Christ Church, East Sheen

Christ Church, East Sheen tickets: which one to buy

East Sheen sits between Richmond and Barnes in south-west London, and this church stands at the entrance to the common, a short bus ride from Richmond station and a twenty-minute walk from Mortlake. It is a working parish church with no admission charge and no tourist infrastructure, and the reason to come is either the music or the architectural footnote attached to the building.

The parish runs a full choral programme with adult singers, choristers and choral scholars, a monthly sung evensong, and a recital series in June and July, all of it free or by donation and listed on the parish site. Visiting outside those times means checking when the building is open. Richmond Park, the largest of the royal parks and full of deer, begins a few minutes away, and the combination of a recital and a walk in the park makes a good Sunday afternoon. Recital programmes are posted on the noticeboard by the gate as well as online.

Visiting Christ Church, East Sheen: what to see

The church was built in stone between 1862 and 1864 on what was then farmland at the edge of the common, and extended in 1887. It is an early work by Arthur Blomfield, later one of the busiest Victorian church architects in England, and the assistant who worked on it in his office was a young man named Thomas Hardy, who spent several years as an architect before he began publishing novels. That connection is the building's principal claim on the attention of visitors from further afield.

Construction did not go smoothly: the tower collapsed shortly before completion and had to be rebuilt, which delayed the consecration by nine months to January 1864. The building is listed, as are the wrought-iron railings around it. Inside it is a straightforward Victorian parish church, well kept, with good acoustics that the music programme exploits. A community hall was added alongside in 2016. Stained glass in the east window was added in the 1880s and is the best thing in the building after the roof.

Christ Church, East Sheen opening hours and the best time to go

Sunday morning eucharist, the third-Sunday evensong and the summer recital series are the fixed points worth planning around. Weekday mornings bring a midweek communion service and the building is generally open then. Spring and early summer are the best months here, with the common and the park in leaf and the recitals running. Autumn in Richmond Park brings the deer rut, which draws photographers from across London and is worth combining with a visit.

Parking in the surrounding streets is restricted on weekdays. Buses along the Upper Richmond Road are frequent and connect to Richmond and to Hammersmith. There are pubs and cafes on the parade a few minutes away. Half an hour covers the church itself, and the real reason to make the trip is to hear it used rather than to look at it empty. The common in front of the church is open ground with mature oaks and is used by dog walkers all year.