St Edmund, King & Martyr

Introduction

St Edmund, King & Martyr in Godalming was built in 1906 by F A Walters. At the start of Advent 2025 the parish became part of the new Parish of Guildford, together with all the other communities in the former Deanery of Guildford.

Architecture and furnishings

The church is built of Bargate rubblestone brought to course with ashlar dressings and has a plain tile roof. The church is built on the side of a hill, giving a tall basement on the north side. The church has a 6-bay nave with baptistry at the west end, north and south porches, and a 3-stage north-east tower. The church is in modified Early English style with moulded plinth, offset buttresses, lancet windows and cross finials.

The interior has a carved stone reredos with figures of saints. The baptistry has decorative iron gates. The nave has steps with a retaining wall leading up to the west door, which is sheltered by a shallow gabled porch with buttresses. The west door features a chamfered pointed-arched surround with a hoodmould, a double board door with decorative iron hinges and a moulded segmental arch, and a tympanum decorated with three cusped-headed panels, the outer two bearing shields.

The tower has gableted, full-height pilaster buttresses, a gabled vice on the left with three slit windows, one window to the lower stage, two above, and a louvred two-light belfry window. The tower has corbelled eaves supporting a pyramidal roof with a finial and weather cock. On the south side of the nave, a vesica is placed over the porch. The chancel north side has two windows and, on the right, a two-storey pent-roofed bay with a two-light chamfered mullion window to each floor and a stack on the left.

The interior has a double-chamfered chancel arch on attached columns with roll-moulded bases and plain capitals, and a hoodmould with foliage stops. The nave has corbelled, arch-braced roof trusses, and the chancel has an underdrawn vaulted ceiling.

Parish life

The parish knitting group, EdsKnitters, makes items for charities including Stella Maris and hospital wards. A parish bereavement group offers friendship, support and prayer to those who are grieving.

The parish prayer group began in October 1994 with eight parishioners. The parish supports charities including CAFOD, Missio, Kasanka, Les Amis - Burkina Faso, and Porridge Club Zambia. Les Amis – Burkina Faso, a charity founded in 2007, has its roots in the parish. The parish supports a porridge club at a charity school in Mazabuka, Zambia.

The parish offers a complete liturgical programme, including a weekly children's liturgy. The parish has a Live Simply Group and received its Award from CAFOD in March 2021. The parish is a committed member of Churches Together in Godalming and District.

Regular events

The parish holds an annual Quiz Night in aid of CAFOD. The parish organises CAFOD Stations of the Cross during Lent. The parish holds an annual bereavement service and social.

Sacraments and pastoral care

The parish supports the work of the Franciscan Missionaries of the Divine Motherhood at Kasanka in Zambia, including raising funds to upgrade the water supply and plumbing at the community school. The parish met with SW Surrey MP Jeremy Hunt in 2021 to discuss climate change.

The parish's First Holy Communion preparation is led by parents with the guidance of the parish priest and the support of a course leader. First Holy Communion preparation includes four Sycamore sessions for parents.

The parish offers support to those already baptised who wish to be received into full communion with the Catholic Church. The parish's baptism preparation takes place in small sessions, usually one Saturday afternoon and one Thursday evening, run a few times a year.

The parish's marriage preparation usually includes a course of 4 evenings in Guildford. The parish offers to accompany those who have experienced break up in a relationship or found themselves in complicated situations.

Visiting

The church is very close to the town centre and a short walk up the hill from the station. Parking at the church itself is very restricted, and the closest public car parks are South Street (150m), Croft Road (300m) and Mint Street (250m). There is no wheelchair access at this site, and there are approximately 30 steps from street level to the church door.