St Andrew's Church, Worthing
Encyclopedia
St Andrew's Church is an Anglican
church in Worthing
, West Sussex
, England
. Built between 1885 and 1886 in the Early English Gothic style by Sir Arthur Blomfield
, "one of the last great Gothic revivalists
", the church was embroiled in controversy as soon as it was founded. During a period of religious unrest in the town, theological tensions within Anglicanism
between High church
Anglo-Catholics
and Low church
Anglicans were inflamed by what the latter group saw as the church's "idolatrous" Roman Catholic-style fittings—in particular, a statue of the Virgin Mary which was seized upon by opponents as an example of a reversion to Catholic-style worship in the Church of England
. The "Worthing Madonna" dispute delayed the consecration of the church by several years. English Heritage
has listed the building at Grade C for its architectural and historical importance, and the adjacent vestry
and vicarage are listed separately at Grade II.
gave it the status of a town, and 1881, the population increased from about 2,000 to 14,000. The era coincided with a revival in Anglican Christian worship: this was especially marked in Brighton
, Worthing's larger and more illustrious rival resort further along the Sussex coast, whose vicar Arthur Wagner funded and built many churches across the town.
Sussex was a religiously conservative county, and by the middle of the 19th century—after the Catholic Emancipation
—serious disputes arose between traditionalist Protestant
Anglicans, who regarded Catholic-style worship with suspicion, and the newly emerging Anglo-Catholic
practices of Anglicans who were influenced by the Oxford Movement
(Tractarianism) of practitioners such as Edward Bouverie Pusey
and John Keble
. The disagreements were again focused on Brighton, but ill-feeling had spread to Worthing by the 1850s. The town had a long tradition of riotous bonfire parades, and the "Bonfire Boys" started to focus their attention on Roman Catholics and Tractarians. Effigies
of John Henry Newman and an unidentified Tractarian were burnt in 1853 and 1859 respectively; clergymen who had Tractarian beliefs were considered to be traitors to the Protestant cause.
Other groups—including the police, wealthy residents and the Salvation Army
—became the Bonfire Boys' target later in the century; this culminated in the Skeleton Army
riots of the 1880s, when Worthing's newly established Salvation Army was violently opposed. The Roman Catholic community became accepted, and anti-Tractarian feeling briefly receded.
In the early 1880s, a group of High church
, Anglo-Catholic Anglicans sought to establish a church of that character in central Worthing. George Wedd, the owner of Charmandean House (a large Georgian
house, now demolished), was the main promoter of the scheme, and he found and bought some land in 1881 in an area which had seen recent residential development. He also provided much of the funding for the construction, and Arthur Blomfield
was contracted to design and build the church. Preparation work started in 1882, the foundation stone was laid on 13 June 1885, and building work continued until 1886. Disagreements had already begun in November 1882, when the Worthing Town Commissioners sought permission to take territory from the parishes of several other churches in the town—St Mary's, Christ Church
and Holy Trinity—and form a new parish for St Andrew's Church. The clergy of the three churches opposed the proposal, arguing that their parishes were not "large in extent and population, and insufficiently supplied with ministers and church accommodation" as stipulated in the terms of the proposal. It was argued that the site for St Andrew's Church was in the part of Worthing where the highest concentration of churches already existed: it would be the ninth Anglican church or mission hall in an area of 1 square mile encompassing central Worthing and Broadwater
.
As debate over this issue continued, more controversy erupted when in late 1886, as the church was being completed, it was discovered that a Lady chapel
with a statue of the Virgin and Child had been included in the design. To opponents of Anglo-Catholic worship, the representation in statue form of Jesus
's mother symbolised a return to the practices that the English Reformation
had sought to end: it was claimed that idolatry
and ritualism would be encouraged and Anglican churches would start to be decorated in the same manner as Roman Catholic places of worship. The statue was soon referred to as the "Worthing Madonna
", and became the focus of the ill-feeling around the church: one writer, chronicling the day of the consecration, started his account by referring to the "peculiarly obnoxious Madonna".
