The parish of St Andrew is situated in the Archdeaconry of Wells and the Diocese of Bath and Wells in the south west of the United Kingdom, in the seaside town of Weston-super-Mare.

In January 1956, the new parish of St Andrew was created as the newly built Bournville housing estate began to grow. Before that date the area formed part of the parish of St Paul, which is situated in the west of Weston Super Mare. In earlier centuries the area belonged to the parishes of St Peter and St Paul at Bleadon, and St Nicholas at Uphill, and was mostly open land used for farming.

Inside the first wooden church c.1941

In October 1940 a small wooden Church was built to serve the part of Bournville estate which had then been built. The wooden church was situated not far from the present building in the centre of the estate. The wooden church was the brainchild of the Preb J. E. S. Harrison, the vicar of St Paul's. Although in the same parish as St Pauls's a new priest-in-charge of St Andrew's was required, and so in 1940 the Revd Arthur Steadman-Lewis was appointed to the position. During his ministry the vicarage was built and the estate more than doubled its population.

Arthur Steadman-Lewis remained in post until 1955 when the Revd John Waller took over. Soon after his appointment the new parish of St Andrew was created and a new church building commissioned. The laying of the foundation stone of the new church took place on 19th June 1957, and amidst much celebration the new church was consecrated to St. Andrew on 25th June 1958. The service was taken by the Bishop of Bath and Wells, assisted by Archdeacon of Wells, the Rural Dean of Locking, the Chancellor of Wells, the Registrar of the Diocese, and the Vicar, John Waller.

Inside and outside the New Church, c. 1959

The First Service in the New Church took place on St Peter's Day, 29th June 1958 when the Bishop of Taunton, the Right Revd Mark Allin Hodson assisted by the first Vicar of St Andrew's, the Revd John Waller, celebrated communion.

Around this time - in 1954 in fact - a new Methodist Church was built also

on the Bournville estate. This church was part of the Weston and Burn-

ham circuit and shared its minister with Victoria Church in the centre of

Weston - super - Mare and Uphill Methodist Church. The church thrived

under various ministers and soon additional rooms were needed to acc-

ommodate mid-week groups, clubs and organisations run by the church.

Since these times the parish of Bournville has continued to grow both in

population and area, and Anglican incumbents and Methodist ministers

have come and gone. During the 1960s and 1970s the estate grew in size

incorporating blocks of flats, and further council housing and sheltered

accommodation for the elderly. At the same time on the estate the Meth-

odist Church continued to thrive, eventually moving into their premises on

Selworthy Road. The Methodists and the Anglicans on the estate worked The original Methodist Church

together to serve the community but in separate church buildings. in Selworthy Road

On 11th November 1992 the Church of England voted for the ordination of women to become priests. In 1994, the Revd Heather Williams became, what is believed, the first female incumbent in the country, and took up her position as Vicar of Bournville having served as a deacon and then a priest for a while in Mead Vale, Worle. Shortly after the start of her incumbency a group of local residents was encouraged to think about the future of the Bournville Estate and to develop a "wish list". Ideas put forward included a doctor's surgery and opportunities for the raising of self-esteem among the residents through education and welfare. Some years later the government initiative of "healthy living centres" offered the potential for these hopes to be fulfilled within a purpose-built building on the Bournville estate which could house the community hall, doctors' surgeries, social workers' headquarters, locality centre and church. It was to be called the "Healthy Living Centre" (HLC) and would cater for the local community in body, mind and spirit.

The Anglican church building was suffering a great deal from concrete cancer and was in desperate need for major structural work. Therefore, on June 25th 2000, St Andrew's Church Council voted to commit themselves to the Healthy Living Centre Project and agreed that the church building would be demolished after moving into the new centre. Around this time the local Methodist church members approached the vicar suggesting that they too move in with us into the HLC. So, on November 25th 2001, the Methodists and Anglicans signed a covenant promising to work together and to become, eventually, one church on the estate, working together for the local community, and providing a unified Christian witness to the surrounding estate. The traditions of both churches would still be upheld and supported but worship would be together in the HLC once it had been built. The covenant was signed by Revd Ward Jones, Chairman of the Methodist District, and the Rt Revd Andrew Radford, Bishop of Taunton. In August 2002 the old Methodist Church was sold and the revenue received put toward the church area of the new HLC. Since then the Methodists and Anglicans have shared their worship in St Andrew's Church.

At the retirement of Heather Williams in December 2003, the training curate, the Revd Bethan Guttridge was offered the parish and became the eighth Vicar of Bournville. At the Induction Service on February 25th 2004, the signing of the Anglican/Methodist Constitution took place, again with the Revd Ward Jones and the Revd Andrew Radford making St Andrew's officially a Joint Anglican/Methodist Church and a Local Ecumenical Partnership.

The Church wing of the Healthy Living Centre

under construction, 25th May 2004

In May 2003 the "For All Healthy Living Company" was formed to direct development of the new Healthy Living Centre, and the first sod was dug on 4th August 2003. In January 2005, the joint Anglican/Methodist Church family moved into the new "For All" Healthy Living Centre along with the four other partners, namely North Somerset County Council, the Primary Care Trust, Children's Centre (formerly "Surestart") and Bournville Community Association.

The church now thrives at the centre of the Bournville community service the people of the parish through the love of God.