Church Of Saint Andrew

The Church of St Andrew is a parish church dating back to the 12th century, with significant additions and alterations made through the 13th to 19th centuries. The original fabric includes the 12th-century nave arcades and chancel arch, and the 13th-14th century tower, which later received a parapet. A restoration in 1794 resulted in the removal of the nave clerestory in the late 18th or early 19th century. Further extensive restoration in 1883, undertaken by James Fowler of Louth, involved rebuilding the chancel, north aisle, and much of the south aisle.

The church is constructed of ironstone rubble with limestone ashlar dressings and a limestone ashlar tower parapet, all covered by a slate roof. The building comprises a west tower, a two-bay aisled nave with a south porch, and a single-bay chancel. The two-stage west tower has a chamfered plinth, a pointed 3-light window with 19th-century tracery, a weathered stringcourse, and an outline of the former nave roof with a shallower pitch to the east. Pointed 2-light belfry openings with Perpendicular tracery, likely reset from the former nave clerestory, are present, along with a cornice and coped ashlar parapet. The north aisle features buttresses and pointed 3-light traceried windows. The south aisle has original angle buttresses, a 19th-century cillband, and 19th-century square-headed 3-light windows, alongside pointed 2-light traceried east and west windows. The chancel is characterized by buttresses, a cillband, single round-headed north and south windows, and three similar windows to the east. The south porch features a 13th-century pointed chamfered outer arch and an earlier 13th-century inner arch with plain moulded imposts, with an inscribed mass dial to the right.

Inside, the 12th-century north arcade consists of plain round arches with hoodmoulds supported on a broad cylindrical pier with a square scalloped capital, a chamfered abacus, and a plain moulded base. The later 12th-century south arcade has taller plain round arches resting on narrower cylindrical piers with plain moulded capitals, a square abacus, and a plain moulded base. A tall, pointed, double-chamfered tower arch with plain moulded capitals and an inner order dying into plain jambs gives access to the tower. There are blocked east lancets in both aisles. A pointed-trefoiled piscina is located in the south aisle, featuring a corbelled bowl. A blocked former rood-loft door is visible in the north aisle. The chancel is covered by a 19th-century, ceiled pine waggon roof. Two late 14th-century floor slabs from the Malet family are located at the west end of the nave; the northern slab features fine inscribed figures of a man and woman with pillowed heads and an inscription above, while the southern slab has a much-weathered inscribed border. A plain 12th-century rounded font bowl sits on a restored base.