St. Andrew's Church, Bangalore

History

The foundation stone for the kirk was laid by Lady Grant, (wife of Lieutenant-General Sir. Hope Grant, the then Quartermaster-General of Her Majesty’s Forces in the British Madras Presidency), on 22 November 1864. The church was completed and opened for service on 18 November 1866. The cost of constriction (including the land) was Sterling Pounds 4,500 (INR 45,000), the cost covered by private subscriptions and government grant. The sermon of church dedication was given by Rev. Stewart Wright, Church of Scotland chaplain in the Madras Presidency. Rev. Wright was also the presbyter in charge of the new St. Andrew's Kirk. The Illustrated London News reported the inauguration in 1866, with credits given to R C Dobbs, Executive Engineer of Mysore and Major Sankey, chief Engineer of Mysore

When the St. Mark's Cathedral was damaged by fire on 17 February 1923, St. Andrew's provided its church for the St. Mark's congregation to worship, till St. Mark's was repaired and reopened in 1927. The early congregation consisted of Scottish officers and men of the British Madras Army, and civilians of Scottish origin. Native Indians were also allowed to occupy the back pews.

As a result of the declining Scottish members, in order to attract more people to the church, Kannada services were started in 1965.

Architecture

The church building has the Gothic structure, with a height of 43 ft., length of 105 ft., and width of 57 ft. Stained glass covers all the windows and the large gable. The pulpit is made of teak wood, and is richly carved, in sync with the church architecture.

The brick coloured, pure gothic structure was designed by R C Dobbs and Major Sankey. St Andrew’s Kirk was the second church to be designed by Richard Hieram Sankey, (an Irishman from Tipperary), after the Anglican Cathedral of All Saints at Nagpur. Architecturally, St. Andrew's Church has many similarities with the main block of the Central College, Bangalore, with its Gothic style, characterised by steeping roof of Mangalore tiles, a row of decorative ridge-tiles on the top, turreted parapets and gables, iron crested towers, intricately done plaster motifs, railings of cast iron, and pilasters and parilions rising from the wing.

Sankey published as description of St. Andrew's Kirk at Bangalore in the journal, Professional Papers on Indian Engineering. Volume 4, published by the Thomason Civil Engineering College, Roorkee. He describes the Kirk to have commenced divine services in November 1864. The church has a length of 93ft., width of 57ft. and consisted of a nave covered by a slated pent roof, and aisles on the sides with Bengal terrace roofing. The church was built to accommodate 500 people. The tower was originally intended to be a steeple has a height of 90ft., nave to the wall plates under the roof trusses was 34ft., and the side aisles were 23ft. Brickwork, plastering and chunam (lime) was used in the construction. Ample ventilation and light was made possible by including clerestory windows of the nave, and main and circular windows on the side aisles. There was no transept to break the voice and the acoustics were excellent. The cost of construction was BINR 40,000, with this cost including the furniture and fittings. Half of this cost was raised by public subscription, and the other half met by the Government of Madras. Excluding the furniture and fittings, the cost of construction was BINR 5 per ft2.

Stained glass

There is a 25 ft. stained glass above the altar, fusing 15 panels into one, created by Scottish artist Alex Ballantine and his assistant Gardiner, in order to commemorate the diamond jubilee of the reign of Queen Victoria in 1897. At the base, the Old Testament characters of Abraham, Moses, King David and Prophet Isaiah are painted. The top the apostles of Christ - St.Andrew, St Peter, St Paul and St John are painted. Above this, there is the burning bush which is the symbol of the Church of kirk, alpha symbol on the right and omega symbol on the right (signifying beginning and the end). On the very top is painted Jesus Christ.

In the late 1970s, the stained glass started sagging backwards, and had to be supported by iron beams from behind.

Scottish heritage

St. Andrews's known as the St. Andrew's Kirk followed Scottish customs, such as western music, classical Scottish square dancing, Burns’ night, celebrating St. Andrew’s day, etc. St. Andrew's Church Bangalore, along with 3 other St. Andrew's Churches in India were being governed by the Colonial and Continental Committee of the Church of Scotland. After Indian independence in 1947, the number of Scottish families living in the city declined. Eventually, in September 1959, the church was transferred to the Church of South India, when Rev. P J Child was the last Scottish minister of the congregation.

