Church of Saint Andrew

Church of Saint Andrew

A parish church of red sandstone rubble with grouted slate roofs (slate to chancel), comprising a nave, chancel, a tower added to the north side of the nave with a porch added later in the angle to the tower, and a northeast chapel added to the left of the tower.

The tower is tall and dominant, battered with a corbelled flat parapet and plain two-light rectangular louvred bell-lights, blocked on the south. The north side has a small lancet with relieving arch, and three loops with a northeast stair tower to the right having five loops, capped flat at parapet level. The porch to the right has a straight joint to the tower, a pointed arch with large stone voussoirs, a coped gable and grouted slate roof. Within is medieval plaster pointed stone vault and rendered stone seats. The pointed grey stone door is set to the left, predating the porch and tower, with a nineteenth-century board door added. An ogee-headed piscina sits on the right side wall.

The nave has coped gables and unusual rebated corners at the northwest, southwest and southeast angles. The west wall has a battered base, a nineteenth-century two-light window with trefoil in the head, and a very plain gabled bellcote with square-headed bell-opening. The south wall is battered with a low sloping southwest buttress, a blocked south door to the left with stone voussoirs to a pointed opening, and a nineteenth-century ashlar two-light traceried window to the right.

The chancel has a projection to the left in the angle to the nave, with a nineteenth-century cusped single light, and a nineteenth-century uncusped single light to the right. The east gable is coped with a cross finial and a nineteenth-century three-light window with stepped cusped lancets in an ashlar pointed surround.

The northeast chapel has a coped east gable projecting beyond the chancel east end, with a cross finial and a nineteenth-century three-light east window with flat head, cusped lights and hoodmould. An original relieving arch sits over this. The north wall has two ashlar fifteenth-century two-light windows with cusped lights and relieving arches over.

The interior features a fine pointed plastered medieval nave vault. Opposed recessed doorways with cambered heads and a stoup to the right of the north door sit very low with a chamfered pointed arch and half-octagonal projecting bowl. The tower has broad low cambered-arched openings into the nave to the north and into the northeast chapel, of uncertain date, with painted tooled stone chamfered piers and arches. The arch to the nave also has plain capitals to piers and has been blocked. The chancel arch is chamfered and pointed on half-octagonal piers, all painted, with two rood-loft corbels over. The chancel has a nineteenth-century boarded segmental-pointed roof. The west wall is recessed to the right of the chancel arch with a half-arch against the angle of the north wall. The north wall has a two-bay arcade in painted tooled stone to the northeast chapel, with chamfered pointed arches on an octagonal pier with half-octagonal responds, chamfered plain capitals, and five corbels at various heights under eaves. The south side has a cambered-headed recess to the right, two corbels at differing heights, and a nineteenth-century painted cusped stone reveal to a window with a seat in the reveal. The east window has a broad pointed stone reveal with deep splays.

The northeast chapel has a lower floor (the nave and chancel floors possibly raised) with a stone flag floor and later simple collar-rafter roof. Cambered-headed reveals to two north windows and the east window, and a low cambered arch into the tower (as on the nave north but without capitals) with tooled stone piers and voussoirs. One corbel of a former pair is low on the east wall to the left, and a twentieth-century stone altar incorporates a large medieval chamfered altar slab. A pointed chamfered piscina recess sits on the south wall with a half-octagonal projecting bowl. The tower has blocked west and north windows and an extraordinary ribbed octagonal vault with thick chamfered stone ribs to an octagonal centre opening (for lifting bells), the surround matching the ribs.

Fittings include a large twelfth-century square font, chamfered at the base with a small half-round scallop at the end of each side above the chamfer. Plain painted panelled pews are probably of 1863, with a later twentieth-century simple timber panelled pulpit. Later nineteenth-century altar rails have two twisted iron standards and ivy leaves. The tower had three bells of 1719 (not seen).

Memorials include a nave south white marble plaque with urn to G. Roch of Clareston (died 1820), his wife (died 1822) and Joshua Roch (died 1827). A chancel north painted ashlar pedimented memorial commemorates John Evans, servant at Rickaston (died 1759). In the northeast chapel is a painted white marble early nineteenth-century plaque by H. Woolcot of Tenby to members of the Roch family of Rickeston, with dates 1716 to 1753. On the northeast chapel south pier is a small brass plaque to Thomas Cozens (died 1679). The floor in the northeast chapel contains some broken fragments: a large ashlar fleur-de-lys finial, probably nineteenth-century; part of an incised slab with a Celtic cross; and a fine but eroded and damaged fourteenth-century female effigy with draped cloak and veil. Floor slabs in the northeast chapel commemorate Martha Roch of Clareston (died 1753) and Nicholas Roch, High Sheriff (died 1679).

The east window contains stained glass to G. Harries of Rickeston (died 1897), densely patterned with Christ and lamb in the centre panel, and a panel in each side light with chalice to the left, paten and wheat to the right.