User:AnemoneProjectors/St Andrew and St George's Church, Stevenage

St Andrew and St George's Church is a Grade II listed church in Stevenage, a town in Hertfordshire, England. It was built between 1956 and 1960, and is the largest parish church built in England after the Second World War.

History
Stevenage was designated the first new town in 1946. Before 1946, Stevenage was served by St Nicholas' Church and its daughter church, the Holy Trinity, as a single parish. Those concerned with the new town realised that new centres for people to meet were needed to create a sense of community, so several new churches were to be built. St Andrew's Church was built in the parish in 1952. In 1955, the Reverend Eric Cordingly became rector of Stevenage and led the development and reorganisation of the Church of England in Stevenage. Each neighbourhood of the town would have its own church building and priest-in-charge, and there would be one large, centrally-located church as the parish church for the town, St George's, to which the title of rector would be attached. St George's would become the civic church of the town, taking over from St Nicholas'. St Nicholas' and the Holy Trinity would become daughter churches of St George's, leading to sarcastic remarks that the daughter was older than the mother, and resentment that the ancient church had been casually demoted.

St George's Church, the largest parish church built in England after the Second World War, was designed by Lord Mottistone and construction began on 14 July 1956, when Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother laid the first stone. It was built by Messrs Rattee and Kett of Cambridge at a cost of £120,000. The building's frame was constructed by pouring concrete into moulds, which were broken away, leaving no joints. The interior features interlacing arches, and the external walls are clad with panels faced with Normandy pebbles. Construction was completed in 1960. The choir, organist and choirmaster from St Nicholas' were transfered to St George's, leaving St Nicholas' without music. St George's was consecrated in the presence of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother on 27 November 1960, by the Bishop of St Albans, the Right Reverend Michael Gresford Jones. The event was attended by all the congregations and choirs of Stevenage.

In 1963, the Diocese of St Albans decided that St Andrew's Church was surplus to requirement. St George's took over the parish of Bedwell in Stevenage, where St Andrew's Church was located, and the congregation of St Andrew's joined that of St George's. This caused much unhappiness and annoyance for many years, as many of the congegation from St Andrew's had become emotionally attached to it.

A large stained-glass east window, designed by Brian Thomas, was paid for by the Stevenage Development Corporation and installed in 1966 to obscure the view of the "depressing" Manulife House, a seven-storey office block housing an insurance company's headquarters that was built next to the church. The window, on the theme "The Christian Year", is believed to be the largest stretch of stained glass, unbroken by mullions, erected in any English church since World War II.

In 1970, the ecclesiastical parish of Stevenage was divided into seven parishes, each with its own church and vicar, though St George's retained the title of rector. It was then responsible for the Bedwell neighbourhood area, the town centre and the Gunnels Wood Industrial Area. The church was no longer financially supported by the other Anglican parishes in Stevenage, so Stevenage Museum, which was in need of a bigger home, moved into the church's undercroft, mutually benefiting both church and museum. Stevenage Museum reopened on 2 July 1977. St George's Church was redesignated St Andrew and St George's in 1984, finally appeasing those upset by the closure of St Andrew's, and the old St Andrew's building was demolished in 1993. The church was designated Grade II listed on 25 September 1998. Plans were made in 2023 to relocate the museum from below the church to the town centre.

Stevenage Music Society often perform within the church, which has been described by Stevenage historian Margaret Ashby as "a splendid concert hall". The bell tower houses loudspeakers for an electro-accoustic carillon.