Details
HERTFORD
TL3212NW ST ANDREW STREET
817-1/16/227 (South side)
12/04/73 Church of St Andrew
GV II
Anglican church. 1869-70, incorporating C15 doorway from
earlier church on site, steeple completed 1875-6. Architect J
Johnson Jnr., contractors Dove Bros. London.
MATERIALS: flint with grey limestone dressings and bands, fine
yellow sandstone windows. Welsh slated roofs with red ridge
tiles.
STYLE: high Victorian Gothic Revival, Early English and
Decorated.
PLAN: cruciform plan, 4 bay nave, half-octagonal chancel
corner. West steeple, nave with aisles, transepts, chancel,
north porch.
EXTERIOR: west tower in 2 stages flint with limestone bands
and quoins, with angle buttresses, surmounted by octagonal
belfry, flanked by tall octagonal pinnacles with spirelets,
with octagonal spire with lucarnes on alternate faces. Half
octagonal stair turret on south side of tower. West doorway
has roll moulded arch with carved poppy heads, supported on
colonnettes with stiffleaf carved capitals. 2-light lancets
above, with moulded arches on colonnettes. Octagonal belfry
has large two light openings, with moulded arches and
geometrical tracery supported on tall colonnettes, on
alternate faces; arcaded band at base of spire.
North porch in 2nd bay from west of north aisle has outer door
with roll moulded jambs and intrados, moulded arches above
colonnettes with stiff leaf capitals and dripmould with
undercut ball flower ornament.
Nave arcade clerestory in 4 bays with 2-light windows with bar
tracery with alternating trefoils and quatrefoils, aisles
subdivided by buttresses, with 3 lancets in each bay, with
trefoil heads.
North transept has tall gabled roof, with stone kneelers,
coping and cross finial, with angle buttresses with 2 stages
of offsets above stone band at window sill level and
projecting plinth. Tall window, with colonnettes with foliated
capitals, casement moulded arch with carved ball flowers and
dripmould. Lower part of window has 2 lancets, each subdivided
into two lights with trefoil heads and trefoils above, with
large rose window with elaborate geometric tracery of central
quatrefoil, circles, and trefoils with circles.
Chancel at lower level than aisle roof, with half octagonal
end with east window, and 2 flanking windows of identical
design, each having bar tracery of 3 lancets, with circle
above, with inner cinquefoil.
South transept, aisle and nave clerestory are repeats of those
on the north side.
INTERIOR: north porch incorporates late C15 inner doorway with
hood mould on carved demi-figures of angels and quatrefoil
decoration of spandrels. Church interior of Early English and
decorated style.
Tower has brick walls with sandstone decorative features; 2
light west lancet, tall Early English style tower arch with
chamfered reveal and attached colonnettes with stiffleaf caps,
and arch with undercut roll mouldings, outer arch full width
of nave has tall colonnettes, with amulets, stiff leaf caps,
and arch with carved dog tooth and poppy head ornament.
Quadripartite groined vault springing from ornamental corbels
carved with angels.
Nave of 4 bays continues east into transepts. Nave arcade has
circular sandstone columns with bold roll bases, raised on
square brick plinths, with stiff leaf bell caps with bold
undercut roll mouldings. Nave arcade arches have chamfered
intrados, and are carried on twin attached colonnettes at east
and west responds.
Clerestory has 2-light sandstone windows with trefoil heads
and geometrical tracery, within brick walls.
Roof of timber arch braced construction raised on corbel with
stiffleaf ornament. Scissor rafters above support purlins and
there are scissor rafters at every third common rafter between
arch-braced bay divisions. Aisles have brick walls with deeply
inset lancets, 3 in each bay, west window to aisles are paired
lancets with roundels above. Aisle roofs have low arch braces
raised on corbels at bay divisions, with chamfered purlins.
Low chamfered arches raised on corbels open with transepts.
The transepts consist of wide bays continuing the line of the
nave eastwards. Transept arches have twin chamfered form,
flanked by tall paired colonnettes, with amulets and stiff
leaf caps, and roll moulded bases. Brick walls and stone
decorative features, large transept windows as described
externally.
