Worcester's Glover's Needle stands proudly over city

The earliest reference to this Church is from the 11th or 12th Centuries and many people believe it to have earlier foundations, possibly as far back as the Saxon period.

The church sits on a high ridge above the River Severn. Several ancient churches sit on this ridge, including the Cathedral and the humble St Alban’s Church.

The Bishop, Waerfirth gifted the land the church was built on to two important men in 904AD. A church and Parish were created shortly after.

The current tower is made from red sandstone and dates from the 15th Century, when the Parish covered an area of about 10 acres.

Some stonework also dates from the earlier church.

The church had a very short, wide Nave, running to the East from the Tower, ending just short of the current pavement of Deansway. Originally five bells sat in the tower and would ring to call members of the Corporation to the Guildhall for meetings. Only the 'Council Bell' sits in the tower today and weighs 1 ton!

When a full Council Meeting is coming together, it's still rung for five minutes. These same bells were also earmarked to be rung frantically if the Guildhall caught fire!

Following the English Civil Wars and in particular the destructive Battle of Worcester in 1651, the Church was repaired and in the 18th Century, faced with bright, white Limestone.

In 1733, a violent storm led to a lightning strike which destroyed the tower. Nathaniel Wilkinson was then commissioned to rebuild this in 1757. Further repairs were needed in 1778 and 1799 following very strong storms. The church sits on a very exposed part of the City.

Numerous stories or stunts come from this church, including a Barber who shaved someone at the top of the tower in 1801, a Porcelain painter who painted a tea cup on the parapet and James Powell, the wine merchant who drank a bottle of Port with Worcester Chronicle editor James Knight.

Further repairs from storm damage were required in 1870, when a Kite was famously used by George Frith to move items into place at the very top!

In the years that followed, the Parish fell into decline and developed into a sprawling, rundown slum. This decline may have been partly caused by the fact the Railways started to reduce the importance of the Quay that stood below the Parish church. In 1949, the Parish was being completely demolished and without any Parishioners, the Bishop handed the derelict Church to the Council.

They in turn demolished the nave but left the tall and most prominent landmark in the City standing. Due to the Glovers in the area, especially from the nearby Dents Glove Factory, many called it the 'Glover’s Needle'.

The Church still has a churchyard, which was once surrounded by iron railings. All burials in this small churchyard were lifted and re-interred in Astwood Cemetery. In 1953 the surrounding land was developed into a Coronation Park, as it is today.

The surviving church architecture includes a large Perpendicular West Window, 32 beautifully carved bosses showing the annunciation, epiphany, the trinity and the Coronation of the Virgin. St Andrew joins 14 other saints which sit with these too.

Crenulations mark the end of the tower and the start of the octagonal Spire. This starts at a 20ft diameter and finishes with a classical Corinthian capital at 7ft diameter at the top. The weather vane sits at the top, 245 feet up. Standing in the garden nearby is the top of the earlier Spire.

Some of the Church furniture was transferred to other churches when the Nave was lost. The Font now sits in the nearby All Saint's Church. In the Millennium year, the Rotary Club, Worcester Severn commissioned some blue lights to sit in the upper windows. This would link directly to the St Andrews flag.

Despite losing some of the church, the site is still used today.

St Richards Hospice used the gardens this summer with a beautiful display of Sunflowers. At Christmas time, they also light a Christmas Tree to remember loved ones.