The 13th Century

North Aisle and West Tower

In the early 13th century, a narrow north aisle was added to bays 1, 2 and 3. This north arcade has round columns and round moulded capitals. About this time a west tower was added, by tradition very lofty and with a steeple. The tower arch is in two chamfered orders and has half round shafts to the inner order with moulded and scalloped capitals. The arch to the north porticus was then widened and so formed a north transept. The springing of an arch to the north aisle may just be discerned. It then seems a two bay north aisle was added to the chancel, the columns to the arcade being octagonal. The west respond remains, as does the central column, which can be seen on the north side of the choir, built into and forming part of the west wall of the present north aisle.

Aisles to the Chancel

The conjectured east bay of the narrow north aisle of the chancel in bay 6, lies outside the present limits of the church. Such an arrangement as may then have existed is to be seen in the aisles of the chancel in King’s Somborne Church. On completion of these alterations the church was redecorated. Very small fragments of the 13th century “Masonry pattern” decorative scheme can be seen on the nave walls towards the east end. It was during this century that a grant of two hides at Heathman street to the Abbot of St Peter’s Gloucester was confirmed by King Henry III. For convenience the Abbot leased this property in 1227 to Mottisfont Priory, who continued to hold the lease until the Reformation.

The 14th Century

Clerestory Windows

In the late 14th century, in a period of revival following the Black Death, and when Bishop William of Wykeham was remodelling Winchester Cathedral, this church also underwent a major change in style and layout. Formerly a dark church with low walls to the aisles it was changed into one with lofty walls, clerestory windows and large light-giving windows to the aisles. In making such a fundamental change in character, the nave walls were raised to enable the clerestory windows to be inserted, the aisles widened and the whole church re-roofed. Similar changes were made to nearby Broughton church, which was also within York Minster’s jurisdiction.

Decorated Style

Plan 4 shows a widened south aisle to the nave, completely incorporating the old porticus and extended eastwards to include the south chapel in bay 5. This enlargement required a southward extension of the west wall and insertion of a “Decorated” two-light window (to the vestry), the building of an entire new south wall on a new line, incorporating a south door and the provision of four two-light square headed windows, whose inner arches are pointed and have widely splayed reveals. At the east end of this south aisle thee is a piscina and a recess with a groove for an aumbry shelf. The three-light east window is of a later insertion.

North Aisle Widened

Similar extensive works were carried out to widen the north aisle where the Norman door was repositioned and even taller two-light windows provided. One may imagine these windows colourfully glazed with the figures of the Saints. A light bracket of this period, formed by the Lady with the goffered veil and illustrated on the title page, may be seen on the north side of the aisle between bays 2 and 3.

Lead Covered Roofs

Only a very wealthy church could have afforded such an almost complete rebuild in the form it took with lead covered roofs. The patronage of the church being with York Minster one may wonder if the lead came from the mines of Durham or from the Peak District.

Chancel Arch Repositioned

It seems likely that this was the time when the layout of the church was further dramatically changed by extending the nave one bay eastwards with a new chancel arch, to the east of bay 5. As part of this major enlargement and remodelling scheme the chancel was extended into bay 7.

The Rood

Across the arch was placed a screen and a Rood. Remains of the screen may be seen under the tower arch and remains of the staircase giving access to the loft, on top of the screen, are hidden within the blocked up recess in the south east corner of the north aisle; in addition, high up in the north east corner of the lengthened nave, (in bay 5) the choir, there is a recess partially filled with the 19th century monument to John Brewer of Garlogs, Nether Wallop, who died in 1828. It marks the position of the door which opened into the rood loft.

Gables and Roofs

The exterior photograph also shows the original main gable wall to the east of bay 4 and that bay 5 has its own roof, set to a different pitch to the nave, with a separate east gable. The chancel roof is tiled. It should be noted that the present late Norman style chancel arch is entirely false and dates from the time of the rebuilding of the chancel in 1845. The gable above is timber-framed and on the north side tile hung. A suggestion that there was a tower above bay 5 is most improbable. It will be seen that the old Anglo-Saxon walls above the arches are much too slender to support a tower.

