St. Andrew's Church
Totteridge

Index

History

 Site

The site of the Church is very old. This is suggested by the rounded boundaries of the Churchyard implying an underlying mote and ancient meeting place. Its position is at the junction of the routes to London and Barnet, (originally a cross roads but now a T-junction) and we know that such places were important and had a sacred significance for pre-Christian peoples. An old Yew tree reckoned to be between 1000 and 2000 years old also stands in the Churchyard. The Yew with its evergreen leaves was a traditional symbol of immortality.

Part of Ely Diocese

Although Totteridge does not appear in the Domesday Book, it did exist at the time the information was gathered. It was included with Hatfield in a gift made by the Saxon King, Edgar, to the Abbot of Ely. Ely became a bishopric in 1108-9 A.D. and when Totteridge first emerges about a century later as an established place where people lived we read of it as being one of the manors of the Bishop of Ely. In the fourteenth century the Bishop of Ely had a residence which included a private chapel in Totteridge on the site of what is now Totteridge Park.

Dedication name

It seems likely that the present church building (late 18th century) stands on the site of the earliest church mentioned in 1250 A.D. in a document which records Totteridge Church as belonging to St. Etheldreda's, Hatfield from whence it took its dedication. Through the years the dedication became corrupted to St. Audrey's. Then at some time between the Reformation and the late 17th century it became St. Andrew's possibly because only biblical saints were in favour or because Audrey was transcribed as Andrew without anybody bothering to disagree!

Made an independent Parish

In 1650 the Commonwealth Commissioners recommended that Totteridge Church should be detached from Hatfield and made a separate parish but this did not happen for nearly two and a half centuries. There was an unhappy feud in which the second Marquis of Salisbury (as patron), the Bishop of Rochester and the Rector of Hatfield faced the parishioners of Totteridge before an agreement was finally reached. In 1892 Totteridge became a separate parish by Order in Council with a Vicar appointed to care for the souls of the then 785 residents - now there are 6,000.

Diocese of St. Albans

The Parish of Totteridge lay within the Diocese of Lincoln until 1837 and then the Diocese of Rochester before finally coming under the jurisdiction of the newly formed Diocese of St. Albans in 1877.