Let us tell you more about ourselves

The Friends of All Saints Little Bookham Church and St Lawrence Effingham Church (The Friends) is a secular organisation dedicated to help with the preservation of the fabric and surrounds of two historic church buildings in the Parish of St Lawrence Effingham and All Saints, Little Bookham. Each is Grade 2* listed and can trace its history back to early Norman times around 1100. A yew tree adjacent to All Saints has been dated at 1300 years old. All Saints Church is one of the few still open for full burials. Barnes Wallis, an Effingham resident and of Dambuster Bouncing Bomb fame, is laid to rest in St Lawrence churchyard.

Both Church buildings and their halls are fully utilised for regular church services, christenings, weddings and funerals as well as major celebrations such as Remembrance Sunday, Christmas and Easter. They are also used by our local schools and for community uses such as lectures, play groups, music recitals and more recently the garden of the St Lawrence Hall is the location for a monthly village market.

The buildings are significant community assets and require support from the community to ensure their continued active use.

The Friends exists to share the burden of looking after these buildings and their immediate surrounds. Many of our members are not church goers. They join because they value what these buildings do for the community and want to ensure they are passed on to the generations to come as they have been to us by the generations before.

Following an unauthorised incursion 'THE GUARD OUR GARDEN APPEAL' is launched specifically to raise funds to install a security gate to ensure the community can continue to use the garden and hall uninterrupted. Any surplus funds will be ring-fenced for the upkeep of the fabric of St Lawrence church and hall.

The Friends normally raises money from a modest membership fee, legacies and a varied programme of fun social events. Membership forms and a booklet detailing the history of each church can be downloaded by clicking on The Friends.