Great Rollright - St Andrew's Church

Set on a small rise to the east of the village of Great Rollright, St Andrew's church, despite its modest size, is a fine medieval church well worth a visit and features decorative and architechtural stonework of great quality and originality.

Outside
The church is approached through an unusual lychgate given by the nine sons of Henry Randall in memory of their mother who died in 1905. The south side of the church has a striking collection of windows from the 14th and 15th centuries, including to the west of the porch, one that is a true one off. Most church windows employ standard patterns but this one is unique and includes a 'Green Man' (an oak branch springing from a man's head) as one of the window stops. There are also carved heads, animals and rosettes around the roof line and in the churchyard the stepped base of a medieval cross moved from elsewhere.

Inside
Sheltering inside the porch is the Norman doorway, the work of an earlier stone carver who delighted in pattern making. The design of the arch is fascinating, with two levels of traditional Norman chevron patterns interspersed with elongated 'beakheads', each uniquely carved. But in the semi-circular space below (the tympanum) there is a riot of circular roundels and zigzag designs and, in the midst, a beast and two partial humans.

There is a brightly coloured rood screen and some unsual painted panels in the roof, a lovely 14th century font, a sundial from 1658 above the doorway and a small brass to James Batersby, who died in 1522, which is in excellent condition.