Church Of St Andrew

The Church of St Andrew is a medieval parish church. It dates from the 14th century, with significant additions and alterations extending into the 16th century, and further restoration in 1881 and 1897. The church comprises a nave, chancel, north and south aisles, a west tower, a south porch, and a north vestry. It is constructed of flint rubble with freestone dressings, featuring chequerboard flushwork panels on the parapets and plinth of the aisles and porch. The nave and chancel have plaintiled roofs with parapet gables, while other roofs are flat behind parapets. Several grotesque gargoyles from the 14th and 15th centuries are still present.

The chancel contains Early English features, including a south doorway and two windows with cusped Y-tracery, one with grotesque dripstones. A contemporary window above the south doorway has a wide inner splay, potentially indicating a 12th-century origin. The tower, dating to the late 14th century, has Y-traceried belfry windows, with another window at the west end; funds were bequeathed in 1442 for its completion. Mid-14th century doorways are found on the north and south sides of the nave, the latter retaining its original cross-battened plank door and a small stoup beside it. The porch and aisles were remodelled in the early 15th century, the porch featuring a shafted doorway with an image niche above and tall side windows. The mid-to-late 14th-century nave arcades have piers with trefoiled-headed arches carved beneath octagonal capitals. A small piscina is located in the south aisle. A good late 14th-century east window illuminates the chancel.

The chancel roof, dating from around 1500, is a 5-bay construction with arch-braced collarbeam trusses, moulded and embattled beams, and a deep cornice with shallow mouldings. Early paintwork is visible in the end bay over the sanctuary. The nave and aisle roofs were rebuilt in the 19th century, with one truss near the chancel arch carved with the date 1897. A vestry was added in the early 16th century, exhibiting a casement-moulded doorway, an original oak plank door, and a brick-arched fireplace. The vestry was restored in 1748, as indicated by a carved beam on the roof. A good 15th-century font has evangelists in sunk panels around the bowl and a panelled stem with carved creatures on the chamfered corners. Poppyhead benches are found in both aisles, in sets of seven and eight, each featuring carved creatures. There are three sets of late 14th-century choirstalls, including two of three seats and one of two, featuring traditional patterns and delicately carved misericord figures. A monument of 1626 is located in the nave, featuring a deep ogee-headed crown with obelisks and visible painted decoration, including a skeletal figure of Time with an hourglass and sickle, and the date 1626. Fragments of medieval glass remain, particularly at the heads of south chancel and south aisle windows. Several marble slabs with brass sinkings are found in the nave and aisles, alongside later slabs from the 16th to early 19th centuries in the chancel floor.