St Andrew's Church is a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

Haughton-le-Skerne Haughton-le-Skerne is a village in the borough of Darlington in the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It is situated in the north east of Darlington. The village lies to the west of the River Skerne. At the centre of the village green, ...

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

. 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 ...

History

The church was originally built in the 12th century and restored in the 15th century. In 1795, it was expanded with the addition of

transepts 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 withi ...

, a

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...

and a south porch. Notable original features include Norman windows,

pews A pew () is a long bench (furniture), bench seat or enclosed box, used for seating Member (local church), members of a Church (congregation), congregation or choir in a Church (building), church, synagogue or sometimes a courtroom. Overview ...

, a

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...

and

lectern A lectern is a reading desk with a slanted top, on which documents or books are placed as support for reading aloud, as in a scripture reading, lecture, or sermon. A lectern is usually attached to a stand or affixed to some other form of support. ...

that date to 1662 (the year of the Act of Uniformity), and a 15th-century

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a typeface. Each font is a matched set of type, with a piece (a "sort") for each glyph. A typeface consists of a range of such fonts that shared an overall design. In mod ...

cover. It is the oldest church in

Present day

On 28 April 1952, the church was designated a

. From 1993 to 2009, St Andrew's was associated with a

church plant Church planting is a term referring to the process (mostly in Protestant frameworks) that results in a new local Christian congregation being established. It should be distinguished from church development, where a new service, worship center or ...

in a local school: having been closed because of a lack of leadership, the plant merged back into St Andrew's. The church stands in the

Open Evangelical An open evangelical attempts to uphold evangelical doctrines, morality, and spirituality, while also being inclusive of others. It is a term which is commonly used in the United Kingdom in reference to both individuals and institutions. Uses Open ...

tradition A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

of the Church of England.

Notable clergy

* Bulkeley Bandinel, Bodley's Librarian, was rector from 1822 to 1855. *

Eleazar Duncon Eleazar Duncon (died 1660) was an English Royalist divine. Biography Duncon probably matriculated at Queens' College, Cambridge; but took his B.A. degree as a member of Caius College, and was then elected Fellow of Pembroke Hall in 1618. On 13 Ma ...

served as rector from 1633 until stripped of his church appointments during the English Civil War. * Thomas Le Mesurier, noted polemicist, was rector from 1812 to 1822. * Joanna Penberthy, the first female bishop in the Church in Wales, served as a

deaconess The ministry of a deaconess is, in modern times, a usually non-ordained ministry for women in some Protestant, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Orthodox churches to provide pastoral care, especially for other women, and which may carry a limited ...

in this parish from 1984 to 1985. * Noel Proctor, chaplain to HM Prison Manchester during the 1990 Strangeways Prison riot, served his curacy here from 1964 to 1967. *

John Wallis John Wallis (; la, Wallisius; ) was an English clergyman and mathematician who is given partial credit for the development of infinitesimal calculus. Between 1643 and 1689 he served as chief cryptographer for Parliament and, later, the royal ...

, antiquary and local historian, was a temporary curate in 1775.

References

External links

Church website

A Church Near You entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haughton-le-Skerne, Saint Andrew Church of England church buildings in County Durham Grade I listed churches in County Durham 12th-century church buildings in England

Saint Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Peter ...