A church on the site of St Andrew the Great is first mentioned by name in 1200, and is possibly recorded in the Domesday Book. Little is known of the first building, which was probably a wooden structure, and was replaced with a more substantial stone building in the early 13th century, which was given to the Diocese of Ely in 1225-1228 by Absolom, the then rector. During the 16th centurythe church was a centre of Reformation preaching, with William Perkins serving as "lecturer" from 1585 until his death in 1602, when he was succeeded by Paul Baynes and Ralph Cudworth. By 1650 the medieval church building was in a poor state, and it was suggested that the parish be merged with that of Holy Trinity; it was however rebuilt largely at the expense of Christopher Rose. Thomas Tenison, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1694, was curate of St Andrew's from 1662, where he set an example by his devoted attention to sufferers of the plague. Temple Chevallier, the theologian and astronomer, was curate and then vicar from 1822 until 1835. To accommodate a growing congregation, the church was entirely rebuilt in 1842-3 in a 15th-century East Anglian style by the architect Ambrose Poynter. It was rebuilt with a nave of five bays with side aisles and a west tower of four stages; the south porch and vestries were added later in the 19th-century. It does however retain elements of the earlier structure including early 12th-century double capitals in the heating chamber and some wall memorials, notably that of Captain James Cook.
The church building contains a number of memorial tablets, most notably one of the explorer Captain James Cook and family. The memorial records Captain Cook, his wife Elizabeth, and their six children. Elizabeth died in 1835, aged 93, and was predeceased by all of her children; she is buried in the church alongside two of her sons, James and Hugh. She left a bequest to pay the minister, support five poor aged women of the parish and to maintain the monument. The 'Charity of Mrs Elizabeth Cook' is still registered.
Recent history
St Andrew's was declared redundant in 1984 as the parish population had dwindled. However, the congregation of the nearby Holy Sepulchre Church, was looking for a new home as growth of the congregation had led them to run out of space. They raised the money to renovate St Andrew's, installing a new gallery, baptistry and rooms, and moved there in 1994. The parish associated with the church is now called Holy Sepulchre with All Saints. The Round Church is still used occasionally and is leased to Christian Heritage for exhibition and training courses. The church has been involved in three church 'grafting' schemes, to All Saints', Little Shelford, Christ Church Cambridge and St Matthew's, Cambridge. In each case a minister on the staff moved with a substantial number in the congregation to join the existing congregation in those places. In 2018, the church also was involved in 'planting' a new church in Huntingdon.
Present day
The church is open for public services every Sunday: 10am, 11.30am and 5pm. Services are roughly an hour in length, with a strong emphasis on relevant Bible teaching. There are six age-banded Sunday school groups for children and also evening meetings for undergraduates, 20s-30s, internationals and teenagers. The church is within the conservative evangelical tradition of the Church of England. The parish has passed resolutions to reject the ordination and/or leadership of women. It receives alternative episcopal oversight from the Bishop of Maidstone.
