St Andrew's Church is an Anglican church in

Backwell Backwell is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset and in 2011 had a population of 4,589. The village lies about southwest of Bristol, south of the A370 to Weston-super-Mare. The parish includes the hamlets of B ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, England. The church building dates back to the 13thcentury, when the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

, aisles and the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ov ...

were built. The church was subsequently altered and enlarged during the 14th to 17th centuries; the 31m-high west tower dates from the 15th century, and the rood screen is from the early 16th century. The church has been a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

since 1961. The Parish of St Andrew is part of the benefice of Backwell with Chelvey and

Brockley Brockley is a district and an electoral ward of south London, England, in the London Borough of Lewisham south-east of Charing Cross. History The name Brockley is derived from "Broca's woodland clearing", a wood where badgers are seen (' ...

within the deanery of Portishead. A new building attached to the church containing social and office space was added in 1984. There are plans to install solar panels on the roof of the church.

Churchyard

The churchyard includes a 15th-century cross. There is also a crucifix which is a memorial to a local airman Pat Garnett. It was made by Arthur George Walker and was sited below Backwell Hill House before becoming rusted and overgrown. It was restored and moved to the churchyard by Laurence Tindall in 1997. The churchyard also contains

war graves War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regu ...

of a

York and Lancaster Regiment The York and Lancaster Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was created in the Childers Reforms of 1881 by the amalgamation of the 65th (2nd Yorkshire, North Riding) Regiment ...

officer and an

airman An airman is a member of an air force or air arm of a nation's armed forces. In certain air forces, it can also refer to a specific enlisted rank. An airman can also be referred as a soldier in other definitions. In civilian aviation usage, t ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

.
CWGC Cemetery Report, details from casualty record. The Churchyard has very limited land space remaining for future burials; the church has restricted future burials to Backwell residents only, and is requesting permission to reuse existing graves that have no memorials and are more than 80 years old.

References

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External links

St Andrew's Church, Backwell
{{DEFAULTSORT:Backwell, Saint Andrew Church of England church buildings in North Somerset Grade I listed churches in Somerset Grade I listed buildings in North Somerset 12th-century church buildings in England

Churchyard

See also

References

Sources

External links