religious
Philip Appleby Robson, 1904
Sandhurst Road, Catford, SE6 1XD
St Andrew's is a Grade II* listed building by Philip Appleby Robson (1871–1951). It boasts a magnificent Arts and Crafts interior with rich wood carvings in the chancel and magnificent stained-glass windows by Martin Travers (1886–1948) and Lawrence Stanley Lee (1909–2011).
Hither Green, Catford Bridge, Catford
124, 284, 181, 160
Nearest railway station: Hither Green.
Toilets with accessible facilities available; step-free access to church and hall. Street parking available on local roads.
The austere but eye-catching Gothic Revival shell of St Andrew the Apostle, at the heart of Catford's Corbett Estate, encloses a stunning Arts and Crafts interior. St Andrew's many attractions include its breathtaking stained glass, mostly by the renowned Martin Travers, in the Lady Chapel, the Chancel and the "kaleidoscopic" Great East Window, its marble flooring in the Sanctuary, its ornate ironwork, its rich wood carvings, its Assyrian gargoyles projecting from the Lady Chapel buttresses and its Alfred Hunter and Sons organ.
While this beautiful church is normally accessible only for worship, its doors will be thrown wide during the Open House Festival to welcome those who do not normally have the opportunity to step inside. Contemplate the beauty of its sacred interior under your own steam or join a small tour to discover more before enjoying a drink and a cake in our pop-up café in the Church Hall.
1899
Rev. E. C. B. Philpott appointed as Mission Priest. St Andrew's was originally in the diocese of Rochester and the parish of St Laurence, Catford.
1900
The present Church Hall opened as the Mission Church. It served as such for four years until the church was ready.
1904
Church foundation stone laid (June); Church consecrated (October).
1905
St Andrew’s constituted as a separate parish.
1908
Organ completed by Alfred Hunter & Sons of Clapham.
1921
Dedication of the Great East Window as a permanent memorial to those who gave their lives in the Great War; dedication of the Lady Chapel north windows.
1926
Dedication of the Children’s Chapel.
1929
Dedication of the lancet windows to the north (Archangel Michael) and south (Archangel Raphael) of the Great East Window.
1954
Lady Chapel East Window dedicated to coincide with the church’s Golden Jubilee.
1973
St Andrew’s acquires listed status as “an excellent example of the eclectic Gothic that was current at the end of the 19th century and in the Edwardian period”.*
"The church of St Andrew is designated at grade II* for the following principal reasons: it is of very considerable interest as an early 20th-century church in an eclectic Gothic Revival style; it has features that are architecturally inventive such as the use of flying buttresses at the E end, the treatment of the passage aisles and the use of a continuous stream of arcading from the nave through to the E end of the church; there are fixtures of considerable quality and interest in the chancel woodwork, iron screens at the E end, the font, and the use of Art Nouveau motifs in various windows; it is particularly notable for its exceptional stained glass by the important designer Martin Travers installed during the interwar period."**
Sources: *Bridget Cherry and Nikolaus Pevsner, The Buildings of England: London 2: South, 1983, p 413; **Official entry on National Heritage List for England CHURCH OF ST ANDREW, Non Civil Parish - 1079974 | Historic England
1998
Dedication of Purcell window (Clerestory).
Another point of interest, understandable overlooked, is an invisible and thus appropriately intangible line. Bisecting the church from transept to transept, from north to south, running in front of the Chancel steps is the Greenwich Meridian. How often do we get the opportunity to have our photograph taken with one leg in the Eastern Hemisphere and the other in the Western?