St Andrew's Parish Church

A 13th century church with a tower used as a signalling station to warn of the approaching Spanish armada.

Saint Andrew's Church is fortunate in having mosaic panels covering approximately 200 square metres of the north, west and south walls of the nave, depicting the twelve apostles, together with the heads of eight patriarchs from the Old Testament and the Apostles' Creed. This is said to be one of the finest and largest mosaics in the country. It was designed by the Victorian architect William Butterfield FSA (1814-1900) and constructed in 1885. It is believed to be based on mosaics he had seen at Ravenna. The mosaics were apparently intended to include a large panel above and around the arch to the sanctuary, which would have depicted Christ in Glory, flanked by Saint Peter and our patron Saint Andrew. This panel was not installed due to lack of funds, and the face of the arch is still painted white.