Wall collapses between St Andrew's Church and The Courtyard development in Farnham

A wall separating St Andrew's Church and The Courtyard development on West Street has collapsed in the second such incident to hit the historic churchyard in little over a year.

The wall, which forms part of the boundary between the church grounds and the site of the zero-carbon apartment scheme, gave way and fell into the churchyard on Wednesday (August 5) morning. No one was injured, despite a resident of The Courtyard standing nearby on the development's walkway at the time.

Ashley Burton, of Chapter One Developments, which is behind The Courtyard scheme, said the wall had "always been leaning" since the site was purchased, and pointed to a combination of recent weather and deteriorating lime mortar as the likely cause.

"I think the weather and the fragile lime mortar in the wall just failed," Mr Burton said. "It had always been leaning ever since we purchased the site, but thankfully no one was injured as it went into the churchyard rather than onto our walkway, where one of our residents was standing at the time."

The wall is owned by Waverley Borough Council, which has been notified, along with the church. Chapter One Developments has temporarily fenced off the area while a decision is made on what happens next, including the fate of several headstones lying beneath the rubble.

It comes after a separate wall collapse in February 2025 blocked the passageway linking West Street to St Andrew's Church, forcing its closure for several months because of safety concerns.

The Courtyard, a development of 23 zero-carbon apartments behind two listed buildings, has been designed to use the church as its backdrop.

The Farnham Herald has approached Waverley Borough Council for comment.