Church Of St Andrew

SP15NE 8/26 11/12/69

WILMCOTE CHURCH ROAD (West side) Church of St. Andrew

GV II

Small church. 1840-42. Attributed to William Butterfield (VCH), but attribution not accepted by Paul Thompson. Built for the Knottesford Fortescue family. Regular coursed lias with limestone ashlar dressings. Tile roofs with coped gables. Aisled nave and chancel, north vestry. Early English style. 4-bay nave, 2-bay chancel. Angle buttresses and lancets with continuous hood moulds throughout. Chancel has triple east lancets with string course at sill, and quatrefoil above. Buttresses with gablets. Gable has foliated cross. Single south window. Roof has corbel table. Small north door in lean-to porch with east window. South aisle has 4 windows and east window; north aisle has 3 north windows only. Nave and chancel roof in one; aisles have lean-to roofs of same pitch, but slightly lower. West entrance between 2 lancets has chamfered arched doorway with stilted outer arch, and plank door with ironwork. String course at sill level continued up over door as gable with stiff-leaf finial. Pointed elliptical window above has moulded surround. Gable has small louvred wood bellcote. Far-projecting vestry, possibly a later addition, at right angles to north aisle, has west door with hood mould continued across wall. North window. Blank east wall of imitation ashlar cement. Interior: Plastered or whitewashed walls. Chancel has 2 pairs of sedilia. Small elaborate niche and bracket on north wall has trefoiled arch with shafts and gable, and bracket supported on stiff-leaves clasped in a hand. Elaborate painting, stencilling and gilding on every surface, including panelled wagon roof. Encaustic tile paving. Chancel arch on short colonette corbels. Nave has 4-bay arcade of 2 chamfered orders and round piers with 4 fillets. West internal porch, gallery overt west arch and west wall of aisles elaborately painted and stencilled. Queen strut roof with arched braces on colonnette corbels. Narrow aisles, lower than arcade. Walls covered with scenes from the life of Christ painted in monochrome on zinc sheets, said to have been painted by the incumbent c.1870. Fittings: Arcaded stone altar. Carved stone pulpit with later monochrome paintings c.1870. Cylindrical stone font with carved interlace ornament, and elaborate ironwork on lid. Stained glass: East window c.1857, south aisle east mid C19; good quality medieval style work. Sculpture: Flemish relief of c.1520 (Buildings of England) on west wall. A good, very largely complete example of a Tractarian-influenced church interior. (V.C.H.: Warwickshire, Vol.III, p. ; Buildings of England: Harwicksfiire, pp.473-471; Paul Thompson: William Butterfield, p.56).

Listing NGR: SP1638657892