St Andrew's Church

St Andrew's Church. . The Glovers' Needle is the last standing remnant of St Andrew's church. It is still easily the tallest building in Worcester, a total of 245ft (75m) high. The slender spire was named for the many glovemakers of the parish., The spire was rebuilt in 1751 by Nathaniel Wilkinson, replacing a slightly shorter medieval spire which was destroyed by lightning in 1733. John Collingwood later encased the sandstone tower in Bath stone to match. During repairs in the mid-19th century, the tip of the spire was replaced. The original, topped with a Corinthian capital, was rebuilt in the churchyard, and can still be seen in St Andrew's Gardens., St Andrew's church was founded before the Norman Conquest. Contrasting with the spire, the church was short (just 92ft, 28m) and wide. It consisted of a nave, chancel, and aisles which extended westwards to clasp the tower. When St Andrew's was demolished in 1949, some of the furnishings, including the 12th century font, were taken to All Saints church., ------ , The medieval tower is finely detailed, with some elaborate masons' marks. Also known as banker marks, these identified the work of individual stonemason so that they could be paid., During one restoration of the spire, a barber shaved clients on the top platform of the scaffolding, and a painter decorated a porcelain cup. On another occasion a local wine merchant entertained the editor of the Worcester Chronicle with a bottle of port at the top., ------ , The stone vault has thirty-two carved bosses. These show biblical scenes, the apostles, and other figures, including St George slaying the dragon., The vault was paid for by Robert Sutton, a dyer. He is thought to have been the pilgrim to Compostela whose burial, with boots, staff and cockle shell, was excavated in the Cathedral in 1986., Above the vault is a substantial timber bell-frame, with just one bell, probably made in the 16th century.