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In 1133 King Henry I granted his great nephew William Fitzherbert this church of Nether Wallop, to provide a prebend, or income, in support of his appointment as Treasurer of York Minster. With the grant went the Advowson, or right to present the Vicar, a right retained by the Dean and Chapter of York to this day. The original charter is in York Minster Library. At the time of the civil war between King Stephen and the Empress Matilda, William Fitzherbert was appointed Archbishop of York, the appointment being disputed on the grounds of simony by the reformist St Bernard. Although William had been consecrated Bishop in Winchester Cathedral by his uncle Bishop Henry de Blois, when he went to Rome to receive the pallium, not only was he refused this, but found he had been deposed of his office. William Fitzherbert returned to England to find sanctuary in Winchester. The annals say rather gratuitously that William for the next six years: “remained with the monks in regularity By 1153, opposition to his appointment as Archbishop of York being dispelled, William again travelled to Rome, received the pallium, celebrated Easter in Winchester and returned to York in triumph, only to die later that year, it was said, by poison. The Influence of YorkCertainly St Andrew's was no mean church and a very handsome gift for Henry I to give to York Minster, in whose hands the Advowson remains to this day. There is another possible connection with the New Minster, for among the Monastery's possessions was a relic of St Andrew the Apostle. The only other churches in the Diocese of Winchester dedicated to St Andrew are at Laverstoke, which was in the care of the New Minster, and Tichborne, another Anglo-Saxon church possibly also served by that Monastery. For four centuries York influenced the architectural development of the church, which is unusual in the Diocese of Winchester and we see a series of extensive alterations. North DoorThe first indication of change may be seen in the north door. (This was subsequently repositioned in the north aisle, where it now rests.) The door has a round head and is in two orders: the inner order has a continuous angle roll, the outer order is chamfered and there are cushion capitals. Of this period too there is at the east end of the south aisle a long altar table slab, supported by three plain round shafts. The slab is not in its original position and is now hidden by the organ. South AisleThe first major enlargement was the provision of a south aisle with a lean-to roof to bays 1, 2 and 3. Two of the original corbel stones may be seen on the south side of the arcade towards the west end. They are reminiscent of the corbels in St Peter’s Church, Chesil in Winchester. The arcade has round columns and half round responds, the capitals are concave, scalloped and further moulded. The transitional pointed arches are in two orders, the outer is chamfered and there are roll label moulds. Chancel ArchThe arch to the south porticus was widened in the same style, leaving the rather unusual compound pier between bays 3 and 4. This was followed by the widening of the chancel arch and formation of a south aisle to the chancel, to form a south chapel in bay 5. The late Norman chancel arch is in two orders and has semi-circle responds with square moulded and scalloped capitals. As mentioned, it was the insertion of this arch that mutilated the 11th century “Christ in Majesty”. It is likely, although there is no evidence, that the chancel would have been lengthened at the same time into bay 6, as was happening in so many of our parish churches.
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