Interior, St Nicholas Church, Charlwood, Surrey

I went into Crawley very briefly and then made a stop at Charlwood on the way home. This is a very attractive Surrey village but is in the brooding expansionist shadow of Gatport Airwick to use the phrase Ray Moore on Radio 2 used to say! (The dates me!). The planes from Gatwick roar overhead all day, but it was fairly quiet while I was here. The threat to this village from Gatwick expansion is very real and there has even been threats that could even mean the demolition of this church!

Charlwood church is very old, dating back to 1080. As the village was too poor to afford a restoration during the 19th Century, it avoided being drastically rebuilt by the Victorians. It therefore contains much of it's Medieval atmostphere. The screen in the distance is late 15th - early 16th Century. The roof and pillars are all leaning or not quite straight, all adding to the charm of the interior. This is one of Surrey's best preserved Medieval Churches and is well worth a visit as it is also regularly opened to visitors as well as being in regular use and kept in tip top condition.