Concept
St Andrew's Church, Andreas, is a Church of England parish church in Andreas, Isle of Man. The church is administered by the Diocese of Sodor and Man. It is generally supposed that Christianity was introduced to the Isle of Man by St Patrick about the middle part of the 5th Century and that St German was appointed as the first Bishop of Man. Under the influence of St Patrick and what is referred to as his "Romish missionaries," the Isle of Man saw the erection of a series of small chapels throughout the Island. One such was Cabbal Vaartyn (which translates as Martin's Chapel) and which stood on what today is the road between Andreas and The Lhen. The chapel was dedicated to St Martin, Bishop of Tours, an uncle of St Patrick who is said to of been a man of eminent piety. Sometime between the years 1270 and 1344, when the Isle of Man was under the dominion of the Scots, parishes were created which in turn saw the erection of a church within Andreas and dedicated to St Andrew, the Patron Saint of Scotland and from whom the name Andreas translates. By 1800 the old church was in a poor state of repair, and on 19 February 1800 a special vestry meeting was held, attended by John Murray, 4th Duke of Atholl, at which it was decided to build a new parish church; however building work did not start for several years after the 1800 Act of Tynwald. Much of the cost was covered by donations and contributions, with the short-fall being met by holders of Quarterlands, cottages and Intacks in the parish with the amounts paid being levied by Church Wardens and Sidemen. The Chancel was paid for by the Rector which was customary at that time. The church was constructed by Mr Radcliffe of Andreas, the father of Reverend W.T. Radcliffe. As there is no quarry in the parish, stone was sourced from Sulby Glen and many of the slates from the old church were reused on the new construction in order to keep costs down. During the war years an electric blower for the church organ was donated by serving personnel at RAF Andreas.
