St Mary’s Alms Houses and Chapel of St Mary

These almshouses were built as a memorial to the only daughter of Mrs Mabel Hunt of Wonham House. Completed in 1872 to designs by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, they comprise 8 alms houses and a chapel built in a 17^th century vernacular style, with a delightful small cottage garden at the front.
The chapel itself continues the cottagey theme on the outside with a tall flèche on the roof; inside it is an intimate space, half-​timbered and with a timber roof, a lead-​mullioned bar window, and a large fireplace at the west end. In stark contrast, the small chancel to the east is in a neo-​Norman style, with a rounded chancel arch of three orders flanked by single blind arches, mosiac inlay decoration on the floors, and a pretty wrought iron screen.
The houses are in residential use, and so off limits to visitors, but the chapel can be visited during daylight hours, so long as you respect the residents’ privacy.