St Matthew’s

St Matthew’s is a beautiful, intimate church with a history dating back to the 12th century. For many years, until St Paul’s was built in 1870, it was the only place of worship for the parish. Here, the Book of Common Prayer tradition is still cherished and used at both midweek and Sunday services. We are delighted to welcome people joining us for the first time.

St Matthew’s is usually open from Monday to Saturday from approximately 10 am until 4 pm. You are warmly encouraged to visit – to enjoy the peace and holiness of this ancient place, to say a prayer. It’s worth taking a moment to ponder the beautiful stained-glass windows, on the right as you enter the church, and along the left-hand wall.

In March 2017 we completed a building project at St Matthew’s, which is enabling us to sustain and expand our role in the community. It included essential maintenance such as re-tiling the roof and making structural repairs. Additionally, we re-ordered the west end to provide a kitchenette and a meeting space with benches. We are most grateful to the Heritage Lottery Fund for their support of this work. A second project involved building a new accessible toilet extension with baby-changing and a flower-arranging area. This was supported by grants from the Hampshire and the Islands Historic Churches Trust and the Garfield Weston Foundation, for which we are very thankful. Please visit the Building for Life section of our website for more information and photographs.

View the history of St Matthew’s here.


Virtual tour of St Matthew’s

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