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As St Andrew's United Reformed Church on Shaftesbury Avenue was being built, a neighbour, one F W Spruce, offered to pay for a four-face clock in the tower.

Church deacons debated the offer long and hard – because Mr Spruce had made his money from horseracing.

He was clearly a significant figure in Edwardian times, giving evidence in 1902 to a House of Lords select committee on betting.

He confirmed he had seen an increase in betting among artisans and the working class.

Eventually, the deacons said "yes" and architect William Beevers, who lived in Shaftesbury Avenue and was a church member, added 10ft to the tower to take the clock.

"It was made by local clockmakers and they did their job well," said minister the Rev David Pickering. "The distinctive chimes mark the hours and people tell me it's reassuring even when striking through the night."

St Andrew's has had a special service to celebrate a century of worship. It was on October 6, 1908, that the church was dedicated.
It is now very much a centre of the community, its rooms being used by 50 organisations.

It has its own drama group, RoCo, and regularly stages special events – like a Harry Potter Day, Narnia Day and a gospel day.
Community

A big screen in the church has shown World Cup football and Wimbledon tennis free to the community.

St Andrew's had its origins in Roundhay Congregational Church which was established in house groups in 1899 and then met in a schoolroom in 1900. Elders then took the decision to establish a church building and a foundation stone was laid on November 16, 1901.

This led to the construction of what is now the memorial hall.
The magnificent St Andrew's Church itself followed seven years later at a cost of £6,500.

Pillars of the community were attracted to the Congregational faith in Victorian and Edwardian times and many mill owners became church elders.
Five deacon's chairs were made for St Andrew's by Robert "Mouseman" Thompson of Kilburn.

In the 1960s, the church's tennis courts were sold for housing development and the money was used to alter the hall to become a memorial to those who died in the Second World War.