Church of St Andrew and St Patrick

The Church of St Andrew and St Patrick is a medieval church, extensively restored and altered across several periods. The earliest parts date back to the 12th century, with significant changes made in 1869, followed by major alterations between 1904 and 1906 and again in 1922 by W.D. Caröe for Edward Guiness, first Viscount Iveagh. The original building comprised a chancel (now the chapel of St Andrew), a nave (now the south aisle), a west tower, and a south porch. Later additions include a nave, chancel, organ chamber, vestry, and west porch (in 1904), and a free-standing bell tower linked to the south chapel by a cloister (in 1922).

The church is constructed of flint rubble with limestone dressings, and has Cotswold slate roofs with parapet gables. The medieval nave retains a 12th-century core, incorporating a blocked lancet window in the north wall and another reset from the south wall. Two windows were inserted in the mid-14th century, while two hood-moulded, square-headed windows and the south porch were added in the 15th century, all heavily restored in 1869. The west tower, dating from around 1421, is in three stages, featuring a blank-traceried flushwork base, crenellated parapets with pinnacles, mask gargoyles, and a two-light west window. A simple 14th-century angle piscina and dropped-cill sedilia are also present. The medieval roofs were renewed in 1904; the nave now features a richly-carved tie-beam roof with king and queen posts. Caröe’s work develops the Perpendicular style, but incorporates many original features. There is much heavily-carved and embellished ashlar work, including distinctive buttresses, gargoyles, and elliptical arch forms.

Figures of Saints Andrew, Patrick, and others adorn the porch and parapets on the south and west sides. The nave roof is richly carved, featuring a double-hammer beam design crowded with tiers of angels. The organ, pulpit, and choir stalls are also heavily carved. The altar reredos, made of alabaster, is based on that at St. Alban's Abbey and depicts the Supper at Emmaus, surrounded by niches containing the twelve apostles and figures of saints. An octagonal font, also of carved alabaster, is another notable feature.

There is a significant collection of good 19th- and 20th-century stained glass, including an east chapel window by Kempe, commissioned for Prince Frederick Duleep Singh of Elveden Hall, and a south window by Clayton and Bell. The 1922 south tower and cloister are built of ashlar in the Perpendicular style, with vaulted stone ceilings; the tower features good flushwork and crenellated parapets.