Parish Church Of St Andrew

This parish church dates mainly from the 14th century and was restored in the 19th century. It is built of flint rubble, partly cement rendered, with dressings of limestone and clunch, and roofed with lead and handmade red clay tiles.

The nave dates from around 1330 and was altered later in the 14th century. The chancel was built around 1340. Both north and south aisles date from around 1330 and were altered later in the 14th century. The west tower is possibly of 12th-century origin but was rebuilt later in the 14th century. The south porch is late 14th century, and there is a combined north vestry and organ chamber from the 19th century.

The Chancel

The chancel has an east window of around 1340, restored, with five lights. The middle light is cinquefoiled and the others trefoiled, with 19th-century tracery under a two-centred head. The jambs, splays, mullions, rear-arch and labels are moulded, and the internal label has head-stops.

In the north wall at the east end is a 14th-century window, restored, of one trefoiled light with a moulded label. Further west is the 19th-century door to the vestry and the 19th-century arch of the organ chamber.

The south wall contains two windows: the eastern is similar to that in the north wall; the western dates from around 1340, restored, and has two trefoiled ogee lights with a quatrefoil under a segmental-pointed head. The detail is similar to that of the east window.

The 14th-century chancel arch is two-centred, with two wave-moulded orders on the west side and one chamfered and one wave-moulded order on the east side, blending into responds of two chamfered orders. There are moulded labels on both sides. South of the arch is a plain squint with a shallow ogee head. The roof is of seven cants, boarded to the soffits in the 19th century.

Reset in the east wall of the north vestry is a window of around 1340, restored, similar to the south-west window of the chancel but with one headstop.

The Nave

The nave has 14th-century north and south arcades of three bays, irregularly spaced. The two-centred arches are of two wave-moulded orders with moulded labels and carved stops, much defaced. The piers each have four quarter-shafts with keeled rolls between, with moulded bases and capitals. The responds have attached half-columns.

The clerestorey has on each side three late 14th-century windows, each of two cinquefoiled lights with tracery under a square head. Those on the north side have three-centred rear-arches; those on the south side have internal lintels and are restored externally. Below the sills internally is a moulded string-course. There are crenellated brick parapets.

The low-pitched roof is in three bays with cranked tiebeams, intermediate tiebeams, ridge and two through-purlins. The main tiebeams are on wallpieces with arched braces of four-centred curvature, mounted on moulded and crenellated corbels. Five corbels are of wood and three of stone, one of the latter having a carved head. The rafters are plain and of horizontal section. Hewett describes this roof as early Perpendicular, while the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments dates it to the early 17th century.

The North Aisle

The north aisle has in the north wall two late 14th-century windows. The eastern is of three cinquefoiled lights with tracery under a square head with moulded labels. The jambs, mullions and head are moulded, and the internal label has defaced angel-stops. The western window is similar but of two lights.

Further west is the early 14th-century north doorway with jambs and a two-centred head of two orders, the inner moulded and the outer chamfered, with moulded labels. In the west wall is an early 14th-century window, restored, of two cinquefoiled ogee lights with a quatrefoil in a two-centred head. The rear-arch and moulded internal label are four-centred, probably reset. The low-pitched roof is plain.

The South Aisle

The south aisle is wider than the north aisle and appears to have been widened in the late 14th century. In the east wall is a 14th-century window of three cinquefoiled lights with leaf tracery in a two-centred head, with a moulded internal label. Below the sill is a reset string course of the 13th century, mutilated.

In the south wall are two early 14th-century windows altered in the late 14th century and restored. They are of two cinquefoiled ogee lights with a quatrefoil in a four-centred head, with moulded internal labels. The western window has moulded internal and external reveals.

Further west is the late 14th-century south doorway with moulded jambs and a two-centred arch in a square head, all moulded, with a moulded label. The cusped spandrels each have a plain shield. The late 14th-century two-fold doors are richly carved in the solid, each fold in two bays with quarter-round surround and rib and blind tracery, on simple portcullis rear frames with a wrought-iron drop-handle.

In the west wall is an early 14th-century window reset in the late 14th century, of two cinquefoiled ogee lights with a quatrefoil in a four-centred head. The low-pitched roof retains some 14th-century moulded timbers at the west end but is otherwise around 1600 and 19th century, plain. Both aisles have crenellated brick parapets.

