Visited with BigBadAsh This is a story of Love and Death , the French Monarchy and my parents 
. I have always had a fascination with this Church since i found out that my parents got married here in the mid 50's. When i went past it recently, i realized it was now abandoned, this as you can imagine was my cue to go have a little gander. Before i went in , i had a look on the internet to see what i was going to find. To my surprise, i found out that the church had originally been a Roman Catholic chapel built around 1834 which had a crypt. In 1848 Louise philippe, King of the French , abdicated and moved to Esher. His family attended mass at St Borromeo and between 1850 and 1869, eleven members of The Oreleans family, including the Ex King were buried there.
So first i checked out the crypt and found that the tombs of the French Royal Family still remained. The bodies have long since been moved back to France but still amazing to see the tombs. Then i looked for a way into the main part of the church, which was added onto the chapel in the 1880's. This proved a little more tricky. As luck would have it, the front door was unlocked some weeks later. Both the original chapel and the main church have amazing stain glass windows' which remain intact.
History
Louis Philippe, King of the French, abdicated in 1848 and moved to England where he lived with his family at Claremont, Esher. They attended mass at the chapel of St Charles Borromeo in Weybridge, and between 1850 and 1869 eleven members of the Orleans family were buried in the crypt there. When, in 1871, the fall of Napoleon III made it possible for the family to return to France, arrangements were made to have the royal remains transferred to the Orleans mortuary chapel at Dreux in Normandy.
The only coffin not returned to France was that of the beautiful Duchesse de Nemours which remained at Weybridge at the express wish of her husband. In 1881 the chapel nave was extended, and in 1883 a chapel was built to house the tomb and white marble effigy of the sleeping princess, the latter carved by the noted French sculptor Henri Michel-Antoine Chapu. But the tomb is now gone. In 1976 the Diocesan Council of Administration decided to close and sell St Charles Borromeo. Three years later, the remains of the duchesse were exhumed and sent to Dreux. Then, in 1994, the effigy was sold by Sothebys to the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, where it is presently on display.
Condition
The church, after years of neglect, was acquired by the Korean Methodist congregation. The present condition of the chapel is not known (2006).
The Korean Methodists no longer use the church
SIDE VIEW, RIGHT HAND SIDE OLDER CHAPEL
FRONT VIEW
CRYPT
STEPS TO CRYPT
CHAPEL
INSIDE MAIN CHURCH MY PARENTS WEDDING
MY VERSION 60 YEARS LATER
Thanks for looking
. I have always had a fascination with this Church since i found out that my parents got married here in the mid 50's. When i went past it recently, i realized it was now abandoned, this as you can imagine was my cue to go have a little gander. Before i went in , i had a look on the internet to see what i was going to find. To my surprise, i found out that the church had originally been a Roman Catholic chapel built around 1834 which had a crypt. In 1848 Louise philippe, King of the French , abdicated and moved to Esher. His family attended mass at St Borromeo and between 1850 and 1869, eleven members of The Oreleans family, including the Ex King were buried there.So first i checked out the crypt and found that the tombs of the French Royal Family still remained. The bodies have long since been moved back to France but still amazing to see the tombs. Then i looked for a way into the main part of the church, which was added onto the chapel in the 1880's. This proved a little more tricky. As luck would have it, the front door was unlocked some weeks later. Both the original chapel and the main church have amazing stain glass windows' which remain intact.
History
Louis Philippe, King of the French, abdicated in 1848 and moved to England where he lived with his family at Claremont, Esher. They attended mass at the chapel of St Charles Borromeo in Weybridge, and between 1850 and 1869 eleven members of the Orleans family were buried in the crypt there. When, in 1871, the fall of Napoleon III made it possible for the family to return to France, arrangements were made to have the royal remains transferred to the Orleans mortuary chapel at Dreux in Normandy.
The only coffin not returned to France was that of the beautiful Duchesse de Nemours which remained at Weybridge at the express wish of her husband. In 1881 the chapel nave was extended, and in 1883 a chapel was built to house the tomb and white marble effigy of the sleeping princess, the latter carved by the noted French sculptor Henri Michel-Antoine Chapu. But the tomb is now gone. In 1976 the Diocesan Council of Administration decided to close and sell St Charles Borromeo. Three years later, the remains of the duchesse were exhumed and sent to Dreux. Then, in 1994, the effigy was sold by Sothebys to the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, where it is presently on display.
Condition
The church, after years of neglect, was acquired by the Korean Methodist congregation. The present condition of the chapel is not known (2006).
The Korean Methodists no longer use the church
SIDE VIEW, RIGHT HAND SIDE OLDER CHAPEL
FRONT VIEW
CRYPT
STEPS TO CRYPT
CHAPEL
INSIDE MAIN CHURCH MY PARENTS WEDDING
MY VERSION 60 YEARS LATER
Thanks for looking
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