Catalogue description SAINT ANDREW'S UNITED REFORMED CHURCH, WOOLWICH

Register of baptism and annual reports

Saint Andrew's United Reformed Church, Woolwich

Saint Andrew's United Reformed Church in Woolwich, formerly Saint Andrew's Presbyterian Church, now in the London Borough of Greenwich was formed in 1662. The origins of the Presbyterian Church can be traced back to the integration of Calvinist theology into England and Scotland in the 16th Century through George Wishart and John Knox.

The United Reformed Church (URC) formed in 1972 following the union of the Presbyterian Church of England and the Congregational Church of England and Wales. It is a part of the historic Reformed tradition, whose member denominations make up one of the largest single strands of Protestantism with more than 70 million members world-wide. The Re-formed Churches of Christ joined the Union in 1981, followed by the Congregational Union of Scotland in April 2000. The URC also has over 400 local churches united with other denominations.

Today the URC is divided into 13 Synods and throughout England, Scotland and Wales there are around 1750 URC congregations served by some 1100 ministers, both men and women. The Church is governed through democratic Councils.

This collection was deposited by the United Reformed Church (URC) History Society in 2001. Functions of the URC History Society include archival responsibilities particularly for the Presbyterian Church of England, which in 1956 asked its History Society to care for pre-1900 records. Following Resolution passed at the General Assembly in 1997 it undertakes to maintain a central record of material placed on permanent loan and the location as well as providing guidelines on retention, location, dispersal etc. for records of the URC at all levels.

• View Record