People approaching St. Andrew's from the Rectory, Highcroft or Kirket Lane, know full well that the dangerous bend in Church Road must be crossed with care. What perhaps they do not appreciate is that this sweeping curve follows the boundary of the ancient circular burial ground.
The worshippers in the first church on this site, converted perhaps by St. Patrick or St.Chad, from druidism or the Norse gods, would be very relieved that the churchyard had no corners where evil spirits could hide and take vengeance on them for becoming Christians.
The very earliest believers here would have worshipped in the open air or later in a wooden building, and the graves would be marked by wooden crosses.But before the Norman Conquest a creamy-white church of freshly quarried Storeton stone was erected. The name "Whitchurch" was used for the area, and some of the stones are still in the south wall of today's church.
The Domesday Book mentions a priest here in 1087.Then six years later a Norman settler, Scirard Lancelyn, gave the church and several acres of land to the new Abbey of St. Werburgh in Chester. His descendents have been linked to the church ever since.The family coat of arms figures three stags. One can be seen on top of the spire, and all three on the pub up at Spital cross-roads
In due course a Norman church replaced that of the Saxons, and throughout the centuries ongoing enlargements have resulted in many different styles of architecture, including Early Decorated and Tudor/Perpendicular. Masons' marks show the tower was begun in 1300, and finished some fifty years later.
Once inside the church one is surprised by the magnificent East end, with its cathedral-like proportions and large windows. Turning round, the rear part seems much humbler, like a mediaeval village church. It appears that the whole building was to have been rebuilt, but that the work was suspended, leading to the disalignment of the pillars where the two halves join.
The explanation according to some, is that the Abbot of Chester in Tudor times, having funds at his disposal, embarked on a programme of church improvement in order to keep the Abbey's money out of the rapacious hands of Henry VIII. Unfortunately this work was still unfinished when the monasteries were closed and Chester Abbey ceased to exist. The new and old parts were therefore patched together, and thus the congregation worships with the evidence of the dissolution of the monasteries to this day.
Meanwhile the tower was gradually becoming covered with ivy. Louvres were added to the windows to prevent it entering the spire. In James I's reign (1603 onward) a Cheshire prophet, Robert Nixon, had foretold that the world would end when the ivy reached the top. Frightened hands cut back the creeper regularly in order to postpone the dreaded Judgement Day, but in 1805 the spire was struck by lightning. Later in the nineteenth century the point was damaged in a gale and the spire had to be largely rebuilt. It was not till 1911 that the root of the ivy was finally dug out to prevent the creeper further damaging the stonework.
The parish school which began in the belfry, moved in 1791 to a built-on vestry at the East corner.Indentations in what is now the outside wall show where the pupils sharpened their slate-pencils, though the other walls of this room have long been demolished.
The re-ordering of 1847 gave the church its present rectangular shape. Before that date there was seating in the areas where the Feilden Chapel, clergy vestry and organ are now situated. There were also two wooden galleries, one at the rear end of the church, and one along the north wall. England was a church-going nation and there was always pressure upon space.Let not the present congregation be satisfied that the church is full!
When Church Society acquired the patronage of the living, Bebington Parish Church became more evangelical in theology, and the incumbents from 1918 onwards have emphasised the preaching of the Word of God, and taught the doctrine of grace and personal salvation.The 900th anniversary was celebrated by re-siting the rood-screen in accordance with these doctrines, and at the same time the removal of the choir pews, installation of kitchen and toilets, and a useful crèche and meeting room in the tower, made the old church an acceptable and welcoming place for worship in the modern world. Both nave and chancel were carpeted at this time.
St. Andrew's has also given birth to several daughter churches as the population of the area increased.St. Mary's, Upton, St. Catherine's, Tranmere, St. Peter's, Rock Ferry, St. Paul's Tranmere, Christ Church, Higher Bebington, St. Luke's, Lower Tranmere, St. Mark's New Ferry, and Holy Trinity, Poulton, are all within the area which was at first the Parish of St. Andrew's Bebington. In recent years another congregation meets in St. Andrew's School, in Townfield Lane, but is not a separate parish Church.
St. Andrew's Church is a fascinating example of the adaptations of one building to the changing needs of a Christian worshipping community over almost 1000 years of history. This stands in contrast to the unchanging message of Christ which is faithfully proclaimed week by week, and the truth of the gospel which is available for any and all inhabitants of Bebington who have ears to hear.