Church Of St Andrew

The Church of St Andrew is an Anglican church that has its origins in the late Saxon to early Norman period. It was rebuilt in the 16th century, with some internal fittings from the 18th century and some restoration in the 19th century. The church is constructed from random and coursed rubble, with some ashlar and stucco, and features slate roofs with moulded freestone ridges. The architectural style is predominantly Perpendicular, incorporating elements of Norman work and neo-Norman details.

The church consists of a nave, a south porch, a chancel, and a west tower. The slender two-stage tower has an ashlar parapet, corner pinnacles, and a squat stair turret on the lower stage to the north. It includes small two-light bell-chamber openings with ashlar grilles and a small two-light west window. The nave has a two-bay layout with square-headed two-light windows, iron saddle-bars, and stanchions, as well as buttresses to the east.

The gabled porch features a re-used Norman doorway and chancel arch with a semi-circular head adorned with chevron moulding. This doorway is supported by three-quarter spiral-ornamented shafts with two different scallop capitals. One of the capitals incorporates a stone with an inverted incised inscription, believed to be of Saxon origin. Above the arch, there is a 16th-century figure of an angel, and the gable face displays further chevron ornamentation from the same period, with a base for a finial at the apex and kneelers in a neo-Norman style.

Inside the porch, the walls are plastered, and it has a benched flagstone floor. The inner door is ribbed and studded, likely from the 16th century. The nave's interior is also plastered with flagstone floors and features a plastered wagon roof, while the chancel roof was added in the 19th century. Notable interior elements include a Jacobean pulpit, 18th-century box pews, an 18th-century western gallery with coat pegs, and royal arms dated 1726. There are 19th-century choir stalls, altar rails, and an altar table, along with decalogue plaques dated 1817 and nine wall monuments from the 18th and 19th centuries by local firms. The church houses two early bells.

The church is situated in a lonely location, surrounded by the remains of a deserted medieval village, with only the coach house at the rear of The Old Rectory being another early surviving building. The churchyard contains the graves of members of the Scott family, including the mother of the explorer.