
St Dunstan's Churchyard | Sutton |
A church in Cheam was recorded in the Domesday Book and probably dates from the early C11th, dedicated to St Dunstan. The old church was demolished in the 1860s and a new church built next to the Lumley Chapel, which was the chancel of the medieval church that had been converted as a memorial chapel for the Lumley family in the late C16th. St Dunstan's Church and Lumley Chapel stand in a well tended churchyard with mature cedars and yews. There are a number of historic tombs and a war memorial with an Arts and Crafts lych-gate of 1891 at the entrance.
The information shown above was correct at the time of the last update 01/11/2004
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The information below is taken from the relevant Local Authority's planning legislation, which was correct at the time of research but may have been amended in the interim. Please check with the Local Authority for latest planning information.
The Archbishop of Canterbury acquired Cheam in 1018 and the church is likely to date from soon after this. It is dedicated to St Dunstan who was Archbishop of Canterbury from 959 - 988AD, later displaced by St Thomas à Becket. The current church was built by T H Pownall in 1864 in French Gothic style, and it stands next to the Lumley Chapel, which was the chancel remaining from the medieval parish church. John, Lord Lumley had converted it into a memorial chapel for himself and his 2 wives in the 1590s. He had inherited Nonsuch Palace in 1580 through his first wife Jane, who was daughter and co-heiress of the Earl of Arundel. Lumley developed the gardens at Nonsuch and he was an important connoisseur and collector of books and paintings.
Bridget Cherry & Nikolaus Pevsner, London 2: South, 1983; LB Sutton Heritage website