Church Of St Andrew

The Church of St Andrew is a building of considerable historical and architectural importance, dating from the late 13th century through the 15th century, with significant alterations in the 17th century and a restoration in 1864-8. Constructed primarily of coursed rubble stone with ashlar detailing and some red brick, it features quoins and roofs covered in lead and copper. The church comprises a west tower, nave, north aisle, chancel, a north chancel chapel, and a south porch.

The late 13th and early 14th century west tower rises in three stages, featuring a plinth, a west window with 19th-century stained glass, a south single-light window with a clock face on the first stage, four 2-light bell openings with Y-and-Geometric tracery, and battlements. The nave is entered via a double-chamfered arch, the inner section resting on semi-circular responds. A three-bay north arcade features double-chamfered arches spanning circular piers; the west respond being semi-circular, and the east respond terminating in a grotesque head. Three south windows possess Perpendicular tracery, two being flat-topped. A restored clerestory has three 2-light windows on the north side and blank openings on the south. The nave roof is a restored 4-bay, low-pitched, cranked tie-beam construction with wall pieces and slightly curved braces supported by stone corbels carved with heads at the lower edge; the roof also contains two central bosses. The north aisle has a northwest window with Y tracery, a north doorway (plastered internally but visible externally), and a flat-topped north window with restored Perpendicular tracery. An inscription "1636 - W.H." is visible on the roof, indicating a 17th-century repair or alteration. This roof is characterised by moulded tie beams and purlins, along with carved bosses. The north chancel chapel features two north 3-light windows and an east 5-light window, all with Perpendicular tracery, alongside a Perpendicular 2-bay north arcade and doorway to the chancel. A piscina is also present in the chapel. A large gargoyle marks the external valley between the chapel and chancel roofs. The chancel, without a distinct archway leading to the nave, is lit by a five-light east window with Perpendicular tracery and 19th-century stained glass. The three south windows incorporate Perpendicular tracery, two of which are flat-topped with stained glass from 1882 and 1890, and a three-light window with stained glass by Powell, dated 1857. A piscina, triple sedilia, and a small south doorway are also present, all under a 19th-century tie-beam roof.

The south porch is constructed of ashlar with a parapetted Welsh slate roof, featuring diagonal buttresses with gargoyles and crocketted finials. The elaborately moulded doorway is topped with a segmental arch, and above it, a stone inscribed 'R.F. 1618', likely related to a 17th-century restoration. A round font, probably dating back to the 13th century, has been restored. A restored Perpendicular chancel screen also exists within the church. The interior holds several late 18th and early 19th century wall monuments crafted from marble and slate, including those for Henry Coleman (died 1779) and Frances, wife of Rev. W. Southworth Lee (died 1792), both by Firmadge of Leicester, along with a monument to Henry Coleman (died 1813) and his wife Hester (died 1822), by Tyley of Bristol and Hull and Pollard. A carved and painted Georgian Royal Arms is also present as part of the interior decoration.