The West Tower

The west tower is of three stages with a moulded plinth. The ground stage has clasping buttresses which may indicate a 12th-century origin, but the remainder is late 14th century. The upper buttresses are diagonal.

The late 14th-century tower-arch is two-centred, of two moulded orders on the east and two hollow-chamfered orders on the west. The outer order is continuous; the inner order springs from attached semi-circular shafts with moulded capitals and bases.

The west window is late 15th century, restored, of three cinquefoiled lights with tracery under a two-centred head. The south and west walls of the second stage each have a late 14th-century small square quatrefoiled window. The bell-chamber has in the north wall a late 14th-century window of one cinquefoiled light; the other walls each have a late 14th-century window of two cinquefoiled lights with a quatrefoil in a two-centred head.

The second stage of the tower has a contemporary floor with double hollow-chamfered beams framed round a square bell-way. There is a crenellated brick parapet and low-pitched roof (not examined), with a weathervane pierced with the initials SH and the date 1687.

The South Porch

The late 14th-century south porch has an elaborately moulded two-centred outer arch under a square head, each spandrel having a blank shield in a quatrefoil, with a moulded label. The responds have clustered shafts with moulded capitals. The east and west walls each have a window of two trefoiled lights.

Inside, the east window is flanked by blind lights under a common square head; the west window has one similar blind light, the other unfinished or blocked. The moulded label of the east window has defaced head-stops. The late 14th-century low-pitched roof has moulded tiebeams and purlins with carved bosses of foliage, grotesques, and six shields of arms (one restored).

Fittings

There are five bells: the second by Charles Newman, 1690; the third and fourth by Richard Bowler, 1601.

On the east wall of the chancel is a brass to William Bigge of Redfans, 1616, and Susanna his wife, 1615, with skull and texts, two shields and inscription, in a moulded frame.

In the north aisle is a coffin-lid of Purbeck marble, probably 14th century, much broken and defaced.

The communion rail is late 17th century with a moulded rail, twisted balusters and square posts.

The font is of clunch, 15th century. The hexagonal bowl has cusped and panelled faces, with alternate panels each having two shields of arms. The stem has trefoil-headed panels between square buttresses.

There is 14th-century glass in the tracery of the east window showing foliage, lions and shields of arms; in the north-west window of the north aisle, two heads of canopies; and in the east window of the south aisle, tabernacle work and shields of arms. There is also a fragment of 15th-century glass in the west window of the tower.

Tombs and Monuments

In the south wall of the chancel is an altar tomb with a restored front and a Purbeck marble slab with an indent of a woman's figure. It has a crocketed canopy, side pinnacles, and a recess with a four-centred cusped and sub-cusped arch having carved spandrels and an ogee crocketed and finialled label with a pierced and traceried main spandrel. There are buttressed and crocketed pinnacles at the sides and a crenellated main cornice enriched with carved heads of one woman and three men. Below are two cusped panels with shields of arms, re-cut. All is late 14th century.

In the north wall of the north aisle is a tomb recess with a cinquefoiled and sub-cusped two-centred arch, having a crocketed and finialled ogee label and traceried spandrels. There are side shafts with diagonal buttresses having crocketed heads to off-sets (the left shaft partly missing) and a horizontal moulded cornice, all around 1360.

In the south wall of the south aisle is an altar tomb with five shields of arms and a Purbeck marble slab with an indistinct indent. It has a crocketed and finialled ogee label and traceried spandrel, crocketed side-pinnacles with panelled and crocketed buttresses, a horizontal main cornice and carved sprigs of foliage, all around 1340, damaged.

Other Fittings

There are two piscinae: one in the chancel with a cinquefoiled ogee head and octofoil drain, 14th century; and one in the south wall of the south aisle with moulded jambs and a trefoiled head with a defaced label and drain, 13th century, reset.

Under the chancel arch is a wooden screen with a two-fold door, of three bays on each side. The upper panels all have trefoiled traceried heads. The posts are buttressed, with a moulded cornice and close lower panels. In the lower panel on the north side are two trefoil-headed piercings and over them two quatrefoil piercings in the middle rail, all late 14th century, restored.

In the chancel are three sedilia with octagonal shafts and shafted jambs, with moulded capitals and bases, moulded two-centred heads, trefoiled and sub-cusped, with a moulded label and square outer label, 14th century, restored.