Bell Tower

In 2005, the clock tower of St. Andrew's developed a tilt after heavy rains. The Bishop of Bangalore approached the Bishop of Madras, who sent well known architect Joseph Durairaj to study the damage. Other structural engineers had deemed the clock tower to be unsafe and suggested it be brought down. However Durairaj suggested that the tower was safe and could be restored structurally. The bell tower and the portico had been damaged by wear and tear, and exposure to rains, with the foundation sinking and the tower developing an incline. The Bishop constituted a Church Renovation Implementation Committee, taking advise from the professors of Structural Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science. Restoration work was undertaken, and the completed just in time for the church to celebrate its 142 years on 26 November 2006.

Pipe organ

The old pipe organ was installed in St. Andrew's on 3 May 1881, built by Peter Gonacher and Co., Huddersfield, England. After 126 years of service, the organ showed signs of wear and tear. The task of restoration of the pipe organ was done by M/s Middle Organ Company, UK, who restored the organ in record time and also added some more features to the organ. In order to commemorate the restoration, on 4 January 2009, eminent organist and music laureate Prof. Dr. Richard Marlow, Director of Music, Trinity College, UK was invited to perform and organ recital, during the re-dedication of the church organ ceremony.

St. Andrew's High School

There existed a St. Andrew's High School, as per the Report on Public Instruction in Mysore, for the Year 1877-78, and other records. In November 1877, the St. Andrew's High School had 20 students in both senior and junior Matriculation Classes(p.61), with 12 in High School(p.130) and 4 boarders(p.179). being managed by the Church of Scotland. Further, records of the Madras Government indicate that in 1871, 1 student of the St. Andrew's High School, Bangalore, passed the Madras Matriculation Exam with a second class. Reports of the Mysore Government dated 1868 also mention the St. Andrew's School, Bangalore. There is no information on when the school was closed or renamed.

St. Andrew's Girls' School

The St. Andrew's Girls' School was started in January 1878, and was managed by Miss. Millard. The reason for opening this school was the closing of the Wesleyan English Girls' School being closed as a result of the building being converted to an orphanage for girls affected by the great famine (p.107). There is no information on when the St. Andrew's Girls' School was closed or renamed.

St. Andrew's Free School

In 1897, a primary school called the St. Andrew's Free School, was started at Thimmiah Road, Bangalore Cantonment. The school was meant for the poorer sections of society and when it started, there were 50 children from poor families, who received free education, uniform and mid-day meal. However, the school had to be closed due to poor response.

According to the records of the Mysore Residency (1880-1947), in 1928, land was acquired for the extension of the St. Andrew's Free School (p.125), metal work training was started at the school in 1930 (p.135), the school building was extended in 1931 (p.137), the school inspected in 1940 (p.236). In 1944, the building of the St. Andrew's Free School was leased out to the Municipal Commission of the Bangalore Civil and Military Station (p.298)

The school changed hands to the Corporation in 1944, and was renamed as the Government Urdu Higher Primary School (date unsure). It still stands at Black Palli, Shivaji Nagar. The plaque which reads St Andrews Free School, January 1897 still exists, and so do the buildings and school campus. According to the school head mistress Haneefunissa (who was a student of the school at around 1962), the school once had about 800 students, which has now dropped down to 60. Getting the children to school is a major effort, with ayahs being sent to round them up and bring them to school.

No information is available on when the lease lapses and when the property will revert to the St. Andrew's Church.

St. Andrew's Primary School, Siddapura

In 1977, the church, re-established the St. Andrews's Primary School at the Siddapura Slum, for the benefit of under-privileged children. The children from poor families are given free uniforms, and free education.

Vintage gallery

A Tucks Post card, published in 1930, could not be unfortunately displayed here, due to licencing issues. It can be seen at this link St. Andrew's Church, Bangalore

Garden

The church compound has more than 31 species of trees, such as Rain Tree, Nile Tulip, Ashoka Tree, Jacaranda, etc. These offer shelter for migratory birds, which perch on the tree canopy. The churchyard is house to hundreds of mynas, squirrels, barbets, kites and other birds and animals.

Mission

The church started a Socio-economic Development Society in 1977, for the development of children from the under privileged, poor and down trodden segments of society.

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