Project Andrew
Our small but beautiful 900-year-old St Andrew’s Church, a historic landmark in Ogbourne St Andrew, has now had a major refit, begun in October 2025 and completed at the end of May 2026. As far as we know it has not had one for over a century, so it is well overdue!
In summary the west end has been remodelled to provide:
and in addition:
How will the community benefit ?
The enhancement of the church facilities will not only be for the benefit of those who wish to use it for quiet contemplation or worship but also —and very importantly—for the benefit of the community in general; this church belongs to everyone in the community. The installation of toilets and a kitchenette will make the building more attractive to a wide range of users for activities such as meetings, talks, concerts, discussions and many more. It is stressed that in no way is it intended to compete with the facilities offered by the pub, Silks on the Downs, but, rather, the aim is to complement them; close co-operation with the pub and the Community Benefit Society (OCtyPuS) will be maintained.
In short the answer is quite a lot ! The contractor’s costs plus various professional fees amounted to approximately £232,000 including unrecoverable VAT. This was financed by a mixture of grants received, donations, loans, fundraising activities and cash reserves. The latter are now seriously depleted.
Below for information we have included some short videos recording the progress of the work during the winter months of 2025/2026.
It is certainly not too late to contribute to the financing of this completed project by helping us to pay off our loans. We have therefore retained our ‘Please support us’ page below.
View the progression of Project Andrew
An introduction to Project Andrew and tour of the church at the start of the works in December 2025 by our Church Warden, Marion Gordon-Finlayson
Further video updates on progress, including the discovery of some lovely stone carvings!
Please support us!
If you are able to make a contribution towards this community project—either as a one-off donation or a pledge for a future gift—please visit our Donation page to request a Donation/Pledge Form and, hopefully, the Gift Aid Declaration and return them to the Treasurer
Alternatively you can support us via our JustGiving Campaign:
