Church Of St Andrew

Church of St Andrew, South Shoebury

This small parish church comprises a 12th-century nave and chancel, to which were added a 14th-century west tower and 15th-century south porch. The church was founded as a chapel of nearby Prittlewell priory, probably in the early 12th century when the present church was built.

The exterior is constructed of ragstone rubble with Reigate and other limestone dressings, except for the tower which is built of flint rubble. The roof is tiled. The tower, which lacks a spire, has an embattled parapet renewed in the 18th century using brick.

The chancel retains a 12th-century window in its north wall with a diapered monolithic head and additional block with diapering above it. The chancel east window dates from around 1400 and has vertical tracery. A 13th-century lancet appears in the chancel south wall to the west of the vestry, and a 13th-century mask corbel to the west of the chancel south window may once have supported a pent roof. The nave north wall contains a 15th-century window with carved headstops, and the 12th-century north doorway has a round head of one plain order with moulded imposts. The nave south wall displays three windows: a small 14th-century window of two traceried lights set low in the wall with a small 13th-century lancet of trefoiled head above it, and a two-light 15th-century window further west. The 14th-century west tower window has star-shaped tracery above two trefoiled lights. The bell stage features a 14th-century trefoiled opening on the west, and 18th-century brick-headed openings to north and south.

The restored 15th-century south porch is timber-framed with a two-centred outer opening having carved spandrels with an unusual knotted net pattern and heraldry. The gable displays cusped bargeboards. The 12th-century south door has two orders: the inner is plain, the outer decorated with billet ornament and attached shafts.

The 15th-century south-east vestry was added by Sir Charles Nicholson during his restorations of 1894-1902. It is rendered and has a round-headed east door with small east and west windows, roofed separately to the chancel.

Interior

The interior is plastered and painted except in the tower where masonry is exposed. The mid-12th-century chancel arch is round-headed with two orders: the inner displays chevron ornament on plain responds, the outer is moulded and supported on attached shafts with one scalloped and one cushion capital. The moulded imposts carry diaper ornament.

The church is particularly notable for its 13th-century altar recesses adjoining the chancel arch. These recesses, of different dates, are accompanied by additional recesses in the eastern part of the nave wall on each side, providing space for altars without the expense of adding aisles. The south recess is early 13th-century and contemporary with the adjacent recess in the south nave wall; a 14th-century window is set within it. Both south recesses have attached keeled shafts with moulded capitals on their outer sides and a central corbel with moulded capital. The north recess is lower and dates from the late 13th-century; it has a bell corbel on the north which also carried the arch of the now-altered recess in the north nave wall. The 15th-century rood loft stair, with upper and lower doors, survives in the north nave wall, partially cutting the north-east recess. A medieval door of uncertain date leads from the chancel to the south-east vestry. A 12th-century window, similar to that in the north wall, is visible internally in the chancel and vestry.

The 14th-century tower arch comprises two chamfered orders that die into the walls. The chancel roof has 15th-century moulded wall plates. The nave features a 15th-century crown post roof with moulded tie beams and moulded, embattled wall plates. The curved braces to the tie beams have carved spandrels, and the crown posts have moulded capitals and bases.

The principal fittings date from the 19th century, probably mostly from W Slater's 1857 restoration, and include a timber pulpit and lectern, simple nave benches and choir stalls, and an altar with riddel posts topped with angels and altar rails with trefoiled arches.

The church contains fine 19th and 20th-century glass. The nave south (small window) likely dates from around 1852 and is probably by O'Connor; the larger south window by Powell and Sons dates from 1858; the nave north window by Cox, Sons, Buckley and Co. dates from 1881; the chancel south window by W F Dixon is late 19th-century; and the chancel east window by Margaret Thompson dates from 1949.

History and Restorations

The 13th-century altar recesses reflect the church's medieval layout, allowing additional altars without constructing aisles. The tower was added and the church given new windows during the 14th century. The 15th century saw significant refurbishment: the roofs were rebuilt, the rood loft stair constructed, and the east window installed. The south porch also dates from this period. The tower parapet was renewed in the 18th century, and brick repairs around the belfry window on the north side may indicate damage requiring repair.

The church was restored and re-seated in 1857 to designs by W Slater, and underwent further restoration from 1894 to 1902 by Sir Charles Nicholson (1867-1949), a leading church architect of the late 19th and early 20th centuries who served as consulting architect to many cathedrals and dioceses, including the Diocese of Chelmsford.