St Andrew'S United Reformed Church

St Andrew's United Reformed Church is a Presbyterian church constructed in 1933, designed by Maxwell Ayrton. It is a red brick building with a red pantile roof. The interior features birch plywood panelling and plain walls.

The church’s plan is characterised by a wide nave leading to a three-sided apse with narrow, low side aisles. A recessed entrance porch is set behind three arches, leading to a deep entrance hall with matching cloakrooms to either side. Staircases on either side lead to a gallery that extends over the entrance and a small narthex. A chapel is located to the southeast, and a corridor connects the church rooms to a 1927 church and halls dating from the 1950s and 1960s; these later additions are not listed. A drive-through porch is positioned behind the east end.

The west facade features a large central lancet window with a stone hood and thin brick voussoirs, flanked by hipped-roof stair towers and a three-arch arcade forming the entrance. The long elevation includes eight recessed lancet windows, similarly detailed with stone hoods and brick voussoirs. A string course of different brick runs along the base of the lancet hoods. The lower side aisles have flat roofs and fixed windows with six and eight lights, each with brick lintels.

Inside, the church has a large, open nave with a raised gallery to the west and low side aisles separated by a colonnade, leading to a raised three-sided apse. The recessed porch opens into a deep entrance hall with a stepped ceiling, and staircases lead to the gallery. A stone dedication plaque is present. The nave walls feature eight recessed lancet windows on each side, while the lower side aisles are sectioned by arched elements. The ceiling over the nave and apse is constructed of birch plywood panels laid to alternating grain, resting on a wooden floor with unfixed seating. Choir stalls, furniture including a raised pulpit with a hood, and panelling in the apse, all dating from the 1950s and designed to match the original scheme, incorporate a four-sided arch motif. Three blind four-sided arch openings are visible on the apse wall. Abstract “jowled” posts feature on the nave aisle colonnade. Light bowls with four sides are positioned between each lancet on the upper wall. The chapel includes a birchwood panel tray ceiling and four-sided arch lancets.

This building represents the first ecclesiastical commission for Maxwell Ayrton, who is more widely known for his concrete bridges. The design uses materials like birch plywood panelling and recurring four-sided arch motifs within a simple building form to create a striking interior space.