Blessed Sacrament Chapel, originally organ chamber opens off
north transept, organ resited off south transept in 1890.
Chancel arch has tall twin arches with colonnettes and
amulets, stiff leaf caps. Outer arch with carved dog tooth
ornament; inner arch with stylised poppy heads.
Chancel projects as 2 narrow bays divided by tall colonnettes
with stiff leaf capitals, with polygonal apsidal end, ornament
of decorated style, with blind arcading of geometrical
traceried paired lancets flanked by tall colonnettes, with
inner lower crocketed canopies, on blank walls matching style
of windows in apsidal end. Roof boarded between ribs with
nailhead ornament. Chancel floor raised 3 steps from nave.
Encaustic tile floor.
FITTINGS: altar area raised 2 steps above chancel. Altar and
reredos installed 1914, in memory of Rev Evan Killin Rector
1897-1913. Carved with gilded marble, mosaic panels. Choir
stalls oak, with arcaded frontals, installed 1905. The pews in
the nave are of similar date, with bench ends carved with the
emblems of St Andrew (cross), St Nicholas (anchor) and St Mary
(fleur-de-lys). Altar stone in Blessed Sacrament Chapel
incised with crosses and has a cavity for reception of relics.
It was discovered during excavations on the Old Cross site of
the former St Mary's Church in 1898 during construction of the
Library.
Pulpit constructed 1888 in 13th century style, grey Forest of
Dean stone, red Devon marble, green Connemara marble, and
cream Caen stone. Octagonal form, base with 8 columns with red
marble shafts, square plinths and bases, and stiffleaf caps,
top divided into panels by green Connemara colonnettes.
Pierced arcaded frontal with traceried openings, under green
marble moulded top rail. Font, at west end in front of tower
arch was raised on present stepped podium in 1890, cream
sandstone, C14 style, octagonal, with arcaded surround to bowl
with ogee arches.
MEMORIALS: include several reset from earlier church,
including 15 black or cream incised slabs dispersed through
nave and transepts of C17-C18 date, among most important being
Rebecca and Bostock Toller (d.1718, 1721) a large black marble
slab incised with inscriptions and with relief carved armorial
hatchments and 'memento mori'. South transept has large wall
tablet, white marble on black marble background slab,
commemorating Nathaniel Dimsdale, Baron of the Empire of all
the Russias, (d.1811), who together with his father, had
inoculated Catherine the Great against smallpox, and had been
the Divisional MP. The tablet also commemorates other members
of the Dimsdale family.
STAINED GLASS: late C19 chancel windows, east window
Crucifiction, with Christ in Majesty in rounded above,
attributed to Hardman, north-east and north-west windows in
style of C16 glass show St John and St Andrew and the Virgin
Mary, and Archbishop Theodore, St Nicholas, and a centurion.
Vestry block/hall attached at rear, flint with stone
dressings, lancet windows with leaded-light lattice glazing,
stone parapeted gables, Welsh slated roof. Linked to C20 hall,
of no special interest.
HISTORICAL NOTE: the foundation stone of St Andrew's was laid
on 4 June 1869 by Earl Cowper (at base of left-hand buttress
of north transept) and the Church was consecrated on 24 March
1870. In 1874, with money donated by Earl Cowper and Ralph
Abel Smith, the tower and spire were added and the bells
rehung.
(Victoria History of the Counties of England: Hertfordshire:
London: 1902-1912: 707-8; Royal Commission on Historical
Monuments (England): An Inventory of the Historical Monuments
of Hertfordshire: London: 1910-: 112-3; Hertfordshire
Countryside: Moodey G: Old buildings in the County Town:
Letchworth: 1946-1973: 45; The Buildings of England: Pevsner
N: Hertfordshire: Harmondsworth: 1977-: 185; Page FM: History
of Hertford: Hertford: 1993-: 19, 125, 174; Turnor L: History
of Hertford: Hertford: 1830-: 249-74; St Andrew's PCC:
Hertford St Andrew: 1977-).
Listing NGR: TL3234312564
