St Andrew the Apostle Church, Worthing
St Andrew the Apostle Church | |
---|---|
Church of St Andrew the Apostle | |
Chichester | |
Deanery | Rural Deanery of Worthing |
Parish | Worthing, St Andrew |
Clergy | |
Priest(s) | Fr John Eldridge |
St Andrew the Apostle (in full, the Church of St Andrew the Apostle) is an
History
Worthing experienced fitful but often rapid growth throughout the 19th century after it became established as a town and seaside resort at the start of the 19th century. Between 1801, two years before an
Sussex was a religiously conservative county,
Other groups—including the police, wealthy residents and the
In the early 1880s, a group of
As debate over this issue continued, more controversy erupted when in late 1886, as the church was being completed, it was discovered that a
The consecration of the church, set for 1886, was postponed because of the strength of feeling in Worthing (and possibly in an attempt to prevent religious riots similar to those of the
The ill-feeling between Anglo-Catholics and their opponents soon died down, apart from some brief controversy in the mid-1890s over some fittings in Christ Church.[22] After World War I, there was a further brief dispute over the design of a war memorial in St Andrew's Church, which took the form of a shrine depicting the Crucifixion designed by Charles Eamer Kempe. It was installed in 1919. The names of local war dead were inscribed on the a panel on the chancel wall.[23]
Since its opening, the exterior of St Andrew's Church has experienced little change, and there have been only gradual increases in the decoration of the interior.[14] A new marble altar was placed in the chancel in 1902, one year after a wooden altar was added in the Lady chapel. A rood screen, carved in oak, and walnut-wood choir stalls were added in 1905 (the latter were replaced by oak stalls in 1932). Another altar, this time in the south transept, was installed in 1922. The red alabaster piece was designed by Charles Eamer Kempe. A green marble altar was donated to the church in 1950 and was placed in the north transept.[24] Work undertaken in the 1970s included the painting of the internal brickwork and the creation of a glass-walled memorial to a former vicar.[14]
Like many 19th-century churches in Worthing, St Andrew's established a mission hall as the population of Anglican worshippers grew. The building, in Victoria Road, was founded in about 1900 but has since been demolished.[3][13]
Architecture
Arthur Blomfield used the Early English Gothic style for St Andrew's Church. Standing on a wide, narrow east–west site between Victoria and Clifton Roads, the cruciform building occupies little ground space but is correspondingly tall. It is mostly of brick clad with flint and dressed with Bath stone.[12][14][25] The roof is laid with tiles.[14] The plan features a nave with aisles and transepts to form the cruciform shape, a baptistery, a chancel, Lady chapel and a sacristy.[13] The former vestry is now a hall.[26] The Lady chapel, originally called the Morning Chapel, runs parallel to the north side of the chancel and has an apsidal end and a vaulted roof in seven parts.[14][27] The baptistery also has an apse.[27] The walls at the Lady chapel end are thicker than elsewhere in the church: a tower was planned for that end, and the walls would have had to support it.[14] The chancel originally had a tiled floor, but it was replaced by stone in the 1930s.[24]
Inside, the fittings are ornate and extensive. Charles Eamer Kempe provided most of the stained glass and an intricately carved wooden reredos.[12][13][25] The "Worthing Madonna" represents the Virgin Mary and the baby Jesus, stands in a recess in the apse of the Lady chapel, and was executed in Caen stone by sculptor Harry Hems of Exeter, Devon. The stone has a gold and dark red mosaic-style border.[14][27] Hems also made the font, a stone structure in the baptistery, although Arthur Blomfield drew up the design.[14]
Kempe's stained glass is extensive: all but four windows in the church feature his designs, and these exceptions were the work of his cousin and collaborator Walter Tower. Scenes portrayed include the
Vestry and vicarage
The former vestry was added to the church in a matching style in 1908–9 by T.R. Hide.[13][27] It was originally thought to have been contemporary with the church.[26] The flint and stone structure has gently arched Perpendicular-style windows at its east and west ends; each have five lights.[27] Another window, with three panes, is close to the wall joining the building to the church at the southeast corner. It is now used as the church hall.[26]
In 1924, another architect, K.D. Young, added the vicarage.
