St Andrew's Church is an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

church in

Backwell Backwell is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority area of North Somerset, in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. In 2011 it had a population of 4,589. The village lies about southwest of Bristol, south of the A370 to West ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, England. The church building dates back to the 13thcentury, when the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

, aisles and the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

were built. The church was subsequently altered and enlarged during the 14th to 17th centuries; the 31m-high west tower dates from the 15th century, and the

rood screen The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, o ...

is from the early 16th century. The church has been a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

since 1961. The Parish of St Andrew is part of the benefice of Backwell with Chelvey and

Brockley Brockley is a district and an wards of the United Kingdom, electoral ward of south London, England, in the London Borough of Lewisham south-east of Charing Cross. It has been named the best area of London to live in. It is an area rich in Vi ...

within the deanery of Portishead. A new building attached to the church containing social and office space was added in 1984. There are plans to install

solar panel A solar panel is a device that converts sunlight into electricity by using photovoltaic (PV) cells. PV cells are made of materials that produce excited electrons when exposed to light. These electrons flow through a circuit and produce direct ...

s on the roof of the church. Since March 2025, the vicar has been

Reverend The Reverend (abbreviated as The Revd, The Rev'd or The Rev) is an honorific style (form of address), style given to certain (primarily Western Christian, Western) Christian clergy and Christian minister, ministers. There are sometimes differen ...

Sam Norton.

Churchyard

The churchyard includes a 15th-century cross. There is also a crucifix which is a memorial to a local airman Pat Garnett. It was made by

Arthur George Walker Arthur George Walker (20 October 1861 – 13 September 1939) was an English sculptor and painter. Among his best-known works are several war memorials and the statue of Florence Nightingale in Waterloo Place, London. Personal life Arthur Geor ...

and was sited below Backwell Hill House before becoming rusted and overgrown. It was restored and moved to the churchyard by Laurence Tindall in 1997. The churchyard also contains

war graves A war grave is a burial place for members of the armed forces or civilians who died during military campaigns or operations. Definition The term "war grave" does not only apply to graves: ships sunk during wartime are often considered to b ...

of a

York and Lancaster Regiment The York and Lancaster Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was created in the Childers Reforms of 1881 by the amalgamation of the 65th (2nd Yorkshire, North Riding) Regiment of ...

officer and an

airman An airman is a member of an air force or air arm of a nation's armed forces. In certain air forces, it can also refer to a specific enlisted rank. An airman can also be referred to as a soldier in other definitions. As a military rank designat ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

.
CWGC Cemetery Report, details from casualty record. The Churchyard has very limited land space remaining for future burials; the church has restricted future burials to Backwell residents only, and is requesting permission to reuse existing graves that have no memorials and are more than 80 years old.

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External links

St Andrew's Church, Backwell
{{DEFAULTSORT:Backwell, Saint Andrew Church of England church buildings in North Somerset Grade I listed churches in Somerset Grade I listed buildings in North Somerset 12th-century church buildings in England

Churchyard

See also

References

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External links