Church Of St Andrew

An Anglican parish church dating from the 12th century, subsequently altered and enlarged in the Perpendicular style under the will of John Camber, a wool merchant of Worcester who died in 1497. The church underwent restoration in 1891 by Waller.

The building comprises a nave with a projecting south porch, south transept abutting the right wall of the porch, a crossing tower, north transept, and chancel. The south and east walls of the chancel are constructed in limestone rubble, while the north wall uses coursed squared and dressed limestone. The nave north wall is limestone rubble, with the west end in coursed squared limestone and the south wall in coursed squared and dressed limestone. A stone slate roof covers the building.

The south transept features three lancets in its gable end and a Perpendicular two-light hollow-chamfered east window with carved spandrels. A stone gutter runs along the west wall with a gargoyle at the gable end. The nave south wall contains, from left to right: a small round-headed window with moulded surround, carved spandrels and stopped hood; a flat-chamfered round-headed priest's doorway with a 19th to 20th century plank door and strap hinges; a lancet with stepped reveal; a two-light Decorated window with stopped hood towards the east end; and a Perpendicular three-light window with cinquefoil-headed lights and two vesicas at the east end. The positions of lancets and Decorated windows are repeated on the north wall, suggesting lengthening of the chancel in the 14th century.

The north transept has diagonal buttresses and features a Perpendicular two-light hollow-chamfered east window and a Perpendicular two-light north window with cinquefoil-headed lights, tracery and a dagger at the apex, with a stopped hood. The stones forming the jambs are numbered in Roman numerals. The nave north wall contains, from left to right: a 19th century two-light stone-mullioned window with cinquefoil-headed lights within a rectangular surround, inserted in a former north doorway and copying a similar window in the south wall; a blocked trefoil-headed window; and at the west end, 12th century pilaster buttresses with a central buttress interrupted by a hollow-moulded two-light window with cinquefoil-headed lights. Another two-light stone-mullioned window with cinquefoil-headed lights and stopped hood appears in the nave south wall.

The tower comprises three stages in Perpendicular style with an octagonal stair turret at its south-east corner. Two-light windows appear on each side of the second stage, while the belfry stage has similar windows with stone louvres on each side, separated by strings between stages. The tower is topped with a battlemented parapet. The porch, dating from the Perpendicular enlargement, features a tall Tudor-arched entrance with pierced quatrefoils in the spandrels and a hood with carved rose stops. Stone bench seats occupy the interior of the porch, which has a red tile floor. A 19th century plank door with a flat stone lintel sits above a band of 12th century chevron decoration. The remains of a stoup with an ogee-arched head stand to the right of the door. Parapets with strings below extend to the north and south transepts. The chancel has a slightly stepped gable end coping with an ornate 19th century cross finial.

Internally, the crossing is defined by flat-chamfered pointed arches on each side. The south-west and north-west corners of the tower are supported within the crossing by flying buttresses extending from the west walls of the transepts. A lierne vault with angel corbels at each corner and a central circular bell opening spans the crossing. The nave roof comprises 3½ bays with late 15th century work featuring seven-facetted trusses and moulded tie beams. The three-bay chancel roof has arched-braced trusses over the sanctuary with a brattished wallplate. A narrow pointed doorway with flat-chamfered surround connects the south transept to the tower. An Early English arcade occupies the east window position. A passage squint from the south transept is roofed with a former mensa bearing five consecration crosses. The sanctuary has a red tile floor, with some Decorated encaustic tiling present in the crossing, chancel and nave sanctuary.

The church contains several important fittings. An octagonal limestone and marble font dated 1892 stands inside the south door, decorated with angels on four sides. A 19th century screen spans the west end of the nave, while a 17th century font occupies a position adjacent to the south-west pier supporting the tower. Nineteenth century pews and a wooden pulpit on a stone base sit at the north-east corner of the crossing.

Monuments in the church include, in the chancel south wall, a monument to John Hinksman (died 1828) comprising a white marble sarcophagus on a grey background, and a brass to John Camber (died 1497) set into a later limestone plaque below. A wooden memorial to Anna, wife of Ioannis Avrigaris, features gold lettering on a black background within a moulded frame highlighted in gold. A stone monument records the death of Guilielm Candelary of Senhampton in 1652 and his wife Eleanor. The north wall contains numerous monuments, from left to right: a shield-shaped brass plaque with Latin inscription to John and Robert Lawrence (died 1658) with English verse below; a painted stone monument to Joseph Hinksman (died 1740) and family members with a segmental-headed top decorated with foliation; a white marble monument to John Hinksman (died 1774), Margaret his wife (died 1819), and other family members; and three brass plaques including a shield-shaped plaque to Robert Lawrence (died 1688) with verse, a rectangular plaque to William Lawrence, son of Anthony Culpepper Lawn (died 1693), and a shield-shaped plaque to Robert Lawrence, Lord of Sevenhampton Manor (died 1700). Further monuments commemorate William Morris of Sevenhampton Court (died 1834) and Walter Lawrence (died 1810), late of the manors of Sevenhampton and Brockhampton. The south transept contains a white on black marble monument to Reverend John Craven (died 1804) and a large grey marble monument to Sir William Dodwell of Sevenhampton (died 1727) and his wives. The nave north wall displays a grey marble monument to Thomas Longford (died 1770) with details of his bread benefaction on a similar plaque below. A royal coat of arms appears on the south wall. Late 19th century stained glass occupies the east window and lancets in the south wall, while early 20th century stained glass fills the east window of the south transept and the north and east windows of the north transept.