The consecration of the church, set for 1886, was postponed because of the strength of feeling in Worthing (and possibly in an attempt to prevent religious riots similar to those of the Skeleton Army
two years previously). The vicar of the Holy Trinity, other Worthing vicars, a local army Major-General
and the local magistrate
were among a group of people who presented a petition to the Bishop of Chichester
asking for the consecration to be stopped, arguing that the Madonna was "at variance with the spirit and teaching of our Reformed church". The Bishop, Richard Durnford
, held out against the protests, cautioning against the disrespectful use of the term "Madonna" and recommending that the group's grievances be taken to a higher court. The consecration was eventually scheduled for 1888, two years after the church was finished; a final appeal to the House of Lords
was unsuccessful, and the ceremony was held on 1 August 1888 by Bishop Durnford. The first public service had been held on 27 May 1888.
The ill-feeling between Anglo-Catholics and their opponents soon died down, apart from some brief controversy in the mid-1890s over some fittings in Christ Church
. After World War I
, there was a further brief dispute over the design of a war memorial in St Andrew's Church, which took the form of a shrine
depicting the Crucifixion
designed by Charles Eamer Kempe. It was installed in 1919. The names of local war dead were inscribed on the a panel on the chancel wall.
Since its opening, the exterior of St Andrew's Church has experienced little change, and there have been only gradual increases in the decoration of the interior. A new marble altar was placed in the chancel in 1902, one year after a wooden altar was added in the Lady chapel. A rood screen
, carved in oak, and walnut-wood choir stalls were added in 1905 (the latter were replaced by oak stalls in 1932). Another altar, this time in the south transept, was installed in 1922. The red alabaster
piece was designed by Charles Eamer Kempe
. A green marble altar was donated to the church in 1950 and was placed in the north transept. Work undertaken in the 1970s included the painting of the internal brickwork and the creation of a glass-walled memorial to a former vicar.
Like many 19th-century churches in Worthing, St Andrew's established a mission hall as the population of Anglican worshippers grew. The building, in Victoria Road, was founded in about 1900 but has since been demolished.
building occupies little ground space but is correspondingly tall. It is mostly of brick clad with flint
and dressed with Bath stone
. The roof is laid with tiles. The plan features a nave
with aisles and transept
s to form the cruciform shape, a baptistery
, a chancel
, Lady chapel
and a sacristy
. The former vestry is now a hall. The Lady chapel, originally called the Morning Chapel, runs parallel to the north side of the chancel and has an apsidal end
and a vaulted roof in seven parts. The baptistery also has an apse. The walls at the Lady chapel end are thicker than elsewhere in the church: a tower was planned for that end, and the walls would have had to support it. The chancel originally had a tiled floor, but it was replaced by stone in the 1930s.
Inside, the fittings are ornate and extensive. Charles Eamer Kempe
provided most of the stained glass
and an intricately carved wooden reredos
. The "Worthing Madonna" represents the Virgin Mary and the baby Jesus, stands in a recess in the apse of the Lady chapel, and was executed in Caen stone
by sculptor Harry Hems of Exeter
, Devon. The stone has a gold and dark red mosaic-style border. Hems also made the font
, a stone structure in the baptistery, although Arthur Blomfield drew up the design.
Kempe's stained glass is extensive: all but four windows in the church feature his designs, and these exceptions were the work of his cousin and collaborator Walter Tower. Scenes portrayed include the Nativity of Jesus
, the Epiphany, John the Evangelist
, John the Baptist
and several other saints, the Resurrection of Jesus
and the Twelve Apostles
. In addition, one of Kempe's earliest known windows—designed for All Souls Church in Brighton and depicting Mary, Martha
and the Four Evangelists
—was retrieved from that church when it was demolished in the 1960s, and was installed in the sacristy.
In 1924, another architect, K.D. Young, added the vicarage. Its design is similar to that of the vestry and church, and it was also thought to have been built at the same time until later research disproved this. The flint and stone structure has a twin-gable east façade, windows of unequal sizes (and including one bay window
) but all with transom
s and mullion
s, and two very narrow windows above first-floor level. The gables are not of equal size.
