St Andrew's Garrison Church, Aldershot
Encyclopedia
Aldershot
Aldershot is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located on heathland about southwest of London. The town is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council...
, Hampshire (GU11 2BY) in southern England is a large army church designed in the late 1920s by the prominent Scottish architect Sir Robert Lorimer
Robert Lorimer
Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer was a prolific Scottish architect noted for his restoration work on historic houses and castles, and for promotion of the Arts and Crafts style.-Early life:...
(1864–1929).
History
During the 1920s Sir Robert LorimerRobert Lorimer
Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer was a prolific Scottish architect noted for his restoration work on historic houses and castles, and for promotion of the Arts and Crafts style.-Early life:...
designed a number of war memorials, including the Scottish National War Memorial at Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle is a fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of early settlement is unclear...
. St Andrew’s Garrison Church was built as a memorial to those who lost their lives in the First World War
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...
, also known as the Great War. A plaque in the porch of St Andrew’s states that:
“This church was built to the glory of God in thankful remembrance of the soldiers of the Church of Scotland
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
and kindred churches throughout the empire who laid down their lives in the Great War 1914 - 1918.”
Church of Scotland links
As an army church, St Andrew’s is not officially classed as a Church of Scotland church. However, up to 2010, all bar one of its ministers had been ordained Church of Scotland ministers. Additionally the church uses the standard Church of Scotland format for its services and the Church of Scotland hymn book, the “Church Hymnary”.Army Camp Established, 1854
An army camp was established at AldershotAldershot
Aldershot is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located on heathland about southwest of London. The town is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council...
in 1854. Two churches were quickly erected in that camp the following year. By 1856 a third church was need and a portable structure known as the “Iron Church” was erected. In 1866 the Iron Church was transferred from its previous location near Thornhill Road, Aldershot to Queen’s Avenue, Aldershot, close to where St Andrew’s Garrison Church is sited today.
The Previous Church: The Iron Church
The Iron Church was used jointly by the Church of Scotland and the Church of EnglandChurch 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...
ministers until 1893. In that year St George's Garrison Church was built by the Army for the Anglicans. From then on, until its demolition in 1926, the "Iron Church" was just used by the Church of Scotland ministers. In 1908, Rev. J. T. Bird, the Chaplain at that time, asked that the Iron Church should be named after the patron saint of Scotland, Saint Andrew. The War Office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
agreed to this request.
Fundraising
Following the First World War money was raised to replace the Iron Church with a permanent structure which would also serve as a memorial for Church of Scotland and other presbyterian soldiers who had been killed in that war.Design of Church
This new church was designed by Sir Robert LorimerRobert Lorimer
Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer was a prolific Scottish architect noted for his restoration work on historic houses and castles, and for promotion of the Arts and Crafts style.-Early life:...
. However, due to cost constraints the nave was initially built slightly shorter than Lorimer
Robert Lorimer
Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer was a prolific Scottish architect noted for his restoration work on historic houses and castles, and for promotion of the Arts and Crafts style.-Early life:...
had originally planned. Externally the building is predominately brown brick. Its doorways, windows and corner points highlighted with a red brick. Internally, the layout is a standard East facing cross, save that at the East end of the church there is an octagonal apse.
Official Opening, 1927
The newly erected St Andrew's Garrison Church was formally opened by Her Royal Highness, Princess MaryMary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood
The Princess Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood was a member of the British Royal Family; she was the third child and only daughter of King George V and Queen Mary. She was the sixth holder of the title of Princess Royal...
, Colonel in Chief of The Royal Scots, on the morning of Saturday 10 December 1927. However within a few years the church was proving to be too small for army ceremonial services. By 1938 enough money had been raised to extend the nave. In particular large donations came from the Trustees of St Andrew's Scottish Soldiers' Club; the Church of Scotland and The Treasury. John F. Matthew, the architectural partner of the by now deceased Sir Robert Lorimer
Robert Lorimer
Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer was a prolific Scottish architect noted for his restoration work on historic houses and castles, and for promotion of the Arts and Crafts style.-Early life:...
, was commissioned to do the design work. This involved extending the nave by 30 feet, similar to what Lorimer
Robert Lorimer
Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer was a prolific Scottish architect noted for his restoration work on historic houses and castles, and for promotion of the Arts and Crafts style.-Early life:...
had originally intended in 1926 and reducing the height of the bell tower.
Extension, 1939
On Sunday 5th Feb.1939, the extended St Andrew's Garrison Church was reopened and rededicated in the presence of King George VI and Queen ElizabethElizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
.
