Question: Which Christian denomination is noted as associated with the Bluegrass Region ?

text: List of places of worship in Mole Valley
Former places of worship

As of 2020, the district of Mole Valley has more than 70 current and former places of worship: 56 buildings are in use by various Christian denominations and other religions, and a further 16 are no longer in religious use but survive in other uses or - in two cases - as ruins. Mole Valley is one of 11 local government districts in the English county of Surrey - a small inland county south of London which is characterised by small market towns, ancient villages and 20th-century suburbs. The latest census results show that the majority of residents are Christian. Dorking, one of the district's two main towns, has a Muslim community centre and mosque, but all other places of worship serve Christian denominations. The Church of England - the country's Established Church - is represented by the largest number of churches. The Roman Catholic Church and the larger Protestant Nonconformist groups such as Methodists, Baptists and the United Reformed Church each have several buildings and congregations of their own. Quakers, Christian Scientists, Plymouth Brethren and other smaller groups also have their own chapels and meeting rooms, mostly in Dorking and the other main town of Leatherhead. English Heritage has awarded listed status to 29 current and three former places of worship in the district. A building is defined as listed when it is placed on a statutory register of buildings of special architectural or historic interest in accordance with the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport, a Government department, is responsible for this; English Heritage, a non-departmental public body, acts as an agency of the department to administer the process and advise the department on relevant issues. There are three grades of listing status. Grade I, the highest, is defined as being of exceptional interest; Grade II* is used for particularly important buildings of more than special interest; and Grade II, the lowest, is used for buildings of special interest.
Name Location Denomination/ Affiliation Grade Notes
Abinger Hammer Mission Church Room Abinger Hammer 51°12′56″N 0°25′48″W / 51.2155°N 0.4301°W / 51.2155 ; -0.4301 ( Former Abinger Hammer Mission Church Room , Abinger Hammer ) Anglican - This opened in 1887 as a chapel of ease to St James 's Church at Abinger Common . Lady Farrer ( wife of Thomas Farrer , 1st Baron Farrer of Abinger Hall ) and L. Forster paid for the building , which served as a place of worship until closure in 1977 . It is now a house
Free Church Mission Hall Ashtead 51°18′49″N 0°18′37″W / 51.3135°N 0.3102°W / 51.3135 ; -0.3102 ( Former Free Church Mission Hall , Ashtead ) Baptist - Ashtead 's first Baptist church was opened in 1895 and appears in that year 's Ordnance Survey map as a mission hall . A new church superseded it in 1924 , but the building survives and is used by the Epsom and Ewell Conservative Association
Church of Christ Our Hope Beare Green 51°10′49″N 0°19′10″W / 51.1803°N 0.3195°W / 51.1803 ; -0.3195 ( Former Church of Christ Our Hope , Beare Green ) Roman Catholic - Built in 1971 , registered for marriages in February 1973 and closed in 1989 as part of a diocesan policy to consolidate worship at fewer churches , this building was proposed for demolition for a housing development but instead became the village hall . During its brief period as a church it was said to serve Catholics in six villages
Gospel Hall Betchworth 51°14′36″N 0°16′07″W / 51.2434°N 0.2686°W / 51.2434 ; -0.2686 ( Gospel Hall , Betchworth ) Open Brethren - This building was originally a cattle shed . Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie donated it for the use of a local Brethren congregation , and it remained registered for their use . By 2002 there was a weekly service on Sunday evenings . After several years of dis-use , it would appear that in 2016 the site was sold to the neighbouring house , Mulberry Down
Brockham Green Chapel Brockham 51°14′00″N 0°17′09″W / 51.2332°N 0.2859°W / 51.2332 ; -0.2859 ( Former Brockham Green Chapel , Brockham Green ) Strict Baptist - Inspired by William Huntington , a man from Epsom founded a chapel there in 1780 and this chapel on Brockham Green three years later . The building was altered in 1907 , and a marriage licence was granted in July 1927 . The arched-windowed rendered building is now a house
Capel Methodist Chapel Capel 51°09′04″N 0°19′16″W / 51.1510°N 0.3212°W / 51.1510 ; -0.3212 ( Former Capel Methodist Chapel , Capel ) Methodist - A Wesleyan chapel existed in the village by 1911 and was registered for marriages in January 1921 . Surrey History Centre holds records for the church up to 1985
