PRESTEIGNE

The earliest part of St Andrews church is the lower section of the N wall which has been identified as Saxon in origin. This points to the fact that there was a settlement here well before the arrival of the Normans, who extended the church first to the W and later, around 1200, began to build a new nave onto the S of the original structure. This ended up taking over 100 years to complete. In the 15th century the porch-tower was added and the S aisle widened to accommodate chapels. The windows of this aisle have unusual tracery. At about the same time the chancel was rebuilt with larger windows and the Lady chapel added. The screen was removed at some time but the stairway to the 'loft' along the top of it remains in the corner of the chancel. The fonts are of c1200 and 14th century. There is a slab in a recess in the N aisle featuring a foliated cross of about 1240, other monuments go back to the 17th century.

On the N aisle wall hangs this superb 16th century Flemish tapestry, one of only two pre-reformation tapestries left in British churches.