Church of St Andrew

The Church of St Andrew stands in Congresbury, a Somerset village whose name recalls St Congar, a 6th-century holy man said to have performed three miracles here. The building itself began in the 13th century and was raised to Grade I status for its national importance. Inside, an Anglo-Saxon sculpture of St Congar once kept here now lives in Taunton Museum after archaeologist Mick Aston identified it. The church’s present form was consecrated on 11 July 1215 by Bishop Jocelin of Wells. The nave shows 15th-century Perpendicular remodelling, with carved stone corbels and bosses beneath the roof. The organ rebuilt in 1967 sits in the chancel, while the Merle chapel was once called the Chapel of St Congar. A Norman font survives from the earliest period, and the 120-foot spire crowns a tower that holds eight bells, the heaviest weighing 1729 kg and sounding the note C. The oldest bells, cast in 1606 by George Purdue, still ring today. Visitors find a quiet country church where centuries of worship have left their marks. The heavy ring of bells can be heard across the village, and the tower’s height gives views over the Somerset Levels. The decorated corbels and bosses show skilled medieval craftsmanship, while the Norman font and 17th-century bells link the building to its long past.