Both structures were listed at Grade II by English Heritage on 21 May 1976, at the same time as the church.[26][30] They are two of the 198 buildings in Worthing which are listed at Grade II or C.[31]
The church today
St Andrew's Church was listed at Grade C by English Heritage on 21 May 1976.[25] Grade C was the lowest rank on an old grading system used for Anglican churches, before English Heritage extended the standard Grade I, II* and II scheme to all types of building. A small number of churches remain on the old scheme, on which Grade C is equivalent to Grade II. As of February 2001, it was one of 198 Grade II- or C-listed buildings, and 213 listed buildings of all grades, in the Borough of Worthing.[31] (These totals have since changed because of new listings and delistings.)
The parish of St Andrew's is believed to be one of the smallest in the
See also
- Official website of St Andrew the Apostle in Worthing
- Listed buildings in Worthing
- List of places of worship in Worthing
Notes
- required.)
- ^ a b c d e Hare 1991, p. 158.
- ^ a b Elleray 1977, Introduction.
- ^ "Worthing through time: Population Statistics: Total Population". Vision of Britain website. Great Britain Historical GIS. 2009. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
- ^ a b Carder 1990, §150.
- ^ a b Hare 1991, p. 60.
- ^ Hare 1991, p. 52.
- ^ Hare 1991, p. 59.
- ^ Hare 1991, pp. 61–62.
- ^ Hare 1991, p. 67.
- ^ Elleray 1998, p. 46.
- ^ a b c d Elleray 1998, p. 48.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Salzman, L. F., ed. (1980). "A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 6 Part 1: Bramber Rape (Southern Part). Worthing: Churches". Victoria County History of Sussex. British History Online. pp. 119–122. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Greenwood 1988, p. 1.
- ^ Elleray 1985, §54
- ^ Elleray 1977, §151.
- ^ a b Anon. 1889, p. 32.
- ^ Anon. 1889, p. 35.
- ^ Hare 1991, pp. 158–159.
- ^ a b c Anon. 1889, p. 36.
- ^ a b Hare 1991, p. 159.
- ^ a b Hare 1991, p. 160.
- ^ Elleray 1998, pp. 138–139.
- ^ a b Greenwood 1988, p. 3.
- ^ a b c Historic England (2007). "St Andrew's Church, Victoria Road (east side), Worthing, Worthing, West Sussex (1263177)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
- ^ a b c d Historic England (2007). "St Andrew's Church Hall, Victoria Road (east side), Worthing, Worthing, West Sussex (1250626)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f Elleray 2004, p. 57.
- ^ a b Greenwood 1988, p. 5.
- ^ Elleray 2004, p. 6.
- ^ a b c Historic England (2007). "Vicarage of St Andrew's Church, Victoria Road (east side), Worthing, Worthing, West Sussex (1250681)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
- ^ a b "Images of England — Statistics by County (West Sussex)". Images of England. English Heritage. 2007. Archived from the original on 14 October 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
- ^ "St. Andrew, Worthing". A Church Near You website. Archbishops' Council. 2008. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
Bibliography
- Anon. (1889). St Andrew's Church, Worthing. An Account of the Proceedings of the Bishop of Chichester, and of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners in connection therewith. Covent Garden, London: G. Slater.
- Beevers, David; Marks, Richard; Roles, John (1989). Sussex Churches and Chapels. Brighton: The Royal Pavilion, Art Gallery and Museums. ISBN 0-948723-11-4.
- Carder, Timothy (1990). The Encyclopaedia of Brighton. Lewes: East Sussex County Libraries. ISBN 0-86147-315-9.
- Elleray, D. Robert (1977). Worthing: a Pictorial History. Chichester: Phillimore & Co. ISBN 0-85033-263-X.
- Elleray, D. Robert (1985). Worthing: Aspects of Change. Chichester: Phillimore & Co. ISBN 0-85033-551-5.
- Elleray, D. Robert (1998). A Millennium Encyclopaedia of Worthing History. Worthing: Optimus Books. ISBN 0-9533132-0-4.
- Elleray, D. Robert (2004). Sussex Places of Worship. Worthing: Optimus Books. ISBN 0-9533132-7-1.
- Greenwood, John (1988). The Church of Saint Andrew the Apostle Centenary: 1888–1988. n.p.
- Hare, Chris (1991). Historic Worthing: The Untold Story. Adlestrop: The Windrush Press. ISBN 0-900075-91-0.