St Andrew's Church, Plymouth, Devon
N 50° 22.187 W 004° 08.428
30U E 418895 N 5580367
The Mother Church of the City of Plymouth.
Waymark Code: WM3T9C
Location: United Kingdom
Date Posted: 05/14/2008
Views: 48
The first church on this site was a chapel for the original Saxon village of Sutton. The Augustinian Priory of Plympton appointed the vicars. The earliest recorded vicar was Ealphege who officiated at the time of King William II. This places its date as before 1100 when King William died. William de la Stane was the vicar in 1264 and the church is mentioned in a survey of Western Churches made in 1291 on the orders of Pope Nicholas. The only other churches in the Plymouth area at that time were at Egg Buckland, Stoke Damerel and Tamerton Foliot. The crypt beneath the present chancel is thought to date from that time.
By the 14th century there was a need to enlarge the church. The south chancel aisle was built by Mr John Edenes and dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary around 1380-85. The north aisle, dedicated to St John the Baptist, was started in 1440. This was just after Plymouth received its first borough charter. The tower, which is more decorated than the main body of the Church, dates from 1460/61. Thomas Yogge a rich local merchant paid for the labour to build the tower. He also financed the building of the Lady Chapel on the north side of the Church.
One famous visitor to St Andrew's Church was Katherine of Aragon. After a perilous passage across the English Channel she landed at Plymouth on October 2nd 1501 and promptly made her way in procession to the Church to give thanks for her safe arrival. Sir Francis Drake, Sir John Hawkins and Captain Bligh of the Bounty also worshipped at St Andrew's.
St Andrew's has been restored three times, the first being in 1826 by a local architect Mr John Foulston. Sadly, he removed most of the old woodwork and carved screens. A more careful restoration followed in 1874-75 by Sir George Gilbert Scott FSA. St Andrew's was re-opened for worship on March 31st 1875. The Church was extensively damaged during air raids in March 1941 and completely gutted by fire. A board was fixed over the north porch door upon which was carved the one word "Resurgam" - 'I will rise again'. The ruins were laid out as gardens and services were once again held in what became known as the Garden Church. In 1949 a special service took place to celebrate the start of the re-building of St Andrew's. The church was re-consecrated at 3pm on November 30th 1957, St Andrew's Day, by the Lord Bishop of Exeter.
St Andrew's has the distinction of being the largest parish church in Devon, measuring some 184 feet in length and 69 feet in width, except at the transepts where it is 95 feet wide. The tower is 136 feet tall and contains a peel of 10 bells.
Building Materials: Stone
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Visit Instructions:
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