Both structures were listed at Grade II by English Heritage
on 21 May 1976, at the same time as the church. They are two of the 198 buildings in Worthing which are listed at Grade II or C.
on 21 May 1976. Grade C was the lowest rank on an old grading system used for Anglican churches, before English Heritage extended the standard Grade I, II* and II scheme to all types of building. A small number of churches remain on the old scheme, on which Grade C is equivalent to Grade II. As of February 2001, it was one of 198 Grade II- or C-listed buildings, and 213 listed buildings of all grades, in the Borough of Worthing. (These totals have since changed because of new listings and delistings.)
The parish of St Andrew's is believed to be one of the smallest in the Diocese of Chichester
, and is known to be the smallest in Worthing. It covers a few streets south of Worthing railway station
in an area bounded by the railway line
to the north, Broadwater Road to the east, Wenban, Elizabeth and Cambridge Roads to the south and Clifton Road to the east.
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
church in Worthing
Worthing
Worthing is a large seaside town with borough status in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, forming part of the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation. It is situated at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester...
, West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Built between 1885 and 1886 in the Early English Gothic style by Sir Arthur Blomfield
Arthur Blomfield
Sir Arthur William Blomfield was an English architect.-Background:The fourth son of Charles James Blomfield, an Anglican Bishop of London helpfully began a programme of new church construction in the capital. Born in Fulham Palace, Arthur Blomfield was educated at Rugby and Trinity College,...
, "one of the last great Gothic revivalists
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
", the church was embroiled in controversy as soon as it was founded. During a period of religious unrest in the town, theological tensions within Anglicanism
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
between High church
High church
The term "High Church" refers to beliefs and practices of ecclesiology, liturgy and theology, generally with an emphasis on formality, and resistance to "modernization." Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term has traditionally been principally associated with the...
Anglo-Catholics
Anglo-Catholicism
The terms Anglo-Catholic and Anglo-Catholicism describe people, beliefs and practices within Anglicanism that affirm the Catholic, rather than Protestant, heritage and identity of the Anglican churches....
and Low church
Low church
Low church is a term of distinction in the Church of England or other Anglican churches initially designed to be pejorative. During the series of doctrinal and ecclesiastic challenges to the established church in the 16th and 17th centuries, commentators and others began to refer to those groups...
Anglicans were inflamed by what the latter group saw as the church's "idolatrous" Roman Catholic-style fittings—in particular, a statue of the Virgin Mary which was seized upon by opponents as an example of a reversion to Catholic-style worship in the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
. The "Worthing Madonna" dispute delayed the consecration of the church by several years. English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
has listed the building at Grade C for its architectural and historical importance, and the adjacent vestry
Vestry
A vestry is a room in or attached to a church or synagogue in which the vestments, vessels, records, etc., are kept , and in which the clergy and choir robe or don their vestments for divine service....
and vicarage are listed separately at Grade II.
History
Worthing experienced fitful but often rapid growth throughout the 19th century after it became established as a town and seaside resort at the start of the 19th century. Between 1801, two years before an Act of ParliamentAct of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
gave it the status of a town, and 1881, the population increased from about 2,000 to 14,000. The era coincided with a revival in Anglican Christian worship: this was especially marked in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, Worthing's larger and more illustrious rival resort further along the Sussex coast, whose vicar Arthur Wagner funded and built many churches across the town.
Sussex was a religiously conservative county, and by the middle of the 19th century—after the Catholic Emancipation
Catholic Emancipation
Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in Great Britain and Ireland in the late 18th century and early 19th century which involved reducing and removing many of the restrictions on Roman Catholics which had been introduced by the Act of Uniformity, the Test Acts and the penal laws...
—serious disputes arose between traditionalist Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
Anglicans, who regarded Catholic-style worship with suspicion, and the newly emerging Anglo-Catholic
Anglo-Catholicism
The terms Anglo-Catholic and Anglo-Catholicism describe people, beliefs and practices within Anglicanism that affirm the Catholic, rather than Protestant, heritage and identity of the Anglican churches....
practices of Anglicans who were influenced by the Oxford Movement
Oxford Movement
The Oxford Movement was a movement of High Church Anglicans, eventually developing into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose members were often associated with the University of Oxford, argued for the reinstatement of lost Christian traditions of faith and their inclusion into Anglican liturgy...