Ancillary Buildings, 1950s
The 1950s saw the erection of a complex of ancillary buildings next to the church on its north east side providing a hall, kitchen, offices, toilets and storage for the church. They are of a fairly utilitarian 1950s design. Other than the hall, where rough cast is widely used on the exterior, these ancillary buildings were built with a darkish red brick similar to that used in places on the main church building. The church hall is dedicated to the remembrance of members of the “Church of Scotland and kindred presbyterian churches who gave their lives” in the Second World War.Statue of St Andrew
Following the closure of the Royal Caledonian School, Bushey, HertfordshireRoyal Caledonian School, Bushey
The Royal Caledonian School was a residential home and school for Scottish orphans, initially in London and subsequently in Bushey, Hertfordshire.-History:...
in the 1990s, a statue of St Andrew, which had been at that school, was donated to the church. The statue now stands outside the front of church, to the south of the porch. A new marble base was added to the statue around 2003/4.
Listing
In 2006 the church building was listed by Rushmoor Borough CouncilRushmoor
Rushmoor is a local government district and borough in Hampshire, England. It covers the towns of Aldershot and Farnborough.It was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the borough of Aldershot and the Farnborough urban district....
. Listing gives extra protection to a building against alteration or demolition of the structure.
Nave
The interior is dominated by a large nave with seating for around four hundred and twenty. There are no balconies. Two arched aisles run between the nave and the side walls.Cameron Chapel
The south wing, or transept, was converted to a small chapel in 1975. Initially called St Andrew's Chapel, this has come to be known as the Cameron Chapel. The Cameron name relates to the presence of a large stained glass window gifted by the Cameron HighlandersQueen's Own Cameron Highlanders
The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders was an infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1793. In 1961 it was merged with the Seaforth Highlanders to form the Queen's Own Highlanders...
to the church, in 1930, which can be found in this part of the building, plus accompanying plaque and a regimental flag. A new communion table and plinth were specially commissioned for the opening of the chapel in 1975.
Organ
The north wing or transept is dominated by a large organ. The organ itself is older than the church buildings and dates from 1897. It originally resided in St Ninian's Church of Scotland, LeithLeith
-South Leith v. North Leith:Up until the late 16th century Leith , comprised two separate towns on either side of the river....
. In 1984, the organ was restored and installed in St Andrew's Garrison Church, following the merger of St Ninian's Church with North Leith and Bonnington Church to form North Leith Parish Church.
Monuments
The church contains a number of monuments and stained glass. Some of these originated in the church others have been transferred here over time.
Egyptian Stones
These include 12 stones set into the wall of the Cameron chapel. The stones were carved by German Prisoners of War, held in Egypt in the Second World War. Initially the stones were placed in an overseas British army church, St Andrew's Kirk, Geneifa, Egypt. Ten of the stones display the regimental cap badges of Scottish Regiments based in the Canal Zone. Two stones show medical badges used in the British Army at the time. When the British Army left Egypt in the mid 1950s the church closed and the stones were, a few years later, transferred to St Andrew’s, Aldershot.War Memorials & Regimental Crests
Other memorials transferred to the church include:- two war memorials from the First World War originally in Aldershot Presbyterian Church which can now be found in the porch of St Andrews;
- a monument to Field Marshal, Lord Wavell, originally in the Wavell Memorial Chapel, which ceased to be used as a place of worship in 1965-66;
- and a window with stained glass showing regimental crests, mainly of Scottish regiments, made up of a number of smaller stained glass windows the bulk of which came from the Church Of Scotland Canteen, in AldershotAldershotAldershot is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located on heathland about southwest of London. The town is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council...
, which was knocked down in the late 1960s.
Stained Glass
The rest of St Andrew’s stained glass was commissioned for the church. There is a large stained glass window in the apse of the church to the memory of Field-Marshal, Earl HaigDouglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig
Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, KT, GCB, OM, GCVO, KCIE, ADC, was a British senior officer during World War I. He commanded the British Expeditionary Force from 1915 to the end of the War...
as well as glass commemorating the Cameron Highlanders
Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders
The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders was an infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1793. In 1961 it was merged with the Seaforth Highlanders to form the Queen's Own Highlanders...
and I Corp. Additionally a number of stained glass windows have been given in memory of individual members of the congregation.
The church’s two largest stained glass windows, namely those dedicated to I Corp and Earl Haig
Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig
Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, KT, GCB, OM, GCVO, KCIE, ADC, was a British senior officer during World War I. He commanded the British Expeditionary Force from 1915 to the end of the War...
, were both designed by Walter Cook of Edinburgh, in the early to mid 1930s. They have similar themes as both are dominated by Jesus, as saviour and figure of peace, with arms out stretched, underneath him being a small group of grieving people drawing attention to the cost of war in general and the First World War in particular.