Church Of St Andrew

The Church of St Andrew is an Anglican parish church largely dating to the 14th century, with subsequent alterations. It is constructed of roughly cut and squared local grey lias stone with Ham stone dressings, and has a plain clay tiled roof with bands of scallop tiles between stepped coped gables and cross finials. The church’s plan comprises a two-bay chancel, a three-bay nave, a south-east organ chamber projection, a north-end vestry, and a west tower that also serves as a porch.

The chancel was partially rebuilt in the 19th century and features offset corner buttresses. The east window is a 3-light design with early 15th century tracery and a near-triangular head, but lacks a label. A near-triangular arched doorway is located on the north side, adjacent to the projecting vestry, which has a cusped 2-light flat arched window without a label in its north gable. The nave has a 3-light 15th-century traceried window in a hollowed pointed-arched recess flanked by buttresses, except for the south-west corner. The matching south side windows lack buttresses.

The three-stage west tower has angled corner buttresses up to the midway point of the second stage, plinth string courses, and a shallow plain parapet. The west doorway has a moulded 4-centre arch without a label, with a 3-light 14th-century traceried window in a near-triangular arch above. A small statue niche with flanking diagonally set pilasters and a hood mould sits above the window. The tower's lower faces are plain. A low, flat-arched 14th-century window is set on a string course to the south, and on the north side, just the head of a 2-light early 14th-century window remains. The third stage has 2-light windows on all faces in 3 centred arches with cinquefoil cusped lights, likely dating to the 14th century. A blocked opening with a segmental-arched head is visible on the south side. A stair turret on the north-east corner, octagonal in plan, rises above the main tower and incorporates several slit windows, including one quatrefoil and one small rectangular window.

The interior is not accessible. The tower arch is double chamfered and dies into the imposts. There is no furniture of particular interest, although a 17th-century pulpit was previously noted. Originally a minster church of Saxon date, it may have been the Ilchester parish church and is now one of only two surviving medieval churches in the town.