St. Andrew's Church, Kingham

Parish church. Mid-C14 and C15; chancel rebuilt 1688, south aisle added and whole extensively restored 1852-3. Regularly coursed and dressed ironstone with
limestone ashlar dressings; roughly coursed limestone to tower; stone slate and slate roofs with stepped coped verges and embattled parapets. Nave; chancel;
west tower; aisles and south porch. Tower. Mid-C14 with C15 embattled parapet. In 3 stages with chamfered plinth and stepped diagonal buttresses to bottom
stage; moulded string courses and crocketed corner pinnacles. Projecting
rectangular stair turret to south-east corner. Belfry has stone-slate-louvred 2-light trefoil-headed windows with 4-entred arches and hoodmoulds, that to east infilled and with clock inserted. South side has sharply pointed doorway to west face of stair turret which has rectangular slit openings. West side has double-chamfered Tudor-arched doorway with 6-panel double doors and 3-light window with reticulated tracery above; narrow rectangular chamfered window to third stage. Mid-C14 north aisle buttressed in 4 bays has 2-light windows with reticulated tracery to north wall and similar 3-light windows to east and west walls; date "1769" carved on stone to east of second window from west. Nave: south parapet has weathered carved head (medieval) to centre and apex to east has C19 octagonal stone stack. South aisle (1852-3) has two 2-light windows with reticulated tracery, hoodmoulds and head-stops to west of porch and 3 to east; carved heads to moulded cornice below parapet. 3-light windows with reticulated tracery to east and west walls. Contemporary gabled porch has double-chamfered pointed outer doorway with hoodmould and single trefoil-headed windows to side walls. Chancel: south side largely rebuilt in C19 has two 2-light windows like
those in south aisle with scrolled and lozenge-shaped label-stops. East window (1843) with hoodmould and reticulated tracery in 3 lights has jambs of earlier large infilled window visible to either side. C19 cross to gable. Roughcast north side has 2-light windows like those on south to left and right of segmental-pointed doorway with mid-C19 Gothic traceried door; head of infilled C17 doorway with wedged voussoirs and projecting keystone to right. C14 cinquefoil-headed gabled tomb canopy to east of C19 doorway houses stone slab with carved foliated cross (largely worn away at time of resurvey (July 1987)).

Interior. C19 double-chamfered pointed south doorway with hoodmould. C14 north nave arcade in 4 bays has octagonal piers with pointed double-chamfered arches, moulded capitals and chamfered plinths; C19 copy of sane to south. To east of east arch on north side is chamfered Tudor-arched doorway to fonder rood loft. Trefoil-headed window below with groove for farmer glazing and square recess directly below that. Apparently C19 pointed double-chamfered chancel arch has semi-circular responds with moulded plinths and nail-head ornament to capitals; outline of former steep-pitched nave roof visible above. Pointed tower arch has 2 orders of concave mouldings. C19 trefoil-headed arch pierced in wall to east of east arch of south arcade and two C19 trefoil-headed sedilia and piscina with credence shelf in south wall of chancel. Pointed C14 Easter Sepulchre opposite and infilled rectangular recess in south wall Nave has low-pitched tie beam roof in 7 bays with short braced wall-posts on head corbels (eaves line of former roof visible below) and gilded bosses at intersection of panels. Painted inscription on north wall records its construction: "THE NEW ROOF/GEORGE WILLIAM BR00KS/Church-Wardens/1774". Contemporary lean-to aisle roofs with painted bosses; common rafters of north roof plastered over. C19 arch-braced roof in 4 bays to chancel has billet moulding to wall-plate and stone corbels carved as angels. Seating of 1852-3; bench ends of pale composition stone have blind tracery patterns and poppy heads,those to front of 2 areas of seating in nave and choir stalls entirely constructed of stone with blind tracery patterns. Contemporary square stone pulpit also has blind tracery patterns plus pierced quatrefoils to top. C13 circular font with moulded plinth. Stone-flag floor to nave and aisles and C19 encaustic tiles to chancel, including to raised sanctuary, which has mid-C19 stone reredos above contemporary wooden altar table with painted panels of saints and angels in circular and pointed recesses. Elaborate C19 Gothic-style brass chandelier hanging from roof and brass altar rails of 1885. Stained glass throughout mainly of 1852-3 but vivid east window is 1843. Monuments. North wall of chancel: brass plate to Katherine James (d.1588) in Easter Sepulchre; kneeling figure with her 3 children. To west of doorway is memorial to Lt. Col. Henry Samuel Davies (d.1851) by R. Physick of London: mourning soldier leaning on sarcophagus. Collection of C18 wall memorials and cartouches including one with scrolls and cherubs to Reverend William Dowdeswell (d.1711) and one C18 hatchment in tower.
(Buildings of England: Oxfordshire, pp673-4)
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St. Andrew's Church is listed Grade II*. For more information about the listing see CHURCH OF ST ANDREW, Kingham - 1283232 | Historic England.