(Tractarianism) of practitioners such as Edward Bouverie Pusey
Edward Bouverie Pusey
Edward Bouverie Pusey was an English churchman and Regius Professor of Hebrew at Christ Church, Oxford. He was one of the leaders of the Oxford Movement.-Early years:...
and John Keble
John Keble
John Keble was an English churchman and poet, one of the leaders of the Oxford Movement, and gave his name to Keble College, Oxford.-Early life:...
. The disagreements were again focused on Brighton, but ill-feeling had spread to Worthing by the 1850s. The town had a long tradition of riotous bonfire parades, and the "Bonfire Boys" started to focus their attention on Roman Catholics and Tractarians. Effigies
Effigy
An effigy is a representation of a person, especially in the form of sculpture or some other three-dimensional form.The term is usually associated with full-length figures of a deceased person depicted in stone or wood on church monuments. These most often lie supine with hands together in prayer,...
of John Henry Newman and an unidentified Tractarian were burnt in 1853 and 1859 respectively; clergymen who had Tractarian beliefs were considered to be traitors to the Protestant cause.
Other groups—including the police, wealthy residents and the Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
—became the Bonfire Boys' target later in the century; this culminated in the Skeleton Army
Skeleton Army
The Skeleton Army was a diffuse group, particularly in Southern England, that opposed and disrupted the Salvation Army's marches against alcohol in the late 19th century...
riots of the 1880s, when Worthing's newly established Salvation Army was violently opposed. The Roman Catholic community became accepted, and anti-Tractarian feeling briefly receded.
In the early 1880s, a group of High church
High church
The term "High Church" refers to beliefs and practices of ecclesiology, liturgy and theology, generally with an emphasis on formality, and resistance to "modernization." Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term has traditionally been principally associated with the...
, Anglo-Catholic Anglicans sought to establish a church of that character in central Worthing. George Wedd, the owner of Charmandean House (a large Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
house, now demolished), was the main promoter of the scheme, and he found and bought some land in 1881 in an area which had seen recent residential development. He also provided much of the funding for the construction, and Arthur Blomfield
Arthur Blomfield
Sir Arthur William Blomfield was an English architect.-Background:The fourth son of Charles James Blomfield, an Anglican Bishop of London helpfully began a programme of new church construction in the capital. Born in Fulham Palace, Arthur Blomfield was educated at Rugby and Trinity College,...
was contracted to design and build the church. Preparation work started in 1882, the foundation stone was laid on 13 June 1885, and building work continued until 1886. Disagreements had already begun in November 1882, when the Worthing Town Commissioners sought permission to take territory from the parishes of several other churches in the town—St Mary's, Christ Church
Christ Church, Worthing
Christ Church and its burial grounds in Worthing, England, were consecrated in 1843 by the Bishop of Chichester, Ashurst Turner Gilbert, to meet the need for church accommodation for the poor. Built by subscription between 1840 and 1843, the Church was initially regarded as a chapel of ease to St...
and Holy Trinity—and form a new parish for St Andrew's Church. The clergy of the three churches opposed the proposal, arguing that their parishes were not "large in extent and population, and insufficiently supplied with ministers and church accommodation" as stipulated in the terms of the proposal. It was argued that the site for St Andrew's Church was in the part of Worthing where the highest concentration of churches already existed: it would be the ninth Anglican church or mission hall in an area of 1 square mile encompassing central Worthing and Broadwater
Broadwater, West Sussex
Broadwater is a neighbourhood of the Borough of Worthing in West Sussex, England. Situated between the South Downs and the English Channel, Broadwater was once a parish in its own right and included Worthing when the latter was a small fishing hamlet. Before its incorporation into the Borough of...
.
