This is the interior of St.Mary's church at Holmbury St.Mary, which overlooks the village from the heavily wooded backdrop of Holmbury Hill.

Holmbury St.Mary is a small village near Abinger in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England located within the Hurtwood, the largest area of common land in Surrey. Nearby to the south is Holmbury Hill, which at 857 feet (261 m) is the fourth highest point in Surrey. The village itself is named after the hill and the large Victorian church at its heart. St Mary's church, which overlooks the village green, was built in 1879 by George Edmund Street who had built himself a large house in the village between 1873-76 known as Holmdale. Holmdale later became home to Thomas Catto, the Governor of the Bank of England from 1944 to 1949.

Holmbury St. Mary has its own annual bonfire and fireworks night in the Glade, made possible by local village men (The Bonfire Boys) who gather wood from the Hurtwood and put on a fireworks show on the weekend following Halloween. I'm one of the Bonfire Boys myself and it's always a great time of year when you invite your friends round for a traditional bonfire and a dinner at the house afterwards. Happy days. This is a very popular event in the village with thousands attending, and all profits are donated to charity. Holmbury St. Mary is believed to be the basis for the fictional village of Summer Street in 'A Room With A View'. Its author E.M. Forster was a longstanding resident in neighbouring Abinger Hammer.

The shot itself was taken with the Pentax 10-17mm fisheye, hence the distortion here and there which I've done my best to correct. Although this is perfectly ok as a postcard shot, I'll probably redo this at some time in the future for my own gratification to capture the stained glass windows a little better. Using this lens is a pleasure but I'm after a rectilinear one to use for future shots like this - pop me a mail if you're interested in selling one =).