Church Of St Andrew

The Church of St Andrew is a parish church dating back to the 13th century, with significant additions and alterations in the 15th century. It is located on Church Road in Marlesford. The church is constructed primarily of coursed flint with stone dressings, featuring red brick repairs to the porch. The roof is slated over the nave and covered with plaintiles and crest tiles over the chancel.

A square, four-stage west tower is prominent, with the lower stages dating to the 13th century and the upper stage to the 15th. It has diagonal buttresses to the west face and a crenellated parapet decorated with flushwork in a lozenge pattern. A string course with carved heads is found at the corner and centre of each face of the tower, with another string course at a third stage level. The bell chamber has 2-light openings with square hood moulds, and the west face features a 2-light window with Y tracery.

The nave, south aisle and porch are of 15th-century origin, with the windows substantially restored in the 19th century. A stone sanctus bell cote sits atop the east end of the nave roof. The south porch has two tiers of flushwork panels on the front, a stone parapet with wavy tracery, and an arched doorway with carved shields in the spandrels. Above the doorway is an empty, ogee-headed niche. The chancel’s south wall has a Priest’s doorway and two 2-light windows (14th and 15th century, both renewed). The late 14th-century east window is also of three lights and has been renewed. The north wall of the chancel contains two 2-light windows with Y tracery, also largely renewed.

The nave features a 15th-century arch-braced roof, containing carved collar beams and a wall plate across six bays. The south aisle has a two-bay arcade with piers made from reused 12th-century material supporting a 15th-century roof. The octagonal font, also 15th century, has two shallow recessed arched and cusped panels to each face, covered with a modern pyramidal cover. A 17th-century pulpit displays finely carved arabesque work. Within the chancel are six 19th-century benches with traceried ends and traditional poppyheads. A 19th-century box pew is located in the west end of the south aisle, and a hatchment hangs on the wall above. Framed copies of the Commandments are displayed on either side of the east window. 19th-century stained glass is found in the east window and two north nave windows, while a mid-20th century etched glass window is located in the south aisle, dedicated to the Schreiber family.

A monument on the north chancel wall is dedicated to William Alston (died 1641) and features two busts surrounded by wreaths within classical frames. Two further monuments on the north nave wall commemorate Lemuel Shuldham (died 1815 at Waterloo) and William Abraham Shuldham (died 1850), both consisting of stone tablets on marble slabs. The church is designated Grade I for its surviving medieval fabric.