| St Andrews Church | |
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| Chewstokechurch.JPG | |
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Location within Somerset
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| General information | |
| Town or city | Chew Stoke |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | |
| Completed | 15th century |
St Andrews Church (grid reference SU616687), of the Church of England, is on the outskirts of Chew Stoke, Somerset, England.
The Parish of Chew Stoke is within the Benefice of Chew Stoke with Nempnett Thrubwell and forms part of the Diocese of Bath and Wells.
The church, parts of which date from the 15th century, is a Grade II* listed building.[1]
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The church was constructed in the 15th century in the perpendicular style and the tower remains largely unchanged, however the main body underwent extensive renovation and the addition of the north isle in 1862. It has diagonal buttresses and a paneled parapet on the west tower which has an unusual spirelet on the staircase turret, and contains bells cast by the Bilbie family in the village.[2]
The tower, which was built around 1475, has an ornate crown with an elaborate spirelet over the stair turret with two tiers of arcading.[3]
The oldest bell in the tower dates from 1698 and was cast by the Bilbie family in the village. Others from the same maker are dated 1718 and 1731.[4] The bells were tuned and re-hung into anew frame in 1908 and again in 1996 with a new bell from John Taylor's foundry in Loughborough replacing the treble. The redundant bell is now on display at the back of the church as a memorial to the Bilbies.
| Bell Number | Founder | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Treble | John Taylor | 1996 |
| 2 | Bilbie | 1731 |
| 3 | Bilbie | 1718 |
| 4 | T Mears | 1820 |
| 5 | Bilbie | 1698 |
| Tenor | Llewelyn and James | 1876 |
The Victorian square font and pulpit match, but are now largely whitewashed, as is much of the rest of the church.[5] Just inside the porch, on the left of the church door, is a stone figure holding an anchor which was moved to the church from Walley Court with the flooding of the lake. There is an unconfirmed story that this was given to the Gilbert family, then living at the court by Queen Elizabeth I.[6][7] It is possible that it was originally from the site of a nunnery within the parish which was closed with the dissolution of the monasteries in 1536.
The inside of the church is decorated with 156 angels in wood and stone.[8] One of the wooden angels has a broken wing and various stories are suggested as a cause for this.
It also contains a bronze plaque commemorating the eleven people from the village who died in World War I and six from World War II.[9]
There is also a stained glass window showing a saint with a sword standing on a snake and crossed flags, commemorating those from World War II.[10] Several other stained glass windows date from the Victorian era. The window in the tower was donated by a London goldsmith named Mattheson to commemorate the rebuilding of the church in 1863. The east window represents events in the life of Saint Andrew.
There are three wooden chests, two of which date from the 20th century, but the oldest is probably from the 16th century and was a "poor man's chest." These were common in English parishes following the decree by Queen Elizabeth I that each parish provide a strong chest with three keys to keep safe custody of alms for the poor.
In the churchyard is the reconstructed Moreton Cross which was moved here when Chew Valley Lake was flooded.[11]
The base of a cross shaft in the churchyard, about 24 metres south west of the tower, is thought to date from the 14th century and is a Grade II* listed building,[12] as is the Webb monument in the churchyard.[13] The churchyard gate, at the southeast entrance, bears a lamp which was provided by public subscription to commemorate Queen Victoria's Jubilee of 1897, itself a Grade II listed structure.[14]
The village hall is at the end of Church Lane, opposite the rectory which is believed to have been built in 1529 by the rector, Sir John Barry, (Rector 1524–46). It has undergone substantial renovations including the addition of a clock tower for the Rev. W.P. Wait, which has since been removed and further alterations c.1876 for Rev. J. Ellershaw. The building has an ornate south front with carvings of shields bearing the coat of arms of the St Loe family, who were once chief landowners in the area, alone or impaled with arms of Fitzpane, Ancell, de la Rivere and Malet. It is Grade II* listed.[15]
The new rectory was built by the Reverend John Ellershaw in the 1870s. The last rector to occupy it was Lionel St. Clair Waldy from 1907 to 1945. It was then bought by Douglas Wills who donated it and the rectory field to Winford Hospital as a convalescent home for 16 children, and later used as a nurses home before being sold for private use.[8] It is now split into several residential units.[16]
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