Church Of St Andrew

The Church of St Andrew is a parish church, formerly a college for priests, dating back to the 13th century. It underwent significant alterations and additions in the 15th century, with subsequent restorations in 1645, 1848, and 1878-99. The church is constructed of dressed mixed red, pink, and cream sandstone, featuring string courses, a parapet, angle buttresses with finials, and a chamfered plinth. The roofs are covered with graduated greenslate, incorporating coped gables and cross finials.

The church comprises a square west tower, an aisled nave with a south porch and priest's chamber (now a vestry), and a chancel. The west tower was rebuilt in 1848 with three stages, displaying a pointed doorway and small trefoil-headed windows, all under hoodmoulds. It is topped by a battlemented parapet with angle water spouts. The north aisle has a pointed arched doorway, while the wall above has been rebuilt in the 19th century. Three of the original four Perpendicular windows were replaced at this time. The east window of the north aisle is five-light. The south aisle is largely from the 15th century, featuring a round-arched doorway within a gabled stone porch. A blocked round-arched central doorway suggests a former chantry chapel. Large three-light windows, a small Tudor window over the porch, and two-light Tudor windows above the priest's chamber, all under a continuous hoodmould, are also notable. A projecting round angle turret is present at the priest’s chamber. The chancel has an inscription detailing repairs carried out in 1645 by Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel and Surrey, and W. Morland, and a further restoration in 1848 by Henry Howard and Henry Askew. It also contains a five-light east window.

Internally, the church boasts a 19th-century open timber roof. Six-bay arcades with pointed arches are present, the eastern arches being larger, originally intended for transepts, while the remaining arches are supported by round piers replaced in 1817-18. A wall plaque commemorates William Williams (1679). The north aisle displays a hatchment featuring Howard arms. A stained-glass window by Kempe from 1901 is also present. Remains of a rood stair are visible. The south aisle holds various 17th, 18th, and 19th-century wall plaques, a piscina, an alabaster effigy of William Lord Greystoke (1359), and an alabaster effigy of John Lord Greystoke (1436), alongside four 16th-century brasses originally located in the chancel. Two four-light, flat-headed windows look into the aisle from the upper floor of the priest's chamber. The interior of the priest's chamber includes a piscina and a 15th-century fireplace, a newel with a squint, and several hatchments and stained-glass windows. The three-bay chancel features 14th-century stained glass set within the east window. Panelled oak chair stalls with misericords and a partly 15th-century rood screen are also present. Restored north tomb recess, south piscina, and sedilia date to 1848, and various inscribed shields in the north wall relate to the College of Greystoke, alongside further 19th-century stained glass.