The prominent spire beckons you closer but when you are it is impossible to see this very special church. Designed by J P St Aubyn, a poor restorer of churches, you can see where his forte laid – the creation of memorable new interiors. Here it was to serve a growing development of upper middle class villas which, tragically, never continued. This gothic masterpiece, undergoing conservation and improvement, deserves to be better known. The walls are covered in murals – mostly by Ward and Hughes, though in the chancel by Alfred Hemmings. He is better known as a designer of stained glass and here he has come up trumps with a delightful window depicting the coronation of Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. How strangely it sits with the saints and their halos! If ever there was the perfect Victorian church, this must be it.
