St Andrew's Bredwardine is a fascinating church of considerable antiquity, in a beautiful and peaceful setting above the banks of the River Wye. The south doorway and much of the nave date from the time of the Conquest, and the chancel was rebuilt after being partially destroyed by Owain Glyndwr's soldiers in 1406. Inside, notable features include a massive font, and the tombs of a gigantic knight, Walter Baskerville and a smaller effigy of Sir Roger Vaughan who died defending Henry V at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. Another striking feature is the "bend" in the nave towards the altar, which means that the altar is not visible from all seats.

In the churchyard are the tombs of two notable residents (see "Famous Residents" link on left for more information) who lived in Bredwardine, albeit for a short time only, namely George Jarvis and the Reverend Francis Kilvert. The former's will set up the Jarvis Charity in the late 1700s, which still continues to generate intense debate in this area, while Francis Kilvert is known much more widely for his fascinating Diary, which shed light, humour and pathos on the hard life of the poor in Victorian Times. Kilvert ministered in St Andrew's from November 1877 until his untimely death in September 1879. Leaflets and booklets on the church and the area can be found in St. Andrew's.

For more images of the Church click here

Church Services, and people involved today

St Andrew's is one of the eight Border Link Parish churches. The Rector is The Rev'd. Anand Sodadasi, The Rectory, Cusop, Hay-on-Wye, HR3 5RF, Tel 01497 821656, anandsodadasi@hotmail.co.uk

The Schedule of Services for St Andrew's and the other churches is published monthly in the "Link" magazine, and at each church. The Churchwarden for St Andrew's is Mrs Charlotte Sellar, Yew Tree House, Brobury, Herefordshire HR3 6DX, Tel 01981 500281. Deputy Churchwarden Mrs Angela Blandford, Woodlands, Brobury, HR3 5DX Tel 01981 500383.

In 2007, St Andrew's was part of a Church Tourism pilot project which resulted in the preparation of a village leaflet to put Bredwardine with Brobury and St Andrew's on the map.

Brobury's Church In 1851 the parish of Brobury, on the opposite bank of the River Wye, was united with Bredwardine, and St Andrew's became the church for the combined parishes. This left the church of St Mary Magdalen, Brobury, abandoned. In 1873, the former nave was pulled down and a western wall built to the c1300 chancel. More recently the building was extended and converted into a private dwelling. Brobury's ancient bell was moved to St Andrew's but not installed until 2007 when the bell tower was restored. It now rings out as the tolling bell.

CHURCH ACTIVITIES

Work Mornings at St Andrew's

These are occasionally held to tidy the churchyard on Saturdays, 9.30am onwards – details given approximately 2 weeks ahead.

FRIENDS OF ST ANDREW'S ACTIVITIES

100 Club Draw

In an effort to raise money for the maintenance and upkeep of St Andrew’s Church, Bredwardine, we applied for and received a Small Lotteries Licence from the Herefordshire Council to run a monthly draw. Initially, the draw has been restricted to 100 people. 50% of the proceeds will be given in cash prices to the lucky draw winners and the remainder going to St Andrew’s Church. 

February 2012 Draw Winners!
Many thanks to Jenny and John for hosting the evening! Dave and Sarah drew the winning numbers and after 38 draws are still waiting to win on the night. 1st prize £50 - #16, Dennis Price, 2nd prize £25 - #50, Eric Probert, 3rd prize £15 - #28, Andrew Pearce. The winner of In-It-To-Win-It £10 was Sandy Strang and after saying, "I'm not lucky". Congratulations to you all. Thanks to everyone for your on-going support.

Philip Bauer to host the March draw.

Draw Schedule Dates

Draw Details for 2012

Congratulations to everyone who continues to support the 100 Club Draw. In 2011, we raised £1,195 for the stone wall restoration at St Andrew’s in Bredwardine. 

2012 is our fourth year of fundraising! We have renewed our Small Lotteries Licence from the Herefordshire Council for our Friends of St Andrew's monthly draw and kept the number of participates at 125. The name and rules will remain the same for 2012. Each draw ticket will cost £20.  There will be twelve monthly draws as follows.  

January thru November Prizes
1st = £50     2nd = £25     3rd = £15

December “Bonus” Prize
1st = £100     2nd = £50     3rd = £25

Monthly-Must-Be-Present-to-Win-Prize £10

Contact Sarah ( 01981 500 155 ) for more details.

You do not need to be present to win.  Winning numbers will be printed in the Bredwardine & Brobury County Events Section of the Hereford Times, on this website www.bredwardine-brobury.org.uk and in the following monthly issue of the ’The Link’.  Plan to attend!  It is a great opportunity socialise and catch up on the latest!  The 100 Club Draw is registered with Herefordshire Council, Registration Number 937. 

Good luck and thank you for your support!

CHURCH NEWS FROM OUR CHURCH WARDEN

Thanks to everyone who bought a Christmas Tree from Yew Tree House ; we sold out within a week and the Church funds have been boosted by £650 as a result!!

Kitchen and Toilet in the Church
If you haven’t already seen them, please have a look at the architect’s preliminary plans for the proposed kitchen and toilet in the Church. The plans are on display at the back of the Church, and we would be very grateful if you could write your comments on the slips provided; we want to have a very clear idea of what people’s views are, before we proceed with any definite plan !

Please remember to keep taking those photographs – we’ll need some beautiful wintry landscapes for our 2013 Calendar; contributions can be sent at any time to Charlotte, or to nandcsellar@yahoo.co.uk. !

Art in the Church
Make sure you don’t miss our ’Art in the Church’ day, on Saturday, 11th February from 11.00am – 4.00pm, when there will be a number of local artists and craftsmen demonstrating and displaying their work. These include stained glass, painting, woodwork, jewellery, pottery, fly-tying, quilting, tapestry, lino-cutting....and there will also be a chance to have a go at bell-ringing, from 2.00pm. Entry is free, and there will be tea, coffee and cakes. All donations to the Church will be most welcome!!

FUTURE EVENTS

'Art in the Church' Day 11th February 2012.

Kilvert Weekend 26th-27th May 2012.

PAST EVENTS

Church Open Day This was held on 16th April 2011. A beautifully sunny day, which brought us many visitors, who were able to discover the history and present day details of St Andrew’s whilst enjoying tea & cake. 

Hog Roast Lots of bunting, lots of dancing and lots of fun! Held at New Court Farm, Brobury, on Saturday 21st May 2011, a joint village event which raised over £1000.00 split between the Village Hall & St Andrew’s church!

Church Fete Once again we were so lucky with the weather for our annual fete on Saturday 6th August 2011.  Catherine Widdicombe opened the proceedings with the Price twins presenting her with a lovely bouquet of posies.  The tug of war was great fun, and a successful afternoon was had by all the stalls and teas provided in the village hall.  Approximately £1550 was raised with all proceeds in aid of St Andrews.  Thank you all for your support!

Christmas Fair Having decided to make a few changes to the usual format of the Christmas Fair, on Friday 3rd December 2010 at 5.30pm a more picture perfect scene could not have been imagined. With candles twinkling in the trees & lighting up the pathway, fresh snow lying on the ground, St. Andrew’s looked magical.  We had mince pies, mulled wine & festive music.  So many people came to enjoy the wonderful atmosphere & spend their money on the delicious baked goods, gifts & crafts.  This generous support raised over £660.00 for church funds

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Last updated: February 3, 2012