Church Of St Andrew

Church of St Andrew

This church was built in 1883-84 by Sir Arthur Blomfield in the Early English style. It is constructed of Kentish ragstone with Bath stone dressings, and features slate roofs with cresting to the ridge.

The building comprises an aisled nave, a chancel with a lower roof line, north and south transepts, and a spirelet to the east of the south transept. A south porch and west front complete the plan.

The west front presents a flat facade relieved by stepped angle buttresses. A central doorway has a simple moulded hood with foliate stops, set beneath a canopy marked by moulded dripstone and flanked by pierced finials. Above this are three two-light y-traceried lancets, the central light being taller, with foliated rondels to each side. The whole is set beneath a flush ragstone arch with a Bath stone band beneath it, terminating in small foliate stops. Horizontal Bath stone bands appear to left and right, with an apex cross crowning the composition. A doorway with moulded hood is positioned at the west end of the north aisle, and a plain lancet at the west end of the south aisle.

The five-bay nave has plain aisle lancets, paired between stepped buttresses and linked by a flush stone band at springing level. A single lancet appears to the left of the porch. The south porch features left and right paired lancets with plain stone dressings, stepped angle buttresses with triangular finials, and a simply moulded arched entrance with a vesica above bearing a figure. Four paired clerestory windows with a single window to the east have two-lights beneath a cusped circle, with plain stone dressings and ragstone pilasters between them. A short sanctuary has a single lancet to the south and a five-light east window.

The south transept has plain set-back buttresses to each face and a three-light plate tracery window beneath a slightly depressed arched head with simple chamfered moulding. An encircled trefoil appears to left and right of the taller central light, with an entrance to the left. A polygonal spirelet acts as the bell tower, with openings to each face and a leaded roof.

The interior is richly decorated, in marked contrast to the simple exterior. The five-bay nave and single chancel bay feature quadrate piers with tall moulded bases and scroll-moulded capitals. The arcade has double chamfered orders. A five-and-a-half bay king post roof covers the nave, while the chancel roof is boarded. Three-stage sedilia and piscina are incorporated into the decorative scheme. Wall decoration by Heaton, Butler and Bayne was executed gradually after the church's consecration. The nave walls represent characters from the Old and New Testaments, whilst the reredos depicts the crucifixion and the Apostles. Most decoration is applied directly to the walls, though some panels on canvas are set into the scheme, particularly in the chancel, sanctuary and north transept. A World War I memorial was added to the west wall.

Stained glass features prominently. The north aisle contains eight windows dated 1886-1902 by Heaton, Butler and Bayne. The south aisle retains fragments of glass by the same artists, though it was substantially destroyed during World War II. A single lancet to the east wall depicts St Andrew, while the north side of the chancel has windows of the Archangel Gabriel and two baptistry windows, also by Heaton, Butler and Bayne. North clerestory windows dating to around 1918 are by Burlison and Grylls, as is the west window, which serves as a war memorial. The east window dates to 1951 and is by William Wilson.

The rear of the nave retains original seating. A square marble font on multiple piers originally stood at the west end of the nave but was re-sited in 1891 and enclosed by a metal screen in 1920. The canopy is a later addition.