ÿþ<HTML LANG=en-GB> <HEAD> <TITLE>The Derelict Miscellany :: St. Mary of Pity</TITLE> <META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="burpham mary pity saint st guildford derelict disused old abandoned church house roman catholic church new inn lane hall presbytery"> <META NAME="description" CONTENT="Photographs and short history from the old derelict Roman Catholic Church in Burpham, Surrey"> <META NAME="author" CONTENT="D.A. Gregory"> <META NAME="ROBOTS" CONTENT="ALL"> <link rel="icon" href="favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon"> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon"> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/swfobject/2.2/swfobject.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> var flashvars = {}; flashvars.galleryURL = "ecclesiastical/pity/gallery.xml"; var params = {}; params.allowfullscreen = "false"; params.allowscriptaccess = "always"; params.bgcolor = "#EEE9E9"; swfobject.embedSWF("ecclesiastical/pity/simpleviewer.swf", "flashContent", "1000", "700", "9.0.124", false, flashvars, params); </script> </head> <body link="#668b8b" bgcolor="darkgray" text="000000" vlink="#668b8b"> <center> <table width=1044> <tr><td> <table width=1044 cellspacing=0> <tr background="gam_print_ordsvywat-sun-171278517207606.jpg"> <td background="gam_print_ordsvywat-sun-171278517207606.jpg" align=right><A HREF="index.html"><img src=1.jpg border=0></a></td><td background="gam_print_ordsvywat-sun-171278517207606.jpg" align=center> <A indepth="true" STYLE="text-decoration: none" HREF="index.html"><h1>T H E &nbsp D E R E L I C T &nbsp M I S C E L L A N Y</H1></A> R e f l e c t i o n s &nbsp o n &nbsp f o r g o t t e n &nbsp a n d &nbsp a b a n d o n e d &nbsp s p a c e s <br><br> </td><td background="gam_print_ordsvywat-sun-171278517207606.jpg" align=left><A HREF="index.html"><img src=2.jpg border=0></a></td></tr></table> </td></tr> <tr><td bgcolor="#EEE9E9"> <center> <a indepth="true" STYLE="text-decoration: none" href="http://derelictmisc.org.uk/index.html">{home} </a> &nbsp &nbsp <a indepth="true" STYLE="text-decoration: none" href="http://derelictmisc.org.uk/menu2.html">{menu} </a> &nbsp &nbsp <a indepth="true" STYLE="text-decoration: none" href="aboot.html">{about} </a> &nbsp &nbsp <a indepth="true" STYLE="text-decoration: none" href="cont.html">{contact} </a> &nbsp &nbsp <a indepth="true" STYLE="text-decoration: none"href="http://twitter.com/DerelictMisc" target="blank">{twitter}</a> &nbsp &nbsp <a indepth="true" STYLE="text-decoration: none" href="disc.html">{disclaimer}</a> &nbsp &nbsp <a href="#" STYLE="text-decoration: none" onClick="window.open('veh/index.html','', 'width=589,height=577,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,status=no,toolbar=no,menubar=no');return false;"> {rusty old cars}</A> &nbsp &nbsp <a href="#" STYLE="text-decoration: none" onClick="window.open('misc/menu.html','', 'width=870,height=482,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,status=no,toolbar=no,menubar=no');return false;"> {miscellany}</A> &nbsp &nbsp <a indepth="true" STYLE="text-decoration: none" href="links.html">{links}</a> &nbsp &nbsp <a indepth="true" STYLE="text-decoration: none" href="contrib.html">{contribute} </a> </td></tr><tr><td bgcolor=#EEE9E9><table width=100% bgcolor="#EEE9E9"> <td width=13></td><td> <center> <br><u><font size=5>The Catholic Church of St. Mary of Pity</font></u> <br></center><b>What:</B> Roman Catholic church and parsonage <BR> <b>Where:</B> Burpham, Surrey <BR> <b>Built:</b> 1959-60 <BR> <b>Architect:</b> Unknown <BR> <b>Abandoned:</b> 2003 <BR> <b>Listed:</b> No <BR><b>Visited:</b> 2010<BR> <b>Last Known Condition:</b> Demolished <br><b>Page Updated:</b> December 2011<BR> <br> The history of Modern Roman Catholic worship in Burpham dates back to 1953 when Divine Masses were first held in a house belonging to two sisters. Soon afterwards the disused Kingpost Cafe on London Road was pressed into service to play host to the growing congregation. Father Gordon Albion, parish priest for Sutton under whose remit Burpham then fell soon sought to buy the property but could not negotiate a reasonable price, so the search for a place to worship continued. In 1958 a detached house called Orchard Cottage and adjacent large garden came on the market and were acquired by the parish. A modern church was erected and the first Mass was celebrated in June 1960. The house was retained meanwhile and became the Presbytery in order to house the newly appointed priest. <br> The church was never particularly well attended and was to some extent superseded in 1972 by the newly opened St. Pius X in Merrow, with which it joined to form the Roman Catholic Parish of Merrow with Burpham the following year. The congregation dwindled thereafter until the end of the 1990s when it had become unsustainable to run. Closing Mass was held on Sunday, 7th September 2003 and the site was subsequently sold. Multiple planning applications have been submitted since, but to date all have been rejected. <center> <div id="flashContent"><font color=red><br><br>This gallery requires JavaScript and the Flash Player to operate. <a href="http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer/">Download Flash Player here.</a>.</font><br><br></div> </center> Despite vandalism and the uninspiring architecture I found much to see - large amounts of paperwork, books and other odds and ends had been left behind and the hall was littered with toys and furniture. This is a busy residential area; my visit was hampered by curtain twitching neighbours, major roadworks going on outside and two men in a hatchback who drove up and idled in the lane for what seemed an age while I waited for them to leave. The church is a mess and, being of no great architectural merit seems unlikely to last much longer. <center> <br><U><font size=4>Epilogue</font></u><br> Last time I passed in June 2011, the church and presbytery had been demolished and flats were being built on the site. <br><br> </font> <br><A HREF="index.html"> Home</A><br><br> <br> </td><td width=13></td></tr></table> </TD></TR><TR><TD bgcolor="#EEE9E9" ALIGN=CENTER> <font size=1>Derelict Miscellany. Website &amp; content Copyright D. A. Gregory 2005-Present unless stated to be otherwise.</font> </td></tr></table> </font> </body> </html>