As debate over this issue continued, more controversy erupted when in late 1886, as the church was being completed, it was discovered that a Lady chapel
Lady chapel
A Lady chapel, also called Mary chapel or Marian chapel, is a traditional English term for a chapel inside a cathedral, basilica, or large church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary...
with a statue of the Virgin and Child had been included in the design. To opponents of Anglo-Catholic worship, the representation in statue form of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
's mother symbolised a return to the practices that the English Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
had sought to end: it was claimed that idolatry
Idolatry
Idolatry is a pejorative term for the worship of an idol, a physical object such as a cult image, as a god, or practices believed to verge on worship, such as giving undue honour and regard to created forms other than God. In all the Abrahamic religions idolatry is strongly forbidden, although...
and ritualism would be encouraged and Anglican churches would start to be decorated in the same manner as Roman Catholic places of worship. The statue was soon referred to as the "Worthing Madonna
Madonna (art)
Images of the Madonna and the Madonna and Child or Virgin and Child are pictorial or sculptured representations of Mary, Mother of Jesus, either alone, or more frequently, with the infant Jesus. These images are central icons of Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox Christianity where Mary remains...
", and became the focus of the ill-feeling around the church: one writer, chronicling the day of the consecration, started his account by referring to the "peculiarly obnoxious Madonna".
The consecration of the church, set for 1886, was postponed because of the strength of feeling in Worthing (and possibly in an attempt to prevent religious riots similar to those of the Skeleton Army
Skeleton Army
The Skeleton Army was a diffuse group, particularly in Southern England, that opposed and disrupted the Salvation Army's marches against alcohol in the late 19th century...
two years previously). The vicar of the Holy Trinity, other Worthing vicars, a local army Major-General
Major-General (United Kingdom)
Major general is a senior rank in the British Army. Since 1996 the highest position within the Royal Marines is the Commandant General Royal Marines who holds the rank of major general...
and the local magistrate
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
were among a group of people who presented a petition to the Bishop of Chichester
Bishop of Chichester
The Bishop of Chichester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the Counties of East and West Sussex. The see is in the City of Chichester where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity...
asking for the consecration to be stopped, arguing that the Madonna was "at variance with the spirit and teaching of our Reformed church". The Bishop, Richard Durnford
Richard Durnford
The Rt Rev Richard Durnford was the Bishop of Chichester from 1870 to 1895.He was born in Newbury, Berkshire into an ecclesiastical family . He was educated at Eton and Magdalen College, Oxford and ordained in 1831. From 1833 he was Rector of Middleton, Lancashire and then its Rural Dean...
, held out against the protests, cautioning against the disrespectful use of the term "Madonna" and recommending that the group's grievances be taken to a higher court. The consecration was eventually scheduled for 1888, two years after the church was finished; a final appeal to the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
was unsuccessful, and the ceremony was held on 1 August 1888 by Bishop Durnford. The first public service had been held on 27 May 1888.
The ill-feeling between Anglo-Catholics and their opponents soon died down, apart from some brief controversy in the mid-1890s over some fittings in Christ Church
Christ Church, Worthing
Christ Church and its burial grounds in Worthing, England, were consecrated in 1843 by the Bishop of Chichester, Ashurst Turner Gilbert, to meet the need for church accommodation for the poor. Built by subscription between 1840 and 1843, the Church was initially regarded as a chapel of ease to St...
. After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, there was a further brief dispute over the design of a war memorial in St Andrew's Church, which took the form of a shrine
Shrine
A shrine is a holy or sacred place, which is dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon or similar figure of awe and respect, at which they are venerated or worshipped. Shrines often contain idols, relics, or other such objects associated with the figure being venerated....
depicting the Crucifixion
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
designed by Charles Eamer Kempe. It was installed in 1919. The names of local war dead were inscribed on the a panel on the chancel wall.
Since its opening, the exterior of St Andrew's Church has experienced little change, and there have been only gradual increases in the decoration of the interior. A new marble altar was placed in the chancel in 1902, one year after a wooden altar was added in the Lady chapel. A rood screen
Rood screen
The rood screen is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, or wrought iron...
, carved in oak, and walnut-wood choir stalls were added in 1905 (the latter were replaced by oak stalls in 1932). Another altar, this time in the south transept, was installed in 1922. The red alabaster
Alabaster
Alabaster is a name applied to varieties of two distinct minerals, when used as a material: gypsum and calcite . The former is the alabaster of the present day; generally, the latter is the alabaster of the ancients...
piece was designed by Charles Eamer Kempe
Charles Eamer Kempe
Charles Eamer Kempe was a well-known Victorian stained glass designer. After attending Twyford School, he studied for the priesthood at Pembroke College, Oxford, but it became clear that his severe stammer would be an impediment to preaching...
