The Minster Church of St Andrew, also known as St Andrew's Church, Plymouth is an Anglican church in Plymouth. It is the original parish church of Sutton, one of the three towns which were later combined to form the city of Plymouth. The church is the largest parish church in the historic county of

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

and was built in the mid to late 15th century. The church was heavily damaged during the Plymouth Blitz but was rebuilt after the war. It was designated as a

Minster Church Minster is an honorific title given to particular churches in England, most notably York Minster in Yorkshire, Westminster Abbey in London and Southwell Minster in Nottinghamshire. The term ''minster'' is first found in royal foundation charte ...

in 2009 and it continues to operate as the focus for religious civic events for the city and as a bustling

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

church. It is likely to be on the site of the original Saxon church and was once attached to the abbey of

Plympton Plympton is a suburb of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England. It is in origin an ancient stannary town. It was an important trading centre for locally mined tin, and a seaport before the River Plym silted up and trade moved down river to P ...

History

The church existed at least as early as the beginning of the 12th century,"The History of St. Andrew’s Church"
St Andrew's Church, Plymouth, accessed 13 October 2011 possibly established in the 8th century but by the 15th century it needed to be enlarged because of the growth of the town. A Purbeck marble effigy tomb now located in the north transept is the only remaining feature of the earlier church. The principal building of Plymouth blue-sky

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

and

Dartmoor Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers . The granite which forms the uplands dates from the Carboniferous P ...

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

corner

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral ( ...

ing in the

Perpendicular style Perpendicular Gothic (also Perpendicular, Rectilinear, or Third Pointed) architecture was the third and final style of English Gothic architecture developed in the Kingdom of England during the Late Middle Ages, typified by large windows, four-ce ...

, took place between 1430 and 1490. with a plaque on the tower dating to 1460. It is known to have been restored three times, in 1824 by

John Foulston John Foulston (1772 – 30 December 1841) was an English architect who was a pupil of Thomas Hardwick and set up a practice in London in 1796.Peter Leach, ''Foulston, John (1772–1841)'', rev., Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford Un ...

, in 1875 by

Sir George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started ...

, and by Sir Frederick Etchells after extensive bomb damage in World War II. The Resurgam Door is a commemoration of this. The length is and the width . There are two aisles on each side of 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 ...

and one each side of 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 ...

. The arcades are of the type which is standard in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

at the period. The tower is high and was funded by Thomas Yogge, a prosperous merchant, .Pevsner, pp. 229-30 who lived in the wrongly-named

Prysten House Prysten House is a Grade I listed 15th century merchant's house situated close to St Andrew's Church in the city of Plymouth, England. It is a large U-shaped three storey split level house built 1498 and extended 1635. Construction It is con ...

immediately located to the south of the Church. The organ, the largest west of Bristol, was built by

Rushworth and Dreaper Rushworth and Dreaper was a firm of organ builders, and later general instrument suppliers associated with Paul McCartney based in Liverpool. The manufacturer was founded in 1828 by William Rushworth, operating until 2002. Upon its liquidation, ...

to a design by George Harry Moreton,

William Lloyd Webber William Southcombe Lloyd Webber (11 March 1914 – 29 October 1982) was an English organist and composer, who achieved some fame as a part of the modern classical music movement whilst commercially facing mixed opportunities. Besides his long ...

and O. H. Peasgood. Dr Harry Moreton (1864–1961) was the organist of St Andrew's from 1885 to 1958.

Blitz

In March 1941, St Andrew's Parish Church was bombed and badly damaged. Amid the smoking ruins a headmistress nailed over the door a wooden sign saying simply ''Resurgam'' (Latin for ''I shall rise again''), indicating the wartime spirit, a gesture repeated at other devastated European churches. That entrance to St Andrew's is still referred to as the "Resurgam" door and a carved granite plaque is now permanently fixed there. The Church was re-roofed and restored by Etchells and re-consecrated on 30 November 1957, St Andrew's Day. The restoration includes a new chancel as the old one had been made into a ruin.

Present day

The church belongs to the

conservative evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual exper ...

tradition of Anglicanism, and has expressed support for GAFCON.

Plate

There is a notable collection of 17th-century plate, and one chalice and cover of 1590.

Clergy

John Cavell John Caldicott Cavell (12 January 1813 – 5 February 1887) was a department store proprietor and mayor of Oxford, England. John Cavell was born in Bardwell, Suffolk, the son of Charles and Sarah Cavell, He married Sarah Elliston of Summertown ...

, Vicar from 1962 to 1972, later Bishop of Southampton * Ealphege, vicar in the reign of King William II (d. 1100) * John Hatchard, vicar from 1824 to his death in 1869 * Joseph Hunkin began his career in 1914 with a

curacy A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

at St Andrew's; his last church appointment was as Bishop of Truro. *

Nick McKinnel Nicholas McKinnel (born 19 August 1954) is an English retired Anglican bishop. He served as Bishop of Plymouth (2015–2022) and Bishop of Crediton (2012–2015), both suffragan bishoprics in the Diocese of Exeter. Early life McKinnel was bor ...

, rector from 1994 to 2012 later bishop of Plymouth * Clifford Martin, vicar from 1939 to 1944, later fourth Bishop of Liverpool."Martin, Rt Rev. Clifford Arthur"
''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007, accessed 13 October 2011 * Rod Thomas, curate from 1993 to 1999, later Bishop of Maidstone and provincial episcopal visitor for conservative evangelicals in the Church of England

Notable people

Katherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 11 June 1509 until their annulment on 23 May 1533. She was previously P ...

, in thanksgiving for a safe voyage from Spain * Francis Drake *

John Hawkins John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

* King Charles II according to tradition performed touching for the king's evil here *Admiral

Robert Blake Robert Blake may refer to: Sportspeople * Bob Blake (American football) (1885–1962), American football player * Robbie Blake (born 1976), English footballer * Bob Blake (ice hockey) (1914–2008), American ice hockey player * Rob Blake (born 196 ...

was interred here and afterwards removed 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 ...

(his heart is still thought to be buried under the church)Holland, Clive (1908) ''From the North Foreland to Penzance''. London: Chatto & Windus; p. 264 *

William Bligh Vice-Admiral William Bligh (9 September 1754 – 7 December 1817) was an officer of the Royal Navy and a colonial administrator. The mutiny on the HMS ''Bounty'' occurred in 1789 when the ship was under his command; after being set adrift i ...

, deposed in the

Mutiny on the Bounty The mutiny on the Royal Navy vessel occurred in the South Pacific Ocean on 28 April 1789. Disaffected crewmen, led by acting-Lieutenant Fletcher Christian, seized control of the ship from their captain, Lieutenant William Bligh, and set h ...

, was baptised here in 1754

References

Bibliography

External links

Minster Church of St Andrew: a brief historySt. Andrew's Church, Plymouth (official site)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plymouth, Saint Andrew Churches in Plymouth, Devon Church of England church buildings in Devon 15th-century church buildings in England British churches bombed by the Luftwaffe Conservative evangelical Anglican churches in England