Church Of St Andrew

The Church of St Andrew is a parish church with a 14th-century origin, significantly remodelled in the 15th century, restored in 1847, and re-roofed in 1895. It is constructed of flint with ashlar dressings and some brick, with a slate nave roof and a thatched chancel roof. The building comprises a west tower, nave, and chancel.

The four-stage west tower is closely dated to the period 1459-1485. It features a blocked west door with a four-centred arch, ornamented with carved shields and tracery in the spandrels. Above this is a three-light transomed window. The tower has diagonal stepped buttresses with flushwork, and at their bases, nodding ogee statuary niches with pedestals. The ringing chamber has vent holes with carved shields within the tracery, while the belfry windows are two-light and the tower is topped with a crenellated flint parapet. A gabled south porch contains blocked brick side lancets and a double-chamfered entrance arch. A brick niche in the porch gable houses a figure of Christ. There are diagonal buttresses, and the inner door is wave moulded with a hood mould and label stops.

The nave has stepped buttresses between two-light cusped lozenge windows – three on the south side and two on the north. A rood stair is located to the south-east. Diagonal east nave buttresses are present. Stepped side buttresses also define the chancel. The chancel’s south side features two two-light windows, one square-headed and the other depressed-arched. The east side has a three-light 19th-century cusped intersecting window. A single square-headed light is in the chancel’s north wall.

Inside, the tall tower arch has semi-circular responds with polygonal capitals. The 1895 nave roof has arched braces to the collars. An arched rere arch is visible to the south door, and a segmental arch to the north door. The hollow-chamfered chancel arch features semi-circular responds and polygonal capitals. The chancel roof is scissor-braced and boarded, stepped to the east to accommodate the east window. There is a stepped sedilia in the chancel with three hollow-chamfered depressed arches. A font dating from the early 15th century is octagonal and sits on a square stem. The stem is enriched by four crouching animals at its base, from which rise four engaged columns with cusped nodding ogee collars. Between the columns are square cusped and crocketted buttresses. The font bowl has eight winged angel heads at the corners, with panels featuring symbols of the four Evangelists and angels bearing shields.