St Andrew's Church is the Church of England parish church of

Burnham-on-Sea Burnham-on-Sea is a seaside town in Somerset, England, at the mouth of the River Parrett, upon Bridgwater Bay. Burnham was a small fishing village until the late 18th century when it began to grow because of its popularity as a seaside resort. ...

in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

county of

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_ ...

. Of medieval origins, the church is 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 ...

, well known for its leaning tower.

History

There has been a church on this site since the late 11th century. Between 1305 and 1314 the original church was either replaced or enhanced; the parts of that church that still stand are the south

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building wi ...

, the south door arch, the

holy water Holy water is water that has been blessed by a member of the clergy or a religious figure, or derived from a well or spring considered holy. The use for cleansing prior to a baptism and spiritual cleansing is common in several religions, from ...

stoop and the consecration cross. The tower dates from the late 14th century, and the nave from the late 14th/early 15th century. The north aisle and gallery were added in 1838, and the chancel arch modified at this time. The chancel itself was remodelled in 1878.

Leaning tower

The leaning tower, 78 ft high, gets a lot of attention from tourists. Apparently if a

plumb line A plumb bob, plumb bob level, or plummet, is a weight, usually with a pointed tip on the bottom, suspended from a string and used as a vertical reference line, or plumb-line. It is a precursor to the spirit level and used to establish a vertic ...

is dropped from the north side of the tower it would fall 3 feet away from the building. This major leaning is believed to be caused by the poor foundations. During the 18th century a light was placed on the tower to guide fishing boats into the harbour. A local vicar, either John Goulden in 1764 or Walter Harris in 1799, raised a subscription amongst the local population to replace the light on the church. A four-storey

round tower A fortified tower (also defensive tower or castle tower or, in context, just tower) is one of the defensive structures used in fortifications, such as castles, along with curtain walls. Castle towers can have a variety of different shapes and fu ...

was built next to the church, being completed in 1801. This was taken over and improved by

Trinity House "Three In One" , formation = , founding_location = Deptford, London, England , status = Royal Charter corporation and registered charity , purpose = Maintenance of lighthouses, buoys and beacons , he ...

, in 1829. Funds from the sale were used by the vicar, Rev David Davies, to improve the area in an attempt to create a spa town. Trinity House operated the lighthouse until 1832 when it became inactive and was replaced by the High and Low lighthouses. The round tower was later shortened to two storeys, to prevent any confusion with the High Lighthouse. The tower holds a ring of eight bells hung for change ringing. The present ring contains bells cast at various dates by the

Whitechapel Bell Foundry The Whitechapel Bell Foundry was a business in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. At the time of the closure of its Whitechapel premises, it was the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain. The bell foundry primarily made church bells ...

Sculptures

A number of marble carvings designed by Sir Christopher Wren for the private chapel in the Palace of Whitehall can be now seen in the church. These sculptures formed part of an altar commissioned by James II in 1685 and were sculpted by Inigo Jones as part of wider work by

Grinling Gibbons Grinling Gibbons (4 April 1648 – 3 August 1721) was an Anglo-Dutch sculptor and wood carver known for his work in England, including Windsor Castle and Hampton Court Palace, St Paul's Cathedral and other London churches, Petworth House and othe ...

and his assistant Arnold Quellin, a Belgian artist of Antwerp. After having originally been taken to

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

in 1706, where they were placed behind the High Altar, they were moved to Burnham in the late 18th or early 19th century when

Walker King Walker King (1751 – 22 February 1827) was an English churchman and man of letters, bishop of Rochester from 1809, and, together with French Laurence, co-editor of the works of Edmund Burke. Life King was the son of the Reverend James King of ...

the Bishop of Rochester (also then vicar of

), acquired them. King wrote pamphlet about it which was sold to raise money for charity. What one sees at Burnham is only part of the whole design; the main panels are behind the altar with the remainder of the fragments displayed at various places in the main body of the church. They first occupied the whole of the east wall behind the altar.

References

*''The proceedings of the

Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society The Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society was founded in 1849. The Society bought Taunton Castle in 1874, and leases it to Somerset County Council to house the Museum of Somerset. A substantial proportion of the items held by the Mu ...

- Vol. LXXXI'' - 1935 - pp. 127–132 by AW Vivian-Neal M.C., F.S.A. gives an account of the history behind this statuary. Burnham on sea church

External links

Official St Andrew's Church website

St. Andrew's Church of England Junior School
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Andrew's Church, Burnham-on-Sea Burnham-on-Sea, Saint Andrew's Church Burnham-on-Sea, Saint Andrew's Church Grade I listed buildings in Sedgemoor Burnham-on-Sea

History

Leaning tower

Sculptures

See also

References

External links