St Andrew's Church, Chippenham facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Andrew's Parish Church, Chippenham |
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St Andrew's Church, Chippenham
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 St Andrew's Parish Church, Chippenham
Location in Wiltshire
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| 51°27′28.4″N 2°6′45.4″W / 51.457889°N 2.112611°W | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Churchmanship | Liberal Anglo-Catholic |
| History | |
| Dedication | Saint Andrew |
| Administration | |
| Parish | St Andrew, Chippenham |
| Diocese | Bristol |
| Province | Canterbury |
St Andrew's Church in Chippenham, Wiltshire, England, is a special church that belongs to the Church of England. It is one of four Anglican churches in Chippenham and serves the south and east parts of the town. You can find it right next to the Market Place in the town centre. It's also a very important building, listed as Grade II*, which means it's historically significant.
St Andrew's is a big church with a wide main area called the nave. This nave is separated from a long chancel (the area around the altar) by a wooden screen from the early 1900s. The oldest part of the church is the Lady Chapel, which is to the south-east of the chancel. The church also has two wide aisles next to the nave. A side chapel, used for baptisms, is next to the south aisle and is also known as St Katherine's Chapel. Near the west end of the south aisle, there's a notable monument dedicated to the Prynne family.
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A Look Back: Church History
The church first started in the 1100s, but most of it was rebuilt in the 1400s. This included adding the fancy south chapel in 1442 for a person named Walter, Lord Hungerford. The bottom part of the church tower is from the 1300s, but the rest was rebuilt in 1633.
The church was repaired and updated between 1875 and 1878. During this time, the roof was made higher, the chancel was made longer, and the inside was rearranged. A room for the clergy, called a vestry, was added in 1907. The eight bells in the tower were all made in 1734.
There used to be a balcony at the west end of the church, which held the Seede organ before the 1870s changes. This balcony was removed when the organ was made bigger and moved to the east end of the north aisle. There was also a balcony in St Katherine's Chapel, which is no longer there, but you can still see the stones that supported it in the walls.
Church Services
St Andrew's currently holds two Holy Communion services on Sundays. These services follow safety rules, especially during times like lockdown. At the 9 am service, people bring their own bread, and the wine is not shared. At the 10:30 am service, wine is offered in individual glasses, and a small group leads the singing.
The church of St Nicholas is in a small village called Tytherton Lucas, about 1.7 miles (2.7 km) north-east of Chippenham. It is a smaller church that belongs to St Andrew's. Currently, it is not open for worship.
Singing Groups at St Andrew's
There are two main singing groups that help with church services: the Robed Choir and the St Andrew's Singers. The Robed Choir sings at the main morning service on the second, fourth, and fifth Sundays of each month. This church has had choirs singing for many years.
The St Andrew's Singers are a less formal group. They provide music for the "All Age" services, which happen on the first Sunday morning of the month. The church is connected to the Royal School of Church Music. The Robed Choir follows their "Voice for Life" program for training singers.
The Church Organ
The organ at St Andrew's is a large instrument with three keyboards (called manuals) and pedals. It has 46 "speaking stops," which control different sounds. Many of its pipes are from an older organ built by Brice Seede in 1752. The beautiful front part of the organ case is also from that time.
In 1852, pipes for the pedals and mechanical ways to change the stops were added by George Holdich. In 1879, the organ was rebuilt by Gray and Davison and moved from its original spot on the west balcony to a special room in the north aisle. More changes were made in the 1900s:
- In 1931, the organ was changed to use air pressure (pneumatic action) by Adkins.
- In 1965, a separate console (where the organist sits) with electronic controls was installed by Percy Daniel & Co.
- Further adjustments were made by Coulson in 1986.
Events and Performances
St Andrew's Church is also used for events that are not church services. Many local groups, like orchestras and choirs, use the church as a place to perform.
Concerts and musical performances are held there from time to time. Local schools, both primary and secondary, use the church for their Christmas events. These usually happen during the week before Christmas. Some schools also use the church for concerts at other times of the year.