. A green marble altar was donated to the church in 1950 and was placed in the north transept. Work undertaken in the 1970s included the painting of the internal brickwork and the creation of a glass-walled memorial to a former vicar.
Like many 19th-century churches in Worthing, St Andrew's established a mission hall as the population of Anglican worshippers grew. The building, in Victoria Road, was founded in about 1900 but has since been demolished.
Architecture
Arthur Blomfield used the Early English Gothic style for St Andrew's Church. Standing on a wide, narrow east–west site between Victoria and Clifton Roads, the cruciformCruciform
Cruciform means having the shape of a cross or Christian cross.- Cruciform architectural plan :This is a common description of Christian churches. In Early Christian, Byzantine and other Eastern Orthodox forms of church architecture this is more likely to mean a tetraconch plan, a Greek cross,...
building occupies little ground space but is correspondingly tall. It is mostly of brick clad with flint
Flint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
and dressed with Bath stone
Bath Stone
Bath Stone is an Oolitic Limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate. Originally obtained from the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England, its warm, honey colouring gives the World Heritage City of Bath, England its distinctive appearance...
. The roof is laid with tiles. The plan features a nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
with aisles and transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
s to form the cruciform shape, a baptistery
Baptistery
In Christian architecture the baptistry or baptistery is the separate centrally-planned structure surrounding the baptismal font. The baptistry may be incorporated within the body of a church or cathedral and be provided with an altar as a chapel...
, a chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
, Lady chapel
Lady chapel
A Lady chapel, also called Mary chapel or Marian chapel, is a traditional English term for a chapel inside a cathedral, basilica, or large church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary...
and a sacristy
Sacristy
A sacristy is a room for keeping vestments and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records.The sacristy is usually located inside the church, but in some cases it is an annex or separate building...
. The former vestry is now a hall. The Lady chapel, originally called the Morning Chapel, runs parallel to the north side of the chancel and has an apsidal end
Apse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
and a vaulted roof in seven parts. The baptistery also has an apse. The walls at the Lady chapel end are thicker than elsewhere in the church: a tower was planned for that end, and the walls would have had to support it. The chancel originally had a tiled floor, but it was replaced by stone in the 1930s.
Inside, the fittings are ornate and extensive. Charles Eamer Kempe
Charles Eamer Kempe
Charles Eamer Kempe was a well-known Victorian stained glass designer. After attending Twyford School, he studied for the priesthood at Pembroke College, Oxford, but it became clear that his severe stammer would be an impediment to preaching...
provided most of the stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
and an intricately carved wooden reredos
Reredos
thumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries....
. The "Worthing Madonna" represents the Virgin Mary and the baby Jesus, stands in a recess in the apse of the Lady chapel, and was executed in Caen stone
Caen stone
Caen stone or Pierre de Caen, is a light creamy-yellow Jurassic limestone quarried in northwestern France near the city of Caen.The limestone is a fine grained oolitic limestone formed in shallow water lagoons in the Bathonian Age about 167 million years ago...
by sculptor Harry Hems of Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
, Devon. The stone has a gold and dark red mosaic-style border. Hems also made the font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
, a stone structure in the baptistery, although Arthur Blomfield drew up the design.
Kempe's stained glass is extensive: all but four windows in the church feature his designs, and these exceptions were the work of his cousin and collaborator Walter Tower. Scenes portrayed include the Nativity of Jesus
Nativity of Jesus in art
The Nativity of Jesus has been a major subject of Christian art since the 4th century. The artistic depictions of the Nativity or birth of Jesus, celebrated at Christmas, are based on the narratives in the Bible, in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, and further elaborated by written, oral and...
, the Epiphany, John the Evangelist
John the Evangelist
Saint John the Evangelist is the conventional name for the author of the Gospel of John...
