Church Of St Andrew

The Church of St Andrew is a parish church largely dating to the 12th, 14th, and 15th centuries, situated in Ilketshall. The structure is built of rubble flint, with patches of old render and coursed rubble at the base of the tower, and has freestone dressings. The roof is covered in plain clay tiles. The round tower has an added octagonal top stage featuring plain arched window openings alternating with traceried flushwork panels designed to resemble two-light windows, topped by a crenellated parapet, also with flushwork. A single Norman slit window is located in the north wall of the nave, and a lancet window is in the north wall of the chancel. The remainder of the windows are primarily two-light Perpendicular style, with some three-light windows in the chancel. Diagonal buttresses are prominent at the east end. A two-story porch, built of Early Tudor red brick, features a moulded depressed arch and diagonal buttresses. The upper portion of the porch is flintwork and includes a reinstated statue of St Andrew above the doorway.

Inside, the church features a flat timber ceiling and a holy water stoup. A turret stair is located in the south-east corner. The north and south doorways are both Norman; the north doorway is plain, while the south doorway has a single order of shafts, cushion capitals, moulded abaci, zig-zag ornamentation around the arch, and a studded door. A pointed early 14th-century tower arch defines the tower’s opening, although there is no chancel arch. Shallow niches are set into the south wall of the nave and below the Norman slit window in the north wall. The arms of Charles II are carved in wood above the tower arch. The church holds a 15th-century octagonal font with shields surrounded by cusped circles, set on a two-tier base with clustered pilasters. The hexagonal pulpit, dating to around 1700, features a shaped base and panels with late Jacobean-style decoration.

The 15th-century nave roof is a nine-bay construction; seven of the common rafters have been replaced. The roof's braced form incorporates solid collars just below the apex, with a hanging central boss and braces to the ridge-piece. The braces, collars, purlins, and wall-posts are moulded, with solid arched braces bearing spandrel carvings along the wall between the trusses. The chancel roof, in four bays, is in a similar style, but appears to be a 19th-century copy. Four pairs of panelled benches from the nave, one dated 1617 with initials S.A., and three early 16th-century benches in the chancel with poppyheads showing Renaissance influence are of note, as is a richly carved 16th-century bench bearing the name John Bonsey. A blocked recess in the south wall of the chancel has a flamboyant ogee arch. The altar rails are 17th-century, with carved balusters and a moulded handrail. A simple piscina with cavetto moulding to the pointed arch is located in the south-east corner. The nave is paved with old floor bricks. The church possesses group value from its historical and architectural significance.