Old St Andrews Church

Old St Andrews Church

St Andrews Church was built in 1859 and designed to seat 230 people to serve an increasing population. It was built of Kentish ragstone, like so many other churches at the time. There was a small bell tower and a wind vane bearing the date 1851 to commemorate the founding of a new parish from that date. The church was extended in 1880.

At 11 pm on the night of Nov 4th 1940, the church sustained a direct hit from a German bomb. Although many objects and a stained glass window were rescued from the wreckage and incorporated into the new 1955 church, the building itself was demolished, leaving part of the east wall as a memorial. The ragstone rubble was used in the building of the walls and floor of the new St Andrews. 

Photograph of the old church of St. Andrews©

Photograph of the old closed St. Andrews churchyard in 2018 ©