The Vicars at St Andrew's.


£5 for a book
about
St Andrew's.

1908 The School grounds as per the O.S. Map.
Circa 1908 a painting of the School.
1925 The first Layout as a Church.
1958 The revised Layout.
1961 The ornate Altar.
1963 The new Window.
1963 The new Window's provenance.
1965 The new porch is blessed.
1996 The new organ.
2002 The War Memorials.
2005 The current layout.
2011 The refurbished Kitchen.
2014 The spruced up exterior.
2015 90 Years Young.
2018 Our Boiler broke!.
2020 COVID-19 Strikes!
2023 Redecoration of the Hall.
2024 Replacing the flat roof.
2024 Replacing the Porch Glazing.

Our building has been a center for worship for over 170 years and in 2023 will celebrate 98 years of existence as a dedicated Church .

In 1856 a piece of land was conveyed, for the sum of £50, from the Guardians of the poor of the Maidstone Union to the Reverend George Davey of the parish of St. Peter, Maidstone.

This was to provide a site for a school for 'poor persons to be taught in the principles of the Established Church'. The original building, in local ragstone, tile roof and brick chimmneys, now forms the Church Hall, kitchen and Vestry. The present Church was added in later extensions.

From the earliest days services were held in the school on Sundays. When the new West Borough Schools opened in 1907, the building became the Heath Mission where Sunday services and social activities were held under the leadership of Mr Stephen Ashby, a local butcher and Lay Reader.

1925,
The new developments in Barming Heath, including the Cherry Orchard estate, resulted in the Mission becoming a Church, dedicated to St Andrew. At that time the altar was at the Tonbridge Road end of the Church.

1930 The Vicarage was built at 416 Tonbridge Road to serve St Andrews.

1958
The Church was re oriented and the altar moved to its present position.

1963
A stained glass window , originally from All Saints Church, Harnham, was installed and consecrated.

1964
A new porch was built at the Tonbridge Road end. The original entrance porch has been turned into a Sacristy and no longer has an exterior door.

1990
A new Organ and movable sound proofed partition wall between the Church and the Hall.

2002
The aisle carpet has been replaced and edged with safety strip to prevent fraying.

2002
The installation and re dedication of the War Memorials that once held pride of place in the Church of St Saviour on the site of the old Oakwood Psychiatric Hospital. They had been found in a roadside ditch near the village of Teynham. The congregation of St Andrew’s feel that the sacrifice of these people should continue to be honoured. They were restored by Maureen Lovering, and remounted by James Lakeland.

"At the going down of the sun
And in the morning.
We will remember them."

2003
The hall floor, which had withstood many years of boots, bowling balls and babies, was replaced.

2004

The flat roof at the bottom of the bell tower has been replaced.

2005
A new heating system for the Church and Hall has been installed.

2006
The sound system in the Church has been upgraded and an induction loop transmitter installed.

New hall tables have been purchased.

2007
The windows of the Church have been replaced.

2008
The windows of the Hall have been replaced as has the entrance door for the Hall.
An illuminated stainless steel cross has been mounted on the A26 side wall of the Church Hall.

2009
Six small folding leg tables have been purchased to replace the old 'Card tables'.
The Hall Fire Door has been replaced

2010
A toilet acessible by wheelchairs and those needing the asistance of a carer has been completed.

2011
The Kitchen cupboards and worktops have been replaced. A water boiler has been installed and the surplus crockery 'culled'.
In November the old tatty dusty curtains in the Hall were replaced by adjustable vertical blinds.

2012
The ceilings of the toilets and the corridor leading to them have been replaced and decorated.

2014
The outside woodwork of both Church and Hall has been sanded back to bare wood, made good and then covered in a long life primer followed by an imposing Navy Blue top coat.

Some extra effort has been made this year to cull, trim and confine the trees and shrubbery within the Church Grounds.

2015
The incandescent floodlights in the church have been replaced with LED devices giving us an 83% saving on the lighting power consumption.
The aged Sign board has been replaced.

2018
After 12 years of service the heating system failed, Electronicus Extinctus, and thanks to the generosity of the KCC and The Congregation of St Andrews (Past and present) A new boiler and control unit was installed in June.

2020
The outbreak of COVID-19 and the subsequent national lockdown has meant that very few services took place in 2020. A booking system and social distancing led to Congregations of no more than 20 persons.

2021
Still under lockdown conditions, Services via Facebook and ZOOM have taken place. An Easter Service in Church was able to be celebrated.

LED strip lights have been installed in our hall and kitchen. We have also fitted a new cistern to serve one of the ladies’ toilets.
Urgent repairs to our flat roof where vandals have climbed and caused damage have been carried out.
Regular Services started again in August.

2022
The hot water taps in the toilets have been re plumbed by Billy Smith to obtain their heated water via the gas heater in the Corridor by the kitchen. The old immersion heater and it's pipework has been removed. A hole in the flat roof has been repaired.
Services with Communion have been recommenced with a supporting Priest.

2023
The Hall has been redecorated and the kitchen sink taps replaced.

Read about the first 90 Years as a Dedicated Church.

2024
The flat roof over theKitchen and toilets had become leaky and unsafe to walk on. It has been replaced and the chimney stack of the fireplace in the Vestry has been taken down and the gap tiled over.

The woodwork of the Porch had rotted away over the years and has been replaced with UPVC. The Wired glass has been replaced by laminated panels to comply with today's standards.