Mission Hall Charlwood 51°09′14″N 0°13′31″W / 51.1540°N 0.2252°W / 51.1540 ; -0.2252 ( Former Mission Hall , Charlwood ) Congregational - This building was originally used by a blacksmith , then as a slaughterhouse . It was first used for worship in 1885 , then in 1889 it was bought and converted into a proper chapel . Like the Park Gate Mission Hall it was under the control of Dorking Congregational Church , and the two mission halls shared the same minister
Providence Chapel Charlwood 51°09′24″N 0°13′08″W / 51.1567°N 0.2188°W / 51.1567 ; -0.2188 ( Former Providence Chapel , Charlwood ) Independent Calvinistic II* A startling wooden building which has been likened to structures found in Canada , New England or Kentucky , this chapel served for nearly 200 years until it was put up for sale in 2012 . Before 1816 , when it was moved to Charlwood and re-erected on a lane , it served as an officers ' mess in Horsham , West Sussex . When it opened in that year it was called Charlwood Union Chapel
Hampstead Road Church Dorking 51°13′29″N 0°20′09″W / 51.2246°N 0.3358°W / 51.2246 ; -0.3358 ( Former Hampstead Road Church , Dorking ) Open Brethren - The building dates from 1863 and was erected for a Plymouth Brethren congregation . By the time it closed in 2010 because it was not large enough , worship was of a more Evangelical character and the church reformed under a new name ; meetings were thereafter held in a school . The marriage registration was annulled in November 2011
Forest Green Congregational Church Forest Green 51°09′32″N 0°23′39″W / 51.1589°N 0.3943°W / 51.1589 ; -0.3943 ( Former Forest Green Congregational Church , Forest Green ) Congregational - Described by the Victoria County History of Surrey as being situated within Oakwood parish , this was opened in 1878 in the centre of Forest Green village at a cost of £606 ( paid mostly by the Lord of the Manor , who also gave the site ) and was operated as an outpost of the church at Ewhurst . It was registered for marriages between May 1910 and March 1980
Gospel Hall Gadbrook 51°13′04″N 0°16′05″W / 51.2177°N 0.2681°W / 51.2177 ; -0.2681 ( Former Gospel Hall , Gadbrook ) Open Brethren - Gadbrook is a hamlet in the parish of Leigh . An Independent Calvinist chapel became Strict Baptist for a time , then in June 1903 it was reregistered as a gospel hall . It closed in 2001 , apparently after more than 165 years of religious use . The building was also known as Gadbrook Chapel
Ruins of Headley Old Church Headley 51°16′48″N 0°16′25″W / 51.2799°N 0.2737°W / 51.2799 ; -0.2737 ( Ruins of Headley Old Church , Headley ) Anglican II All that remains of Headley 's 15th-century church is this structure which stands over the grave of a former priest . It was fashioned from the surviving flintwork and ashlar of the old building . The entrance is an archway , and a domed roof has been added
St John 's Church Ockley 51°08′49″N 0°21′53″W / 51.1469°N 0.3646°W / 51.1469 ; -0.3646 ( Former St John 's Church , Ockley ) Anglican - Built on Ockley Green in the early 1870s , this chapel of ease to St Margaret 's Church was consecrated by the Bishop of Winchester Samuel Wilberforce in December 1872 . The plain building has brickwork and stonework , and the roof supports a bell turret
Park Gate Mission Hall Parkgate 51°11′01″N 0°16′17″W / 51.1835°N 0.2715°W / 51.1835 ; -0.2715 ( Former Park Gate Mission Hall , Parkgate ) Congregational - A Congregational mission was founded at this hamlet in Newdigate parish in 1876 . Services were held outside and in various cottages and rooms until this small mission hall was built . It opened on 2 June 1885 , and was officially registered for worship between July 1898 and March 1980
Hope Chapel South Holmwood 51°11′33″N 0°19′28″W / 51.1924°N 0.3245°W / 51.1924 ; -0.3245 ( Former Hope Chapel , South Holmwood ) Strict Baptist - The cause was founded by pastor Stephen Wilkins in 1869 , and origins as far back as 1821 have been claimed , but the chapel ( in a building which was always partly residential ) was built five years later
St John 's Free Church Westcott 51°13′34″N 0°21′52″W / 51.2261°N 0.3645°W / 51.2261 ; -0.3645 ( Former St John 's Free Church , Westcott ) Countess of Huntingdon 's Connexion - John Worsfold founded this chapel for followers of Selina Hastings , Countess of Huntingdon 's Nonconformist denomination , which was closely aligned with Calvinistic Methodism , in 1840 . His endowment included glebe land and a house as well as an annual sum of £40 ( £3,640 as of 2020 ) ) . The chapel was registered for marriages between January 1842 and October 2012 , and is now owned by Holy Trinity parish church as a community hall
Ruins of West Humble Chapel Westhumble 51°15′17″N 0°20′21″W / 51.2548°N 0.3393°W / 51.2548 ; -0.3393 ( Ruins of West Humble Chapel , Westhumble ) Roman Catholic ( Pre- Reformation ) II Long since ruined and with only two flint walls ( the east and west , pictured ) standing , this was originally a plain rectangular church ( 48 by 16 feet ( 14.6 m × 4.9 m ) ) of approximately the late 13th century ( although Ian Nairn considered it could be a century older than that ) . The west end retains a gable and circular opening . The chapel may have belonged to either Reigate or Merton Priory