List of places of worship in Mole Valley
As of 2017, the district of Mole Valley has more than 70 current and former places of worship: 56 buildings are in use by various Christian denominations and other religions, and a further 16 are no longer in religious use but survive in other uses or—in two cases—as ruins. Mole Valley is one of 11 local government districts in the English county of Surrey—a small inland county south of London which is characterised by small market towns, ancient villages and 20th-century suburbs.
The latest census results show that the majority of residents are Christian. Dorking, one of the district's two main towns, has a Muslim community centre and mosque, but all other places of worship serve Christian denominations. The Church of England—the country's Established Church—is represented by the largest number of churches. The Roman Catholic Church and the larger Protestant Nonconformist groups such as Methodists, Baptists and the United Reformed Church each have several buildings and congregations of their own. Quakers, Christian Scientists, Plymouth Brethren and other smaller groups also have their own chapels and meeting rooms, mostly in Dorking and the other main town of Leatherhead.
English Heritage has awarded listed status to 29 current and three former places of worship in the district. A building is defined as "listed" when it is placed on a statutory register of buildings of "special architectural or historic interest" in accordance with the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport, a Government department, is responsible for this; English Heritage, a non-departmental public body, acts as an agency of the department to administer the process and advise the department on relevant issues. There are three grades of listing status. Grade I, the highest, is defined as being of "exceptional interest"; Grade II* is used for "particularly important buildings of more than special interest"; and Grade II, the lowest, is used for buildings of "special interest". As of February 2001, there were 5 Grade I-listed buildings, 44 with Grade II* status and 919 Grade II-listed buildings in Mole Valley.
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