Church Of St Andrew

The Church of St Andrew is a parish church largely dating to the 14th and 15th centuries, with a lower portion of the tower from the 13th century. It was restored in 1859-60 by Joseph Mitchell of Sheffield, with further restoration to the tower and spire occurring in 1875 and 1886. The church is constructed of ashlar with lead roofs and is of cruciform plan, incorporating a west tower, aisled nave, and a contemporary vestry to the north of the chancel. It is a fine example of the Decorated style, characterized by a moulded plinth and sill strings, battlemented parapets, off-set buttresses, and large arched windows with restored reticulated tracery.

The earlier west tower is of four stages, featuring chamfered lancet windows to the lower two stages and 2-light openings with colonnette mullions to the third. A 14th-century bell chamber was added, featuring 2-light traceried openings, an embattled parapet, and a fine octagonal spire with two tiers of lucarnes. A 19th- to 20th-century door with a Caernarvon arch has been inserted into the south side of the tower. The nave's 15th-century clerestory has six bays of rectangular 3-light windows with ogee tracery. The remainder of the church largely displays the Decorated style. The aisles, of four bays, contain double-chamfered arched doors to the north and south, while the south porch has a wide moulded arch and 2-light traceried side windows. The transepts each have a single west window, two east windows, and two windows to either the north or south. The three-bay chancel features carved gargoyles and a 5-light east window. The north vestry, of two storeys, has a 19th-century 2-light traceried east window, a moulded north door, and slit windows to the upper storey.

The interior has been extensively restored. The 13th-century tower arch is double-chamfered and has an outer order on shafts, with a lancet window above. The nave has four-bay arcades to the aisles and wider single arches to the transepts, all double-chamfered. The quatrefoil piers are characterized by fillets and moulded capitals and bases. Small stone corbels are located between the clerestory windows. The nave’s 15th-century roof is a notable feature, displaying moulded beams, richly carved foliated bosses, and 19th-century carved wooden corbels depicting figures playing musical instruments. Aisle and transept roofs were constructed in the 19th and 20th centuries. The south transept includes cusped ogee piscinae in the east and south walls, and a similar cusped niche in the east wall; the north transept has a cusped piscina only in the east wall. The chancel arch is double-chamfered and merges into the jambs. The chancel contains an aumbry with shelf, and a much-restored piscina and sedilia, each with cusped ogee arches and finials. A chamfered arched doorway leads to the north vestry. The chancel roof is of the 19th century. Historical fittings include a fine royal coat of arms dated 1684, carved in plaster and restored and repainted in 1935, positioned above the chancel arch. There is also a small carved wooden shield bearing the royal arms, dating from around 1500 and located within the chancel. Other furnishings incorporate a 15th- to 16th-century wooden chest, an octagonal stone font with traceried panels (much restored), 18th- and 19th-century memorial tablets.