Church Of St. Andrew

The Church of St. Andrew is a parish church dating back to around 1200, with significant alterations in the 15th century and a Victorian restoration in 1863 by Ewan Christian. It is constructed of greenstone squared rubble with ashlar dressings, some brick raising, and green slate roofs with stone coped gables, crosses fleury, and decorative tiled ridges. The church comprises a nave, a western bellcote, a north aisle, a chancel, a south porch, and a vestry.

A large central buttress defines the west end, supporting an ashlar, octagonal bellcote featuring four shouldered openings, a nail headcornice, and a short steeple crowned with a weather vane. There are single 19th-century two-light windows with quatrefoils and decorative hood moulds flanking the buttress. The nave and aisles were completely rebuilt externally during the 1863 restoration. The north aisle has three two-light windows with cusped heads. The chancel retains medieval fabric and displays brick patching and raising on its north side. The vestry has a western doorway and a single eastern light. The east window of the chancel is 15th century, with three cusped lights, panel tracery, and human head labels. A 19th-century two-light window is located on the south side of the chancel. The south wall of the nave features a large 19th-century three-light window with reticulated tracery and a segmental head, a single light with a trefoil above, and a 19th-century lancet window beyond the porch. The gabled, 19th-century south porch has a steeply pointed outer doorway with half engaged shafts and annular capitals, and a plainer pointed inner doorway.

Internally, the arcade of around 1200 consists of three bays with double-chamfered, pointed arches. The piers and responds were rebuilt in the 19th century; while the keeled responds appear to have been recut, the concave quatrefoil piers with attached annular shafts seem entirely Victorian. The double-chamfered chancel arch also bears recut keeled responds. The roofs and fittings are 19th century and include the font, altar rail, and pulpit. A reconstructed 19th-century chancel screen incorporates some 15th-century panels. Built into the east wall of the nave, flanking the chancel arch, are two fragments of an elaborately carved cross from around 1200. The north panel, with nail head decoration, depicts the crucifixion scene, with figures flanking the cross and a nail securing Christ’s foot. Folate decoration continues on the south panel. Below the northern panel is the cut-down, roughly hewn bowl of an early octagonal font. A brass plaque inscribed to Gulielmus Chapman, d.1722, is set in the north wall of the chancel.