Friends of St Nicholas Churchyard

26/10/2026

The Good Samaritan Window, St Nicholas Church, Sutton

Installed in 1899 in memory of Samuel More Richards, the Good Samaritan Window is one of the treasures of St Nicholas Church. Its beautiful stained glass tells the biblical story of the Good Samaritan, a reminder of the importance of compassion, kindness and helping those in need, regardless of who they are.

Sadly, the window is now at risk because of deterioration in the surrounding stonework and wall of the south aisle. Unless repairs are undertaken, this important part of Sutton's Victorian heritage could suffer serious damage.

The Friends of St Nicholas Churchyard (FSNCY) are helping St Nicholas Church raise the estimated **£40,000 needed to repair the wall and conserve the window**. Through fundraising events, heritage talks and donations, we hope to help preserve this remarkable window for future generations.

This is more than a church project. The window is part of Sutton's shared history, and we want to ensure that it remains available for everyone to appreciate and enjoy.

Find out more and support the appeal: https://churchyardfriends.com/

15/10/2026

October Update: Help us Save the Good Samaritan Window - https://mailchi.mp/8b484ab54489/spring-in-the-churchyard-6748763

09/10/2026

Then and now. Thank you to the team of students from Carshalton College who gave two of the yew trees in the churchyard a haircut. They cut back the opportunistic growth on the lower trunks of the trees to improve sightlines within the churchyard.

30/09/2026

Heritage Open Days success, and Sutton Soup on 22 October - https://mailchi.mp/071d99de3096/spring-in-the-churchyard-6748534

03/09/2026

Thanks to Sutton Council the work on the repair of the northern flint wall boundary of the churchyard is underway. This is funded from the neighbourhood fund. St Nicholas, Sutton and The Friends of St Nicholas Churchyard are hugely grateful for the positive response from the public when the proposal was put out to public consultation.

03/09/2026

Thanks to everyone who joined us today at St Nicholas, Sutton for the talk on “How to read stained glass windows”. There were over 20 of us! Please do join us next week.

12/08/2026

29/07/2026

If you are in the churchyard you will see that hazard tape has been installed to cordon off the south west corner of the churchyard under the Good Samaritan window. Last Saturday an inspection of the church found that there are some structural problems with the wall that could result in falling masonry. The Friends of St Nicholas Churchyard stand ready to help the church address the issues to repair the wall and safeguard the historic window.

19/07/2026

Ahead of the Annual Inspection of the Gibson Tomb conservation repairs have been carried out to the monument by contractors from Christ’s Hospital. Christ’s Hospital was a co-beneficiary along with St Nicholas Church of the wills of the Gibson family. St Nicholas Church, the Churchwardens and Rector have the responsibility to ensure that the tomb is inspected annually and that a sermon is preached on the 12th August. The maintenance is the responsibility of Christ’s Hospital.

This year vegetation has been raked out from the roof and walls, cracks and joints have been filled and repointed. The door and locks have been oiled, the iron grill has been painted.

15/05/2026

Fox!