Rt Rev’d Dr Christopher Herbert, former Bishop of St Albans, will be giving a talk at St John’s on Friday, January 19th at 7.30pm on ‘The life and times of Bishop Charles Sumner (1790-1874)’ and will be selling his new book there: Building Jerusalem – The Life and Times of Charles Sumner, Bishop of Winchester 1790-1874. Signed copies of the book will be available for £13.00 (cash or cheques only).

Charles Sumner founded both St John’s and St Mark’s and is buried at St John’s. Hale was in the Diocese of Winchester at the time that Charles Sumner was bishop. In fact, the Diocese of Guildford didn’t exist then, but was formed in 1927 from part of the Diocese of Winchester. Bishop Sumner lived in Farnham Castle and founded St John’s in 1844.
He then gave land for St Mark’s to be built in 1883 as a daughter church of St John’s, and locals built the church using flints from the nearby common to build the walls.

Charles Sumner also founded Hale School in 1874 as the Bishop Sumner Anglican School.

Bishop Christopher Herbert was Vicar of The Bourne in Farnham between 1981 and 1990, then Archdeacon of Dorking until he was appointed Bishop of St Albans in 1995. He returned to Farnham when he retired in 2009 and he spends much of his time writing and lecturing.

Bishop Christopher has established himself as a respected and sought-after lecturer in the fields of Christian art, spirituality and the ethics of end-of-life care. In each of these areas he lectures across the UK and in Europe. He is a visiting Professor in Christian Ethics at the University of Surrey. The parish is fortunate to have him giving a lecture on Bishop Sumner, so book the date in your diary. To find out more, email
news@badshotleaandhale.org or call 07842 761919.