The Minster Church of St Andrew, also known as St Andrew's Church, Plymouth is an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

church in

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

in England. 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 and was built in the mid to late 15th century. The church was heavily damaged during the

Plymouth Blitz The Plymouth Blitz was a series of bombing raids carried out by the Nazi German ''Luftwaffe'' on the English city of Plymouth in the Second World War. The bombings launched on numerous British cities were known as the Blitz. The royal d ...

but was rebuilt after the war. It was designated as a

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

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

conservative evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of the Christian go ...

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, 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 riv ...

History

The church existed at least as early as the beginning of the 11th century,"The History of St. Andrew’s Church"
St Andrew's Church, Plymouth, accessed 13 October 2011 but was possibly established in the 8th century. By the 15th century it needed to be enlarged because of the growth of the town. A

Purbeck marble Purbeck Marble is a fossiliferous limestone found in the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula in south-east Dorset, England. It is a variety of Purbeck stone that has been quarried since at least Roman times as a decorative building stone. Geology S ...

effigy An effigy is a sculptural representation, often life-size, of a specific person or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certain ...

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 is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

and

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

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, 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 coo ...

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 (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act ...

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, in 1875 by

Sir George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), largely 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 ...

, 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 (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

. The arcades are of the type which is standard in

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

at the period. The tower is high and was funded by Thomas Yogge, a prosperous merchant, .Pevsner, pp. 229-30 who built 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 (organ builder), William Rushworth. In th ...

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.

Stained glass by John Piper

With all of the stained glass present in the church blown out during the blitz, in 1957, artist John Piper was commissioned to provide designs for a new window for the west tower. It was executed in glass by Piper's long-term collaborator,

Patrick Reyntiens Nicholas Patrick Reyntiens OBE (; 11 December 1925 – 25 October 2021) was a British stained-glass artist, described as "the leading practitioner of stained glass in this country." Personal life Reyntiens was born in December 1925 at 68 Cad ...

, and installed in 1962. On the back of this success, Piper and Reyntiens would be commissioned to provide another five windows for the church between 1963 and 1968, which together constitute one of the most comprehensive cycles of the artists' work anywhere. File:Piper window, west tower, Plymouth Minster.jpg , West tower window by John Piper and Patrick Reyntiens (1957-62) File:Piper window, east chancel, Plymouth Minster.jpg , East chancel window by John Piper and Patrick Reyntiens (1963-1968) File:Piper window, south east chapel, Plymouth Minster.jpg , South east chapel window by John Piper and Patrick Reyntiens (1963-1968) File:Piper window, north east chapel, Plymouth Minster.jpg , North east chapel window by John Piper and Patrick Reyntiens (1963-1968) File:Piper window, south chapel, Plymouth Minster.jpg , South chapel window by John Piper and Patrick Reyntiens (1963-1968) File:Piper window, north aisle, Plymouth Minster.jpg , North aisle window by John Piper and Patrick Reyntiens (1963-1968)

Present day

The church belongs to the

tradition of Anglicanism, and has expressed support for

GAFCON The Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (branded as GAFCON or Gafcon) is a communion of conservative Anglicanism, Anglican churches, aligned with the Confessing Movement, that formed in 2008 in response to ongoing theological disputes in th ...

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'' () 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 who are ass ...

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

Nick McKinnel Nicholas Howard Paul 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 McKi ...

, 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 Roderick John Thomas (born 11 January 1947) is a Welsh former professional footballer who represented Wales at international level. During his career Thomas played for Gloucester City, Swindon Town, Derby County, Cardiff City, Gloucester for ...

, curate from 1993 to 1999, later Bishop of Maidstone and provincial episcopal visitor for conservative evangelicals in the Church of England *Joseph Dent, Rector since 2013

Notable people

Katherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, historical Spanish: , now: ; 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 its annulment on 23 May ...

, in thanksgiving for a safe voyage from Spain *

Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( 1540 – 28 January 1596) was an English Exploration, explorer and privateer best known for making the Francis Drake's circumnavigation, second circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition between 1577 and 1580 (bein ...

Martin Frobisher Sir Martin Frobisher (; – 22 November 1594) was an English sailor and privateer who made three voyages to the New World looking for the North-west Passage. He probably sighted Resolution Island near Labrador in north-eastern Canada, before ...

(organs buried there, body in London) * John Hawkins * King Charles II according to tradition performed touching for the

king's evil Kings or King's may refer to: *Kings: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations. *One of several works known as the "Book of Kings": **The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts **The ''Shahnameh'', an 11th-century epic Persia ...

here *Admiral Robert Blake was interred here and afterwards removed to

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

(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 William Bligh (9 September 1754 – 7 December 1817) was a Vice-admiral (Royal Navy), Royal Navy vice-admiral and colonial administrator who served as the governor of New South Wales from 1806 to 1808. He is best known for his role in the Muti ...

, deposed in the

Mutiny on the Bounty The mutiny on the ''Bounty'' 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 (navy), Lieutenant William Bli ...

, 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 Grade I listed churches in Devon British churches bombed by the Luftwaffe Conservative evangelical Anglican churches in England