Church of St Andrew

Details

WOLFERLOW

815/5/780 WOLFERLOW 09-JUN-67 Church of St Andrew

II* Church. C12. Late medieval timber base to bell tower probably inserted in the C17. Restored in 1863 by F. R. Kempson and in 1890-94 when the chancel, south porch, south side of the nave, and upper parts of the bell turret were rebuilt and the north-east vestry added.

MATERIALS: The north side is constructed of stone rubble with evidence of many phases of rebuilding. The chancel and south side of the nave are constructed of bands of red and grey sandstone with Bath stone detailing. The roof is covered in horizontal bands of red and blue tiles with a red section to the west end of the nave. Timber-framed bell turret with rendered infill and shingled broach spire.

PLAN: Nave, chancel, west tower, south porch, north-east vestry.

EXTERIOR: Unbuttressed chancel with a stained glass triple lancet east window, possibly by Ward & Hughes. There are two lancet windows in the south wall. The north side of the nave retains a large blocked C12 doorway with imposts and shaft with cushion capitals and saltire cross decoration to the outer band of the round arch. There are three trefoil-headed one-light windows to both the north and the south sides of the nave. To the south side is a gabled porch with a moulded arch on stone corbels to the outer doorway. The inner doorway is C12 and has a roll-moulded round arch with saltire cross decoration to the outer band. The doorway is partially infilled to a segmental cambered arch on imposts. The west tower appears to be wholly late C19 with a tiled lean-to on the west face which has a window of two trefoil-headed lights.

INTERIOR: The chancel has a braced collar-rafter roof with upright struts from the wall plate to the rafter. The roof to the nave is of the same construction with the addition of tie beams. The base of the bell tower is timber framed. The round chancel arch is C12 but it has been heavily restored, and to either side and above is painted text. To the chancel is a stone reredos consisting of two arcades of recessed cusped arches with marble pillars and foliate capitals. To the north side of the chancel within a recess is a C13 stone effigy of a woman with her head supported by two angels and a dog resting at her feet. There are also a number of C18 and C19 memorial tablets. The pitch pine pews have chamfered ends. The polygonal timber pulpit on a stone base has decorated sides: blind cusped arches, with foliate and acorn carving to the spandrels. A large C19 stone font with a quatrefoil bowl on a semi-circular stem. SOURCES: Pevsner, The Buildings of England: Herefordshire (2003) 324; Council for the Care of Churches, Pastoral Measure Report: Wolferlow St Andrew (2005)

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION The Church of St Andrew is designated at Grade II* for the following principal reasons: * The church retains a significant portion of its C12 fabric including its doorways and chancel arch * The fixtures and fittings include a C13 stone effigy of exceptional quality and a number of C18 memorial tablets * The high quality of the C19 fixtures and fittings with good detailing, in particular the reredos all contribute to its claims to more than special interest

Listing NGR: SO6686461722

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

412009

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Inventory of Herefordshire II East, (1932), 219

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.