St. Andrew's Church, Great Rollright

St Andrews Church in Great Rollright consists of a central west tower, nave, chancel, north and south aisle, south porch, and chantry chapel. The south porch is 14th century, with a row of 47 carved heads around the roofline.

The heads are unique, with some rosettes, men, women, and animal figures. The stops on the westernmost window are quite wonderfully carved 'Green Man' and 'Green Woman' faces, peering out from a cluster of leaves. Above the door of the porch is a sundial dated to 1658.

The oldest part of the church is one of the first things that meets your eye on entering the south porch; a magnificently carve Norman door. The double columns are topped with two-story capitals, which then give way to a quite wonderful double arch.

The design of the arch is fascinating, with two levels of traditional Norman chevron patterns interspersed with elongated 'beakheads', each uniquely carved. But it is the tympanum that is the real eye-catcher.

Here the Norman craftsmen have excelled themselves; there is a roughness to the design that looks almost Celtic, or perhaps Arabic, with circular shield patterns and zigzag designs, in the midst of which lies a figure in a shroud. Above the figure a fish eats, or, as the church informational leaflet suggests, spits out, a human head. The overall effect of the door and tympanum is very striking.

Inside, the 14th century font is lovely, and in very good repair. A painted rood screen separates the chancel and nave. The screen itself is probably medieval, but the paint was renewed in 1851, giving it a colour quite unlike some screens of a similar age that have not been 'touched up'. Beside the altar is a medieval canopied piscina with traces of pint still visible. To the north of the chancel is a medieval brass, leaning against the wall.

This is the 'Batersby Brass', a memorial to a James Batersby, rector of St Andrews, who died in 1522. The brass is in extremely good condition, with the result that you can clearly make out the design of the vestments worn by the tonsured figure of the departed rector.

Historical information about St. Andrew's Church is provided by Britain Express.

St. Andrew's Church is listed Grade I. For more information about the listing see Church of St Andrew, Rollright - 1052792 | Historic England.

For more information about St. Andrew's Church see Great Rollright, St Andrew church, Oxfordshire | Historic Oxfordshire Guide (britainexpress.com).