St Stephen on-the-Downs, Langley Vale

13/11/2025

🛠️ Important Update: St Stephen's Church 🛠️

We know that progress on the St Stephen's has been slow, and we sincerely apologize that updates haven't been as frequent as we would like. We want to assure you the work behind the scenes is ongoing.

We've had a productive conversation with the architect this week regarding the project. To overcome current material sourcing challenges faced by the initial contractor, we are seeking additional options.

The architect will be instructed to seek quotations from two additional building firms, aiming to secure these by Christmas. We anticipate appointing the contractor in the first part of 2026.

This entire project will be completed in two distinct phases: Phase one is focused on getting the wall secured and the church building safely re-opened. Phase two will then allow us to extend and develop the internal facilities within the church for broader community use.

Securing a confirmed quotation is the next key step, as this will allow us to immediately begin applying for grant funding to support the project's financing.

Thank you for your patience; we remain committed to seeing this project through and are excited about the possibilities for Stephen's in the future!

03/08/2025

🎉 Incredible Progress for St. Stephen's! 🎉

We're thrilled to share an update on the repairs at St. Stephen's Church! Thanks to the generous donations from the community and grant funding applications currently underway, we're kicking off Phase 1: Rebuilding the gable end wall in the next few months! This is a massive step towards reopening our beloved church and we hope to share soon when building work will begin.

Phase 2, which includes adding much-needed toilet and kitchen facilities, will follow as we secure further planning permission and raise more funds. We're aiming to complete this within 18-24 months.

Thank you to our amazing community and generous supporters for making this possible! We'll keep you posted on our grant application progress!

If you would still like to donate to the project, please do use this link to do so.

27/06/2025

We have a plan! After the PCC deciding to repair and improve St Stephen's to make it ready for the next 60+ years of worship and community events, we now need your help!

The building works are going to cost in the region of £125,000 to get the building up to scratch, can you help us to raise this money? If you able to help by donating to this cause then head to https://www.stmartinsepsom.org/ststephens/ to make your donations - anything that you can contribute to the total will help us to get St Stephen's open as soon as we can.

11/06/2025

Building Update

At the PCC meeting this evening (11th June) members were presented with 4 options for the future of St Stephen's Church. There was a unanimous vote by those present for the option to repair the west gable end and at the same time build an extension on the north side which would contain an accessible toilet, a small kitchen and a lobby entrance to the vestry. We were able to show the architect's initial drawings at the meeting, and the task of applying for grant funding has already begun.

By choosing to go forward with this plan we hope that St Stephen's will not only continue to be a place for worship but also a building that can be used by the wider community in Langley Vale for many years to come.

We are endeavouring to ensure that the work can begin at the earliest opportunity so that the church doesn't remain in its current state any longer than it has to. If you have any questions, do please contact Nick ([email protected]), Rob ([email protected]) or Sarah ([email protected]).

06/04/2025

A further update from our Vicar, Rev. Nick Parish

05/03/2025

St Stephen's Update - Rob Jeffery, Chair of Fabric Committee

The first part of the works have been completed with the removal of the existing rotten Gable End Wall. Unfortunately during this work it was discovered that the window frames when originally fitted were potentially contributing to the rot within the frame as any rain water would have flowed through the uPVC framework into the wooden frame. Consequently we have had to seek the professional advice of our architect, structural engineer and builder to advise us on the best design of the new framework to ensure that the wall is weather proof for many years to come. We are still waiting for the final quotes to come back to us, but have been advised that the costs are likely to be a lot higher than the original quotes and we are expecting the project to cost in the region of £100,000 to complete.

The PCC has to apply for grant funding to pay for these works as we don't have enough in our reserves to cover the costs. We are hoping that St Stephen's will be reopening in the next few months but do keep looking for updates to the project via the Church Newsletter and the St Stephen's page. In the meantime, if you would like to donate to the costs of the repairs or have further questions please do email [email protected]

01/12/2022

St. Stephens church Langley vale is holding an evening of lights on the 14th December between 6pm to 8pm
You can come along and light a candle for a loved one, maybe someone no longer with you or maybe someone not at all well. It is a totally private gesture and you will be left alone for private prayer.
If you wish to talk then Elaine will be at the back of the church

12/07/2020

St Stephen's -Open for Private Prayer: Change of Opening Times
To give those who are working or have daytime childcare responsibilities the opportunity to come to St Stephen's for private prayer, the church will be open once a week only, on a Wednesday evening from 7pm to 8pm, for the next four weeks: 15, 22, 29 July and 5 August. There will be someone to welcome you and to direct you where to sit. Please use the hand sanitiser on entry and exit, and take particular care to follow social distancing as St Stephen's is, of course, a small building. Please note that the toilets in the village hall will not be available for use.

20/06/2020

Although we are not yet able to open our churches for services, we are pleased to announce that St Stephen's will be open for private prayer on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10 am to 11 am for the next two weeks, starting on Monday 22 June. Please use the available hand sanitiser on the way in and out and follow social distancing rules and any instructions given by the volunteer on duty.

11/04/2020

Easter Day Service from St Martin's at 10 am
Visit the home page of our mother church St Martin's for the link to the live streaming of our Easter Day service which is available on Facebook and YouTube: http://www.stmartinsepsom.org/home/

St Martin’s seeks to welcome all who come to its services and activities. It is a Church of England Parish Church and aims to serve the Epsom community through the Epsom Group Ministry and Churches Together in Epsom.

28/01/2020

Praise and Prosecco at our parish church St Martin's, Church Street, Epsom on Sunday 2 February at 4 pm. Live music. Action songs. A lively fun service for all the family with a delicious tea with prosecco for grown ups. Come and join in!

09/12/2019

Nativity Service at St Stephen's, 9.30 am on Sunday 15 December. Also Christingle Service Tuesday 24 December at 3 pm.