I just found my church listed on Yelp so I'm going to review it!…read more Bethel is a Bible-based independent Baptist church on Wimbledon Broadway right next to Wimbledon Theatre. Reflecting London itself, we have an international and cosmopolitan congregation. Pastor Jack Moorman and his wife Dot are from the USA orginally but they have been planting churches around the globe for several decades. Pastor Moorman is a gifted expositor of the Bible and has a through-the-Bible style of preaching in the Sunday services at 11am and 6pm. The Sunday school runs during the morning service and there is a midweek Bible study and prayer meeting on Thursday evenings at 7.45pm. We sing hymns rather than choruses but are definitely not high church! For a small church, there is an active music ministry and new singers are always welcome for the church choir, who perform throughout the year. Pastor Moorman has an active tract distribution ministry on the streets of London and is aided by members of the church as they are able to help. We had a blessed time handing out tracts around the Houses of Parliament on Good Friday recently. If you're looking for a solid church with a friendly welcome, a personal touch and great Bible teaching, you'll be most welcome to join us at Bethel.

I've not been here in years but when I do feel lead to go, I am never disappointed. Each visit is…read moredifferent from the last. There has been a major shake in terms of the service itself - it's a celebration of liberation! They always welcome me with open arms and I always leave this place with an extra bounce in my step. Never a dull moment at Oasis. And thanks for their no judgment zone. Heh.

Situated on the edge of the village at the top of the hill, St Mary's is Wimbledon's original…read moreparish church and has a history dating back to Domesday. History Mentioned in the Domesday book, the original (and probably wooden) church was rebuilt in the 13th century. An 18th century print shows it as a pleasingly rustic building, with a wooden bell turret and spire, probably only 44ft long and 36ft wide. Although Wimbledon was just a small village, in the 16th century it became the home of Sir William Cecil, later Lord Burghley, advisor to Elizabeth I. His son Thomas built a manor house adjacent, and in 1626-36 Sir Edward Cecil built the Cecil Chapel as a mortuary chapel. The church was enlarged in 1786, effectively being rebuilt west of the chancel arch, in a plain but handsome Georgian style. The 19th Century saw the arrival of the railway, and Wimbledon began to expand rapidly as a suburb. Further enlargement was required, and in 1843 Sir George Gilbert Scott was commissioned to undertake the work. He extended the nave, erected a tower and spire, inserted new galleries and completed a new roof, all in the neo-Gothic style. He also encased the earlier Georgian brickwork in knapped flint with stone dressings. The Church The exterior is dominated by the west tower, with its tall spire. Surrounded by trees, the picturesque setting evokes the country rather than the city. Inside, the aisled nave of 5 bays leads to a two bay chancel. Now whitewashed throughout, it is hard to distinguish the various stages of the building: the oldest part is the south and east wall of the chancel, which dates from the 15th century; the Cecil Chapel survives intact beyond the Warrior Chapel, built in 1920 as a memorial to those who died in the First World War. Most of the fittings date from the 19th and 20th centuries, but the Cecil Chapel has an intact 15th century stained glass window depicting St George. A number of memorials are of interest, one of which survives from 1537; another commemorates Sir Richard Wynn MP (d. 1649), treasurer to Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I. A modern brass in the chancel commemorates Sir William Wilberforce, the slave trade abolitionist. More interesting memorials crowd the surrounding graveyard. The church has a busy parish life, with children's and youth groups and services every day except Monday and Saturday.

The Sacred Heart is Wimbledon's Catholic parish church and a prominent landmark on the ridge…read morebetween Wimbledon and Raynes Park. The church was funded by Edith Arendrup, a member of the Courtauld family who, having moved to Wimbledon, persuaded the Jesuits to begin a mass at her home in 1877. Seven years later she paid for the building of the present church, to designs by the architect Fredrick Walters (1849-1931), who also designed Buckfast Abbey. The nave was completed in 1887 and the rest of the building by 1901. A planned tower was replaced by twin turrets flanking the west front. The exterior is of knapped flints with stone dressings. Designed in the decorated Gothic style, the interior resembles an abbey, with an aisled nave, with a tall clerestory, leading to a chancel with an ambulatory and radiating chapels. The dimensions are impressive: the nave is 100ft long and 60ft high. The arcades carry niches with saints connected with the Jesuit Order. The church has numerous late Victorian and 20th century fittings, the best of which are found in the St Ignatius Chapel in the north aisle. The church normally has three daily masses (six on a Sunday, plus a Saturday night vigil mass) and is the centre of a vibrant parish life.

