederica of Hanover, who laid the foundation stone of St Paul’s Church.

The foundation stone can be seen at the foot of the Tower.

The North side (Parish Hall) was added in 1974 using funds obtained from the sale of the original hall in Vine Road, now Vine Hall.

An engraving of St Paul’s Church from the mid-19th century, titled ‘District Church of St Paul, Kent Town’.

The pink Horse Chestnut tree on the island, pictured in 1963. Creating the new road undermined the tree roots which gradually declined until it had to be felled during the 1990s. (Photograph courtesy of Rosemary Searle)

Aerial shot of St Paul’s taken in 2023. (Drone image courtesy of Jonathan Hancock)

In the church are a number of memorials, the most notable of which is the very fine east window consisting of five lights. The centre one is to the memory of Marion Flockton and her infant son who both died in 1876. The other four lights are in memory of Francis Jackson Kent, the ‘founder’ of the church, who died in 1885 and who was responsible for much of the expansion of this part of Molesey in the middle of the 19th century.

During 2002 there was a major enhancement project with the installation of under floor heating, new carpets, pews and a sound system incorporating a hearing loop. Glass doors were fitted to the porch to enable passers by to see into the church. During 2005, the Parish Room underwent a major refurbishment.