The Fifteenth Century

Moralities

The continuous care and importance of the decorations in the church, shown initially by the very important 11th century “Majesty”, followed by a 13th century masonry pattern scheme, continued into the early 15th century, when the walls of the nave and aisles were completely redecorated with large and boldly painted murals, depicting the Moralities and portraits of the Saints. Of the Moralities, sufficient fragments of two subjects, the “Sabbath Breakers” and “Saint George and the Dragon”, remain to make reasonable reconstructions possible.

Sabbath Breakers

The teaching of the Sabbath Breakers is that to work on the Sabbath, the body of Our Lord is injured by the tools of those working. The wounds are shown by drops of blood, in heraldic terms “goutte de sang”, which although originally painted in red ochre are now faded, but still clearly visible on the leg of Our Lord. It is also possible to make out many of the contemporary tools which have little changed in design over the last 500 years. A fuller description of the “Sabbath Breakers” is given later in the section on the Wall Paintings.

Saint George and the Dragon

The second Morality, “Saint George and the Dragon”, illustrates the power of good over evil. The inherent Goodness of Christianity is depicted by the hero, St George, slaying and defeating evil in the form of a dragon., who is troubling a city and whose insatiate appetite can only be appeased by the sacrifice of a princess. The King and Queen are portrayed on top of the city gate. This Morality and story of St George is also more fully described in the section on the Wall Paintings.

Saint Nicholas

The portrait of Saint Nicholas is on the reveal of a window in the south aisle.

Brass to Mary Gore

Saint Andrew’s must have been a very fine and colourful church to witness the funeral procession of Mary Gore, Prioress of Amesbury, in 1436 and who was buried in the centre of the nave where here brass now rests. She is wearing an ermine-lined cloak and has a wimple and veil. This is the only known brass of a Prioress in existence. The inscription on the brass reads:

“Here lies the body of Mistress Maria Gore, formerly of this house Prioress,
who died 13th day of January 1436AD on whose soul God have mercy.”

Chancel Enlarged

Later alterations in the church were not so dramatic, although by the style of architecture of the rebuilt chancel of 1845 (if a copy of the original), it seems the chancel was widened and lengthened slightly in the late 15th century, when new walls were built just outside the old ones on the south hand east sides. The axis of the present chancel is not in alignment to that of the nave, having been shifted to the south and the length of the chancel appears to intrude into an eighth bay. This supposed alteration, involving the widening and lengthening of the chancel in this manner, may account for their being no east respond to the arch in bay 5 leading from the nave to the south chapel.

The Post Reformation Church

Since the Reformation there have been four periods of active rebuilding. In Queen Elizabeth I's time, a revival of interest in and use of the church is shown by the re-roofing of the aisles and the provision of a new bell (now the fourth bell), inscribed: "Be meek and loly to hear the word of the Lord, 1585 IW". By that time the Rood had been destroyed, although parts of the old medieval screen have been built into the present screen under the tower arch, all images removed, the niches mutilated, and all the walls whitewashed over. The heavy oak pews are of this period and are very similar to those in Timsbury Church near Romsey. The bells continued to be of importance to the community, for on the threshold of the Civil War, two further bells were recast or added. They are the treble and third bells, cast by John Higden in 1642. Their inscriptions read: "God be Our Guide 1642 IH" and "God is my Hope 1642 IH".

Tower Rebuilt

The next period of active rebuilding was at the beginning of the 18th century, when "the tower of Wallop church fell down, the walls being quite rotten and decayed. And in the summer following, the parish rebuilt it omitting the steeple, which was to the former deeming it quite needless and the walls not carried so highly, 9 or 10 feet". A tablet on the west face of the tower commemorates the rebuilding and is dated 1704. Anticipating the need to rebuild the tower, or maybe because of it, a new bell had been bought two years previously. It is inscribed: "Clement Tozier cast Mee 1702".

The early Georgian period was certainly one of continued activity. In repairing the aisles' roofs the pitch was changed to remove the troublesome gutters against the nave walls and the inner roof slope of each aisle raised, so that all the rainwater ran to the outer eaves. This meant blocking up half the height of the clerestory windows as still extant on the north side of the nave. The many different corbel stones and a need in some places to flatten arches over the windows, before building in a new corbel, is testimony to the frequent repairs made to the aisle roofs. The roofs then in good order, the church would have been re-whitewashed and in the ancient tradition of wall painting, the bell was painted on the west wall of the nave, to commemorate the restoration.