St Andrew's Church, Wanborough

The church sits on an elevated piece of land at Upper Wanborough.[2] It is constructed of chalk-stone rubble with stone tile roofs.[3] Its plan consists of a four-bay nave with aisles, and porches to the north and south; a very short transept is apparent internally.[3] The tower to the west has three stages and is crenellated. Above its west window, the tower has a canopied niche. Its windows have Somerset tracery.[3] There is a smaller hexagonal tower with a spire to the east of the nave. St Andrew's is one of only three churches in England to have both a western tower and a central spire.[nb 1] The chancel has two bays and a small door to the north. The porch to the south is gabled with flanking pinnacles with crocketed finials.[3]

Inside the church there are pointed arcades and quatrefoil piers.[3] The north wall of the nave still has one of the paintings discovered in the 19th century, situated to the left of the north door.[3] It depicts Christ's Entry into Jerusalem.[2] There are monuments to Thomas and Edith Polton who both died in 1418. The porch to the south contains 14th-century stone effigies.[2]

The church houses a ring of eight bells hung for change ringing, and a separate service bell. The first and second (lightest) bells of the ring were cast in 1997 by John Taylor & Co of Loughborough; as were in 1949 the third, seventh and eighth; and in 1950 the fifth; the fourth was cast in 1730 by John Cor, and is regarded as a fine example of a bell from this era; the sixth was cast in 1662 by William Purdue III. The service bell was cast in 1783 by Robert Wells II.[7][8]