Church Of St Andrew

The Church of St Andrew is an Anglican parish church located in Curry Rivel. It dates back to the 13th century, with significant elements from the 15th century, and was restored in the 19th century. The church is constructed from blue lias and Ham stone, topped with lead sheeting roofs, and showcases predominantly Perpendicular architectural style.

The layout includes a nave, chancel, north and south aisles, a south porch, and north and south chapels, along with a west tower. The tower was rebuilt in 1861 and features three stages, an embattled parapet, set-back buttresses, and tall transomed bell-chamber openings adorned with Somerset-type tracery. A quatrefoil frieze runs along the foot of the bell stage. The west doorway is decorated with traceried spandrels, and there is a statue in a niche on the south side, as well as a clock with Roman numerals made by E Dent and Co in 1860.

The south facade is particularly striking, featuring richly cusped transomed four-light windows and battlements. There is an 18th-century brass attached to the southeast buttress. The east window of the south chapel also has a quatrefoil frieze at its foot. The porch includes a fan-vaulted ceiling and a stoup. The interior was refitted in 1861 and includes arcades with piers of four-hollow section, 16th-century bench ends with poppy heads, and carved heads above the chancel and tower arches. The pulpit dates from 1863, while the north aisle boasts a 15th-century roof. There are 19th-century memorials, and the northeast window was restored in 1893, featuring glass from 1930.

The chapels contain 15th-century parclose screens and covings with carved ribs. The north chapel includes work from the 13th and 14th centuries, with tomb recesses featuring effigies of a knight and children, and walls that show traces of earlier openings. The windows have decorated rere-arches and a piscina. A classical tomb for Robert Jennings, who died in 1593, features columns and a canopy, alongside 17th and 18th-century floor slabs and a 17th-century altar table. The chancel was shortened in the 18th century and re-roofed with a barrel vault, featuring an aumbry with a linen-fold door. The large Jennings tomb, dating to around 1625, separates the chancel from the north chapel and includes two figures, a coffered arch canopy with a crest, and railings. The south chapel has a piscina and notable memorials on the east wall dedicated to the Powell family, along with a 20th-century east window.

The tower features a fan-vault and a panelled tower arch, with the west window dating from 1868. The south aisle has a 15th-century roof and some early glass in the west window, along with the Royal Arms of King Charles II. The church houses bells from the 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.