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St Andrew's Church |
If you do use the building, please do follow the guidance in the church porch (shown below).
Jon (21 June)
THE CHURCH IS NOW OPEN FOR PRIVATE PRAYER
FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY PLEASE :-
1) USE HAND GEL ON ENTRY
2) MAKE SURE THE DOOR IS CLOSED BEHIND YOU TO KEEP THE BIRDS OUT
3) OBSERVE SOCIAL DISTANCING AT ALL TIMES
4) IF YOU SIT AT A PEW PLEASE MARK THE LOCATION BY PLACING A KNEELER ON THE AREA
5) CLOSE THE DOOR WHEN YOU LEAVE
THANK YOU AND STAY SAFE!
Rev Andrea Watkins.
01604 771338
In the meantime, please contact Rev Kathryn Evans, Assistant Curate, 01604 842953 (email)
So, at long last, we have a positive story to tell!
The church was closed during lockdown to comply with legal requirements. This was a frustrating period but as soon as the restrictions started to be eased, we decided that we could safely re-open for private prayer and did this as soon as we could. We were keen to take this step in order to give the building a purpose again and also allow visitors to make use of the church.
This was a statement of intent - after all if you don’t open when you are permitted so to do, after a while people will quite rightly ask questions about the future.
The next step was made possible with further easing of guidelines although it took longer than we would have liked to get to the point where we could hold a service in the building, which we were able to do for the first time on 9 August.
To comply with social distancing, we have to use alternate pews and having tried this with people, this restricts the congregation to some 20 people or family groups. We were pleased to welcome back our congregation safely and think it was much appreciated and we were pleased to welcome Kathryn to hold her first face to face service for months.
The next service in St Andrew's Church will be Worship for All at 11 a.m. on Sunday, 20th September. If you wish to book a place, please contact Jon Brierley, as below. News of telephone services, Zoom meetings and other events is sent out weekly by our curate Rev Kathryn Evans. To join her list, please contact Jon Brierley.
An old building still needs to be looked after, even when it is closed, so we are very grateful to Tricia Wood for keeping the dust in check and also to Roy Haynes who has kept the churchyard mown and tidy. Helen has worked her magic on the corner bed and we are grateful to Gordon and Marian who supplied us with the petunias again.
Our costs are largely fixed and we have lost some collection income but thankfully we have a good number of supporters who give by regular payment schemes so our finances have not been too badly affected. The main thing for us is to keep the church open as a resource for the village.
If you would like to help us in any way, please let us know.
The building will continue to be open daily.
Jon Brierley on 07759 443178 or email
Linda Treacy on 07752 885900 or email
Churchwardens
Dedicated to St Andrew, the parish church is one of six within the Spencer Benefice of the Diocese of Peterborough. Built in the 
12th/13thcentury the only original parts of the building remaining are the base of the tower and parts of the nave. The remainder of the nave and the upper parts of the tower were built in the later part of the 18th century. A ring of 6 bells was given in 1777 by the patron of the time ~ William Lucas Rose ~ who also paid for their installation and the building work. In 1779 he also gave a gift of communion vessels which are still in use today.
Considerable restoration work was carried out in 1878/9 when the chancel was reconstructed and the vestry and organ aisles added. Most of the existing windows were also restored. The tower and nave roofs were restored in 1957/8.
The east window contains the only stained glass in the building – the subject is Christ’s Crucifixion and dates from 1878. It is believed to be the work of Burlerison and Gryll – the purple/blue colouring being typical of their work and the stained glass designs used based on those of Germany and the Netherlands around 1500.
The Reredos behind the altar is a picture in mosaic depicting the Last Supper – a copy of the painting by Leonardo da Vinci, with the inscription beneath “Do this in remembrance of me”. The mosaic continues on either side depicting on one side ears of wheat, and on the other a grapevine.
The church clock is unusual as it was originally a one handed clock divided into ¼ hours and therefore does not have 60 minutes.
The church is surrounded by a churchyard of 0.649 acres with lovely country views looking eastwards. The earliest known gravestone is that of Thomas Embry Woolwinder who died in 1687.
In April 1994 the 6 bells and the frame were removed. The bells were taken to Whitechapel foundry in London, recast, and 2 new bells added to make a ring of 8.Tenor weight 13-1-5.
All the bells have inscriptions on them. The treble having “The Rose Bell, in memory of William Lucas Rose who gave the original six bells in 1777”. The new bells were rung for the first time on August 13th for a village wedding and were dedicated by the Bishop of Peterborough at a special service on September 29th1994.
The Bellringers practise on Monday evenings 7.45 to 9.00 pm. Anyone from 10 years can learn to ring – contact Justin Baker on 01327 844263 (e-mail) or Janet Bowers on 01327 842851 (email).
Visiting bands of ringers please contact the tower correspondent Janet on 01327 842851 (email).
St Andrew's is a small church with a friendly atmosphere which welcomes you to any of the services.
Special services include Pet Blessing, Christingle and others which rotate around the Benefice.