Church Of St Andrew

Church of Saint Andrew

A parish church standing on a raised circular platform, originally built in the 12th century with substantial later additions and alterations. The church comprises a nave with north porch, chancel, and west tower. It is constructed of red sandstone in coursed rubble (with some 12th-century herringbone work) with dressed and ashlar dressings in red and grey sandstone, topped with plain tile roofs.

The west tower rises in three stages. It features very large stepped diagonal buttresses to the west, with the northern buttress bearing a datestone recording churchwardens Thomas Groome and William Dodkin (though the date and further inscription were illegible at the time of survey in January 1986). The tower has an offset to the belfry with carved gargoyles at the corners, a coved parapet string with carved gargoyles, and a battlemented parapet with moulded coping and crocketed pinnacles, topped by a weathervane. The belfry openings consist of two cinquefoil-headed lights with Y-tracery, double-chamfered reveals, and hoodmould. A second pair of square windows was inserted to the north and south. The first stage contains a chamfered lancet to the south, a small lancet to the west, and a late 19th-century square-headed window to the north with two trefoil-headed lights with hollow-chamfered reveals.

The nave has a parapeted gable to the east with coping, gabled moulded kneelers, and a cross at the apex. The south wall was rebuilt in the late 19th century following the demolition of a two-bay aisle. It features a moulded plinth, chamfered top, and two buttresses. Three late 19th-century windows in 14th-century style contain two trefoil-headed lights with quatrefoil tracery, chamfered reveals, and hoodmoulds with chamfered block stops. The off-centre 12th-century doorway to the left has a roll-moulded round arch and hoodmould, with a 19th-century boarded door with strap hinges.

The north side of the nave features a small 12th-century round-arched window to the left, a central 15th-century square-headed window of three trefoil-headed lights with chamfered reveals, and a late 19th-century window to the right of two trefoil-headed lights with quatrefoil tracery. A 12th-century round-arched doorway is positioned between the first and second windows from the right, with inner roll moulding, one order of shafts with moulded bases and carved leaf capitals, chamfered impost blocks, a roll-moulded outer arch, and remains of hoodmould. The doorway is accompanied by a pair of 19th-century boarded doors with strap hinges.

The stone porch, dated 1593, features a chamfered plinth and parapeted gable with chamfered kneelers, coping, and apex finial. It has a moulded-arched doorway with a pair of 19th-century boarded doors with strap hinges. The returns contain two-light chamfered stone-mullioned windows with leaded lights. The interior of the porch has roof trusses with double-chamfered steeply-cambered tie-beams and side benches.

The chancel shows remains of late 13th or 14th-century work. The south side has a chamfered plinth, a 14th-century window to the right with two trefoiled ogee-headed lights (altered with a square head), and a late 19th-century two-light window to the left with panelled tracery, chamfered reveals, and hoodmould. Evidence of a blocked door or window survives to the left of the central buttress, marked by a section of moulded jamb. The north side contains two buttresses and two small 12th-century round-arched windows, the left one with chamfered reveals. The east end, rebuilt in 1740 at the expense of Andrew Corbet, features a chamfered plinth, diagonal buttresses with chamfered offsets, and a parapeted gable with moulded gabled kneelers, coping, and cross at apex. A three-light window with intersecting tracery, chamfered reveals, and hoodmould with block stops occupies the east end.

The interior displays a probably 17th-century five-bay nave roof consisting of chamfered arch-braced collar trusses with struts above, springing from brackets with billet ornament. Pairs of purlins (the lower set with billet ornament) feature one tier of wind braces. The two-bay chancel roof comprises chamfered arch-braced collar trusses with V-struts springing from scrolled brackets.

The north and south doors have large round rear arches with reset 12th-century masonry above featuring carved chevron ornament. A low blocked chamfered tower arch contains an inserted 19th-century boarded door. A blocked former two-bay south arcade survives with chamfered outer reveals, a central octagonal pier with chamfered base and capital, and double-chamfered arches. Evidence of a former central north door to the nave is visible in the reveals and reused carved stone beneath the central window. A 19th-century double-chamfered arch with inner chamfer springs from small attached three-quarter shafts with a hoodmould with carved stops. The east window has a chamfered rear arch and moulded string carried over as hoodmould. A small chamfered rectangular aumbry is positioned to the north.

Interior fittings include a sanctuary with raised and fielded and plain wainscot panelling forming a reredos with carved panels. A 17th-century communion table features carved bulbous legs and frieze. Mid-18th-century communion rails have turned balusters, square piers with attached half-balusters, and moulded handrail. Late 19th-century pews and lectern complement the fittings. An 18th-century polygonal wooden pulpit stands two panels high with vertical fluting, guilloche ornament, and a panelled base; late 19th-century stairs with turned balusters provide access. A late 19th-century octagonal stone font with chamfered base is accompanied by a probably 17th or 18th-century cover with knob finial. An early 19th-century three-bay west gallery with reeded posts features a late 19th-century boarded door with chamfered reveals leading to the second stage of the tower. A painted Royal coat of arms dated 1808 is displayed, along with a hatchment, a benefactors' board above the north door, and two benefactors' boards in the gallery. Evidence of former painted arcading flanks the east windows.

A plaque on the north wall of the chancel commemorates Andrew Corbet of Moreton Corbet, who as patron rebuilt the chancel end in 1740, and records that Francis Stanier, esquire of Peplow, restored the chancel in 1892. A plaque on the south wall of the nave states that the nave and tower were restored in 1892 with costs defrayed by public subscription.

The church was comprehensively restored in 1891–92 at a cost of £1,350, funded partly by public subscription and partly at the expense of Francis Stanier of Peplow.