Church History
St Andrew’s parish comprises the greater part of the St Germans or, as it’s now known, the Corbett Estate. Developed by Archibald Cameron Corbett (later Lord Rowallan) in the late 19th century as a residential suburban area, many of the roads were given Scottish names, reflecting Corbett’s origins. A Scottish Presbyterian, he favoured teetotalism; consequently, there are no pubs in the parish!
At the heart of the Corbett Estate, standing 60 feet high, 160 feet long and 40 feet wide between arcades, St Andrew’s (named for Scotland’s patron saint) occupies a prominent corner site at the junction of Sandhurst and Torridon Roads. Consecrated in 1904, this Grade II* listed, large cruciform red-brick Gothic Revival church building was designed by Philip A Robson FRIBA. It encloses an Arts and Crafts interior admired by John Betjeman. Robson believed the atmospheric conditions prevailing at the time meant that much external ornamentation was a waste, so he gave it a certain reticent dignity and reserved his best decoration for the interior.
The style, Robson said, is ‘an adaptation of fourteenth century English Gothic’, known as ‘decorated’, but the symbolism attached to this style has been treated in a manner more suited to the period of its construction. Boasting one of the widest Gothic naves in England, the National Heritage listing notes, ‘It’s an excellent example of the eclectic Gothic that was current at the end of the 19th century and in the Edwardian period’.
Inside, St Andrew’s features exceptional stained-glass windows designed largely by the renowned Martin Travers, marble flooring, ornate ironwork, rich wood carvings, an Alfred Hunter and Sons organ, Assyrian gargoyles, architecturally inventive use of flying buttresses – and, b. The church contains two chapels: the Lady Chapel and a smaller Child Jesus Chapel. Notably, the Greenwich Meridian passes through St Andrew’s from transept to transept in front of the chancel steps – getting married in two hemispheres simultaneously has been a claim to fame for many couples!
The High Altar is the central feature. The aesthetic interest gravitates towards it and to reinforce this even more, the architect carried the nave arcade right through the chancel to the east wall. The plinth of Mexican onyx and Belgian black marble on which the altar stands completes the aesthetic design that the architect sought.
The font was given to the church by the children and young people of the parish and was installed in April 1907. The choir stalls of oak and walnut were installed for Whit Sunday. The chancel screen was placed in position for the anniversary of the consecration in 1907.
The installation of electric light is recorded in July 1912; the following are quotes from that time:
“To be able to reduce the amount of light at will at certain times during the service, to be able to switch on light at any time instead of having to light gas half an hour at least before the service begins, to be free from the enormous heat that we get in late summer and autumn from the large incandescent burners makes it all worthwhile.”
“What is being aimed at is to get a good reading light without the glare, which tries so many eyes, and shall we say the incandescent complexions.”
During 1920, the War Memorial was erected outside the west end of the church. At the same time, the stained glass east window was being planned as a war memorial. In May 1920, the PCC decided to ask the renowned artist Martin Travers to design it; he outlined several schemes to submit a coloured drawing of the proposed window. The design was accepted and the work was completed at a cost of £1100, in time for dedication on Palm Sunday 1921.
References to the beauty of our church artefacts continued to appear in the Church magazine. The Processional Cross, designed by the church architect, Mr P A Robson, was considered a fine example of modern art. In 1922 it was sent by request to the Exhibition of Ecclesiastical Art held in Sheffield in connection with the Church Congress, where it was much admired.
In October 1927 a fund for the completion of the chancel was announced. The work comprised rendering the east wall in stone colour, inserting stained glass into the two lancet windows and replacing the temporary reredos with a permanent one. The lancet windows were installed during the next two years and the reredos became the subject of a silver jubilee anniversary appeal in 1929. The reredos was completed in June 1930 and was displayed at the Exhibition of Ecclesiastical Art in Caxton Hall prior to its dedication on the 16th October 1930.
In the event, this work (which in total cost nearly £900) did not complete the decoration of the chancel. In December 1930 an offer was made to replace some of the clerestory windows with stained glass to plans prepared by Travers. This work carried on over time, the latest being installed in 1998. Only one window now remains clear glazed.
The former mission church is now in use as a busy church hall. Completely refurbished in 2016, this well-equipped Hall is used by the church and local community, including uniformed organisations, a local authority care service, OAP groups, family parties, dog training, fairs, celebrations and local events like the Catford Arts Trail and Corbfest. The garden outside the Hall is in the process of being redeveloped, with the intention to open it to the local community – do let us know if you’d like to help in its redevelopment!
St Andrew’s tradition of worship is broadly liberal catholic, with the main focus on our 10am Sunday Choral Eucharist, celebrated using Common Worship. In the past, weekday services have been celebrated, including three Eucharist celebration and daily Morning Prayer. Since the vacancy, however (our vicar retired in February 2023), our regular services have been the sung Sunday Eucharist and the Thursday morning Eucharist at 9:30am, alternating with Morning Prayer.
Music plays an important and much-valued part in our worship. At the moment, hymns are largely traditional, using the latest iteration of the Ancient & Modern hymn book. They are accompanied by our well-maintained pipe organ or (occasionally) piano. A sung service setting, suitable for congregation singing, is used at the Eucharist. We are exploring how to expand our offering, including a wider variety of musical worship in the context of a greater number and range of services – looking beyond traditional sacred music, encouraging participation from both children, young people and adults. Watch this space!