Church Of St Andrew Including Walls, Railings And Gates

The Church of St Andrew, including its surrounding walls, railings, and gates, was built between 1827 and 1828. It was later enlarged in 1882 with the addition of a chancel, and partially refitted in 1925. The architect was Sir Charles Barry, with subsequent work by his son, Edward Middleton Barry, and embellishments by W.H. Randoll Blacking. The church is constructed in an Italianate style, with an ashlar-faced west front and exposed brick elsewhere, the roof concealed behind a parapet.

The original plan comprised a rectangular space with a west gallery. Later additions include a domed crossing, transepts, an apsidal chancel, a domed south-east chapel, and a north-east vestry, all lit in the Italianate style. The west front is unlit, featuring a rusticated facade with Corinthian pilaster quoins and paired pilasters supporting a plain entablature with a moulded cornice; a central round-headed opening is flanked by blind niches. The paired pilasters extend to form the plinth of a single-stage bell turret in the form of a rusticated tempietto, topped with a modillion moulded cornice and 2-light round-headed bell openings with a scalloped lead roof. A clock face is positioned below the bell openings, which are on three sides, with a ventilation grill below the plinth. A pilaster doorcase to the left leads to the crypt. The main entrance features a recessed porch with doorways on the returns, and a central 3-light opening with a pierced metal grill; the floor is tessellated. Handsome cast-iron double gates provide access, and cast-iron railings are set in a dwarf wall with moulded coping, extending along the street frontage with double gates to the crypt.

Inside, the church is rendered with a coved ceiling, pilaster bands, and a cornice. The crossing dome is painted blue with columns. At the west end, below the gallery, is a white marble font with a Greek Revival-style cover, installed during the 1925 refitting, along with bronze altar rails. A sounding board accompanies the 1918-donated pulpit. A late 19th-century brass lectern and a Wrenaissance-style wooden organ case from 1889 are also present. Late 19th-century pews are fitted with glass screen backs to the most westerly row. Stained glass includes a lunette in the apse and two windows in the south transept; much of the glass was removed during the 1920s to increase natural light. Consequently, most wall tablets were relocated to the narthex, with the exception of those commemorating Lord Charles Somerset (died 1831) and Sir George Dallas (died 1833), by Ternouth. The narthex also contains a stone stair to the gallery and a collection of white marble monuments. The crypt below the church is reported to contain numerous coffins. Constructed to serve the inhabitants of Brunswick Square, the church was patronized by members of the Royal family and aristocracy in the early 19th century. The church is notable as the first example of the use of the Italianate style in England.