Our church is one of the worldwide branches of The Mother Church, the First Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston Massachusetts, USA and it had its beginnings in Claygate in 1950 when a small group of 17 Christian Scientists held services and meetings in members’ homes. As the numbers attending grew, it became clear that there was a need for larger premises.
A site on Hare Lane with an existing church of another denomination was purchased, the building renovated, and on Easter Sunday in 1951, Sunday services were held there for the first time.
A growing need for yet more space in both the Church and Sunday School led to the design and build of a stunning new church edifice at the front of the original structure. The original Swedish church building was used by the Sunday School but in 1965, this structure was replaced by a completely new extension designed to accommodate the increasing number of pupils, many of whom were boarders at Claremont School in neighbouring Esher from families of Christian Scientists in the UK and the wider world.
Our Reading Room is an integral part of the church with windows facing onto the road that is used by commuters using the station close by, providing a perfect opportunity to share uplifting spiritual ideas with everyone walking past.
After over 70 years of Christian Science being a permanent part of Claygate, we love having opportunities to share the auditorium with our lively village community for concerts and talks, and our smaller rooms as meeting places.
Our church was designed by award winning architect, GBA Williams, who was one of our church members. The building was completed in October 1961 and dedicated two years later. The design has several features which are symbolic of Christian Science.
The roof is a hyperbolic paraboloid - a 'saddle shape' that allows a curved structure to be built using straight timbers. Our church was the first in the UK to have this feature. It was designed like this to represent a wing, as referred to in Mary Baker Eddy's poem, Christ My Refuge, which starts "Brood O'er us with Thy sheltering wing, 'neath which our spirits blend". This is a much loved hymn in the Christian Science Hymnal.
The two substantial piers that support the roof represent positive duality, or two things that cannot be separated - such as God and man, cause and effect, Love and Principle.
The auditorium is an exact square which is symbolic of the "city that lieth four square" (Rev 21:16)
The outside shape of the auditorium symbolises Truth in architecture by expressing exactly the inside shape, with no empty spaces - as there are in the roof of a conventional building.
45 Hare Lane, Claygate, KT10 9BY
01372 463 058
07410 590 446
fccsclaygate@hotmail.co.uk