St Andrew's Church

St Andrew’s Church stands in Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, beside the Bristol Channel. Its earliest parts date from the late 11th century, though most of what visitors see today comes from the late 14th and early 15th centuries. The church is a Grade I listed building and is best known for its leaning tower, which tilts so far that a plumb line falls almost a metre away from the base. The nave and south transept survive from the 1305–14 rebuilding, while the north aisle and gallery were added in 1838. Inside, the chancel arch was widened at the same time and the chancel remodelled again in 1878. The tower’s lean is caused by weak foundations and has drawn visitors for centuries. In the 18th century a light was mounted on the tower to guide fishing boats into the harbour, later replaced by a separate round lighthouse built in 1801. Funds from its sale helped the vicar, Rev David Davies, improve the town in hopes of creating a spa. The tower now holds eight bells hung for change ringing, cast by Whitechapel Bell Foundry over many years. Nearby, fragments of a marble altarpiece designed by Sir Christopher Wren and carved by Grinling Gibbons and Arnold Quellin can be seen around the church. Inside, the east wall behind the altar still carries the main panels of the 1685 Whitehall altarpiece, commissioned by James II. The remainder of the carvings are displayed along the nave walls. The church’s medieval south door arch, holy water stoup and consecration cross remain from the early 14th-century work. The tower’s unusual tilt and the imported Wren carvings make this a place where history is visible in stone and timber.