This is a beautiful gothic church, built in the 1800's by one of the wealthy Courthauld family who…read morelived in Wimbledon, a lady by the name of Edith Arendrup. According to the historical records, the architect was a Frederick Arthur Walters (1850-1932) and Edith wanted a place where the Jesuits priests could hold mass for the local community. The Sacred Heart Church took over 20 years to fully complete. Since then, various architects have been bought in to revamp various parts, such as the sanctuary. History aside, it is a beautiful church - both interior and exterior. Very ornate, with an amazing carved font and heavily-decorated altars and nave, it is well worth a visit even if you are not especially religeous. The choir sits at the back of the church, high above the congregation, and they often hold concerts to raise much-needed funds for the church. The choir are amazing, real spine-tingling and heart-soaring stuff. The Church runs many different activities and has a weekly newsletter. It has a thriving congregation and services are always busy. The church has a very warm, welcoming presence and its a lovely place to just sit and think.

St Mark's is a friendly Anglican church, just a stone's throw from Wimbledon railway and…read moreunderground station. The church has just celebrated the 50th anniversary of its (re)building. The building itself is of modern design, built in 1968-9 to designs by Humphrys & Hurst in association with David Nye, to replace a late Victorian church which had burned down. Very unusually for a church, it is pentagonal in layout, with five large concrete arches meeting at a central point to give a spacious tent-like interior, incorporating a roof-top lantern. The walls are pierced by rectangular windows filled with vibrantly coloured modern glass, which are meant to depict the creation (look carefully and you can see fish, whales and planets). Although very much of its time, it works well as a worship space: worship is effectively in the round, with a large sanctuary (and a long altar rail) surrounded by pews on three sides. The church also has a small chapel, and plenty of rooms for meetings, as well as a church hall (available for hire) and an attractive lawned area at the rear. Weekly worship is on Sundays at 08:00 and 10:00, and Wednesdays at 13:00. Services are in a modern, liberal Catholic tradition (but no incense), and attracts a friendly congregation with lots of young families. There is a crèche, and various groups for children on Sundays during the service.

St Mary Magdalene's is the parish church of Wandsworth Common, and situated on Trinity Road,…read moremid-way between Tooting and Wandsworth. It is a Grade-II listed building, largely on account of the quality and preservation of the interior and its fixtures and fittings. The church is the third on the site, replacing earlier temporary 'mission churches'. Work on a permanent church to designs of B Edmund Ferrey began in 1857, and the nave and aisles were consecrated in December 1888. His designs for the church were completed by the erection of the chancel in 1899. The present altar was installed in 1900, with the addition of the reredos in 1916 and the present rood screen in 1918. In 1924 the chancel was decorated with marble and mosaics in memory of Canon Theodore Wood. The church now consists essentially of a nave, chancel and Lady Chapel: although the arcades remain, the nave aisles have been screened off to form office and storage space. The chancel screen and the space behind are worth a look for their decoration. It is a broadly 'middle-of-the-road' Anglican parish, and has a large, welcoming congregation of all ages, a busy parish life, and plenty of provision on Sundays for children.

St John's lies between Wimbledon and Raynes Park, just below the Ridgeway, and is a good example of…read morea late Victorian neo-Gothic church. The church was built to service the growing commuter population brought to Wimbledon by the London and South-Western Railway. A plot of land was bought in 1867, but a lack of funds meant that the first building was a temporary prefabricated 'iron church'. Made of corrugated iron, it came, according to the church's website, complete with altar and font, illuminated texts all over the windows and two seraphs to each entrance. The present church was begun in 1873 to designs by Thomas Jackson (1835-1924) and consecrated in 1875. Jackson delivered a classic red-brick neo-Gothic church, with a nave, chancel and a large north aisle. From the outside, it is not especially noteworthy, save for the large east window and an impressive north porch, which has Decorated Gothic detailing. The interior space is dominated by the tall single arcade between the nave and north aisle, but the main interest is provided by the fittings and furnishings: there is some lovely stained glass, including a window from the William Morris factory (the figure of Martha is by Edward Burne-Jones, that of Christ by Henry Dearle); a delicate chancel screen; and a reredos in the Lady Chapel (north aisle) by Martin Travers. The organ, installed in 1904 by Hill, Morgan and Beard, is a particularly fine example. The church is the centre of a busy parish life and is a very popular venue for music, thanks to an excellent acoustic.

This a great place to be on a Sunday morning. Uplifting music, inspiring…read morepreaching & a warm welcome.