Church Of St Andrew

Church of St Andrew

This is a Grade II* listed church in Wolferlow, primarily dating from the 12th century. The church was restored in 1863 by F. R. Kempson and again between 1890 and 1894, when the chancel, south porch, south side of the nave, and upper parts of the bell turret were rebuilt and a north-east vestry was added. A late medieval timber base for the bell tower was probably inserted in the 17th century.

The north side is constructed of stone rubble showing evidence of many phases of rebuilding. The chancel and south side of the nave are built of bands of red and grey sandstone with Bath stone detailing. The roof is covered in horizontal bands of red and blue tiles, with a red section to the west end of the nave. The timber-framed bell turret has rendered infill and a shingled broach spire.

The plan comprises a nave, chancel, west tower, south porch, and north-east vestry.

Externally, the unbuttressed chancel has a stained glass triple lancet east window, possibly by Ward & Hughes, and two lancet windows in the south wall. The north side of the nave retains a large blocked 12th-century doorway with imposts and a shaft with cushion capitals and saltire cross decoration to the outer band of the round arch. Both north and south sides of the nave have three trefoil-headed one-light windows each. The south side features a gabled porch with a moulded arch on stone corbels to the outer doorway. The inner doorway is 12th-century with a roll-moulded round arch decorated with a saltire cross on the outer band; it is partially infilled with a segmental cambered arch on imposts. The west tower appears to be wholly late 19th-century in date and has a tiled lean-to on the west face containing a window of two trefoil-headed lights.

Inside, the chancel has a braced collar-rafter roof with upright struts from the wall plate to the rafter. The nave roof is of the same construction but with the addition of tie beams. The base of the bell tower is timber-framed. The 12th-century round chancel arch has been heavily restored and is flanked above and on either side by painted text. The chancel contains a stone reredos consisting of two arcades of recessed cusped arches with marble pillars and foliate capitals. On the north side of the chancel, within a recess, is a 13th-century stone effigy of a woman with her head supported by two angels and a dog resting at her feet. The chancel also contains a number of 18th and 19th-century memorial tablets. The pitch pine pews have chamfered ends. A polygonal timber pulpit stands on a stone base and is decorated with blind cusped arches and foliate and acorn carving to the spandrels. A large 19th-century stone font with a quatrefoil bowl sits on a semi-circular stem.