, John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
and several other saints, the Resurrection of Jesus
Resurrection of Jesus
The Christian belief in the resurrection of Jesus states that Jesus returned to bodily life on the third day following his death by crucifixion. It is a key element of Christian faith and theology and part of the Nicene Creed: "On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures"...
and the Twelve Apostles
Apostle (Christian)
The term apostle is derived from Classical Greek ἀπόστολος , meaning one who is sent away, from στέλλω + από . The literal meaning in English is therefore an "emissary", from the Latin mitto + ex...
. In addition, one of Kempe's earliest known windows—designed for All Souls Church in Brighton and depicting Mary, Martha
Martha
Martha of Bethany is a biblical figure described in the Gospels of Luke and John. Together with her siblings Lazarus and Mary, she is described as living in the village of Bethany near Jerusalem...
and the Four Evangelists
Four Evangelists
In Christian tradition the Four Evangelists are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the authors attributed with the creation of the four Gospel accounts in the New Testament that bear the following titles:*Gospel according to Matthew*Gospel according to Mark...
—was retrieved from that church when it was demolished in the 1960s, and was installed in the sacristy.
Vestry and vicarage
The former vestry was added to the church in a matching style in 1908–9 by T.R. Hide. It was originally thought to have been contemporary with the church. The flint and stone structure has gently arched Perpendicular-style windows at its east and west ends; each have five lights. Another window, with three panes, is close to the wall joining the building to the church at the southeast corner. It is now used as the church hall.In 1924, another architect, K.D. Young, added the vicarage. Its design is similar to that of the vestry and church, and it was also thought to have been built at the same time until later research disproved this. The flint and stone structure has a twin-gable east façade, windows of unequal sizes (and including one bay window
Bay window
A bay window is a window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room, either square or polygonal in plan. The angles most commonly used on the inside corners of the bay are 90, 135 and 150 degrees. Bay windows are often associated with Victorian architecture...
) but all with transom
Transom
Transom may refer to:* Transom , a bar of wood or stone across the top of a door or window* Transom , one of the beams running athwart the ship's hull at the fashion timbers or the surface that forms the flat back panel of a stern of a vessel* Operation Transom, a major bombing raid* Transom knot,...
s and mullion
Mullion
A mullion is a vertical structural element which divides adjacent window units. The primary purpose of the mullion is as a structural support to an arch or lintel above the window opening. Its secondary purpose may be as a rigid support to the glazing of the window...
s, and two very narrow windows above first-floor level. The gables are not of equal size.
Both structures were listed at Grade II by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
on 21 May 1976, at the same time as the church. They are two of the 198 buildings in Worthing which are listed at Grade II or C.
The church today
St Andrew's Church was listed at Grade C by English HeritageEnglish Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
on 21 May 1976. Grade C was the lowest rank on an old grading system used for Anglican churches, before English Heritage extended the standard Grade I, II* and II scheme to all types of building. A small number of churches remain on the old scheme, on which Grade C is equivalent to Grade II. As of February 2001, it was one of 198 Grade II- or C-listed buildings, and 213 listed buildings of all grades, in the Borough of Worthing. (These totals have since changed because of new listings and delistings.)
The parish of St Andrew's is believed to be one of the smallest in the Diocese of Chichester
Diocese of Chichester
The Diocese of Chichester is a Church of England diocese based in Chichester, covering Sussex. It was created in 1075 to replace the old Diocese of Selsey, which was based at Selsey Abbey from 681. The cathedral is Chichester Cathedral and the bishop is the Bishop of Chichester...
, and is known to be the smallest in Worthing. It covers a few streets south of Worthing railway station
Worthing railway station
Worthing railway station is the main station serving the town of Worthing in West Sussex. The station and the majority of trains serving it are operated by Southern. The other operator is First Great Western. It is one of the main stations on the West Coastway Line; all timetabled trains stop...
in an area bounded by the railway line
West Coastway Line
The West Coastway Line is a railway line in England, along the south coast of West Sussex and Hampshire, between Brighton and Southampton, plus the short branches to Littlehampton and Bognor Regis....
to the north, Broadwater Road to the east, Wenban, Elizabeth and Cambridge Roads to the south and Clifton Road to the east.