St Andrew's Chippenham
Encyclopedia
St Andrew's Chippenham, in Chippenham, Wiltshire
, England
, is a parish church
. It is one of three Anglican parish churches in the town, and serves the south and east of Chippenham. The church itself is situated in the town centre, in the Market Place. It maintains an enviable musical tradition. Below are some details of the organ and organists of the church, and there are also some links to the church's music website, where further details are available.
St Andrew's is a large church, with a wide nave, separated from a long chancel by a wooden, early 20th century screen. There is a Lady Chapel to the south of the chancel which is the oldest part of the church. There are two nave aisle, both of substantial width. A side chapel adjoining the south aisle is used as a Baptistry. There is a notable monument near the west end of the south aisle, to the Prynne family.
The church is also used non-liturgically by a number of local groups (orchestras and choirs) as their performance venue.
It is the base for the chamber choir, Schola, a small group specialising in Tudor and Restoration music. Membership of Schola is available by audition. It also provides an annual series of recitals and small-scale concerts entitled Music Unlimited, organised by the Friends of St Andrew's, a church-based organisation which raises funds for the church fabric. Recently, an experimental series of informal, free, 'prom' concerts has been initiated at 3pm on Sunday afternoons for 45 minutes.
of the High Street. The Church, which is large, has undergone extensive re-ordering in recent
years so that there is now flexible seating, spacious side aisles, and a central nave altar.
The church has a large three manual Seede/Gray & Davidson Organ. It is the Civic chuch of Chippenham, and an annual Civic Service is celebrated each September.
A virtual tour of the church can be found on the church's website, together with a complete list of monuments and their inscriptions.
The former sings at the main morning service on the 2nd to 5th Sundays, and at Evensong on the 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Sundays. (That on the 1st Sunday is a full Choral evensong.) Choral services have been maintained at this church for many years. The latter, less formally constituted, provides the music for the monthly All Age Service of the Word on the 1st Sunday morning of the month; this service is follwoed by a said service of Holy Communion.
The church is affiliated to the Royal School of Church Music, and training in the robed choir follows the RSCM's Voice for Life programme.
Chippenham, Wiltshire
Chippenham is a market town in Wiltshire, England, located east of Bath and west of London. In the 2001 census the population of the town was recorded as 28,065....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, is a parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
. It is one of three Anglican parish churches in the town, and serves the south and east of Chippenham. The church itself is situated in the town centre, in the Market Place. It maintains an enviable musical tradition. Below are some details of the organ and organists of the church, and there are also some links to the church's music website, where further details are available.
St Andrew's is a large church, with a wide nave, separated from a long chancel by a wooden, early 20th century screen. There is a Lady Chapel to the south of the chancel which is the oldest part of the church. There are two nave aisle, both of substantial width. A side chapel adjoining the south aisle is used as a Baptistry. There is a notable monument near the west end of the south aisle, to the Prynne family.
The church is also used non-liturgically by a number of local groups (orchestras and choirs) as their performance venue.
It is the base for the chamber choir, Schola, a small group specialising in Tudor and Restoration music. Membership of Schola is available by audition. It also provides an annual series of recitals and small-scale concerts entitled Music Unlimited, organised by the Friends of St Andrew's, a church-based organisation which raises funds for the church fabric. Recently, an experimental series of informal, free, 'prom' concerts has been initiated at 3pm on Sunday afternoons for 45 minutes.
History
St Andrew’s is the ancient parish church of Chippenham located in the town centre at the topof the High Street. The Church, which is large, has undergone extensive re-ordering in recent
years so that there is now flexible seating, spacious side aisles, and a central nave altar.
The church has a large three manual Seede/Gray & Davidson Organ. It is the Civic chuch of Chippenham, and an annual Civic Service is celebrated each September.
A virtual tour of the church can be found on the church's website, together with a complete list of monuments and their inscriptions.
Organ
Some Seede pipework from around the middle of the 18th century survives, together with a very fine case-front, currently installed at the west of the instrument which is situated in the north aisle. A major rebuild and enlargement was carried out by Gray and Davison in the latter part of the 19th century. Further additions being made in the 20th century, most recently by Coulson in the 1980s. A detached console is provided in the south choir aisle. The specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.Organists
- 1752 James Millard
- c.1770 ? Woodward
- 1789 James Morris Coombes I
- 1820 James Morris Coombes II
- c.1867 William Theodore Bradshaw
- 1907 E.D. Taylor
- 1923 R.H.Mather
- 1925 A.W. Ellerton
- 1935 A.H. Fithyan
- 1937 John Cecil Tomlins
- 1982 Peter Jezard
- 1997 Gareth Bennett
- 1998 Thomas Ball
- 1998 David Chandler
- 2002 Graham Davies
- 2005 David Chandler
- 2009 David Dewar
Choirs
There are two singing groups involved in the church services, the Robed Choir, and the St Andrew's Singers.The former sings at the main morning service on the 2nd to 5th Sundays, and at Evensong on the 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Sundays. (That on the 1st Sunday is a full Choral evensong.) Choral services have been maintained at this church for many years. The latter, less formally constituted, provides the music for the monthly All Age Service of the Word on the 1st Sunday morning of the month; this service is follwoed by a said service of Holy Communion.
The church is affiliated to the Royal School of Church Music, and training in the robed choir follows the RSCM's Voice for Life programme.