Church of St. Andrew, Leigh, Dorset

Parish Church of St. Andrew, formerly a chapel of Yetminster, stands in the village. The walls are of rubble with freestone dressings and the roofs are covered with lead, slates and tiles. The church, consisting of Chancel, Nave, West Tower and South Porch was built in the second half of the 15th century. It was extensively restored in 1854 [CHECK] by Withers, architect, of Sherborne, when the chancel was largely rebuilt; the North Aisle is modern.

The Chancel, 17 feet by 13 feet 9 inches has no ancient features. The Nave (35 feet 3 inches by 16  feet) has a modern N. arcade. In the S. wall are three windows, the easternmost is a square-headed light set high in the wall to light the rood-loft and now blocked internally; the second window is of the 15th century and of two trefoiled lights in a square head with a label and returned stops; the westernmost window is modern; the partly restored 15th-century S. doorway has chamfered jambs and two-centred head. The West Tower (9½  feet by 8½  feet) is of the 15th century and of three stages with an embattled parapet, pinnacles and gargoyles. The tower-arch is two-centred and of two continuous moulded orders. The W. doorway has moulded jambs and two-centred arch in a square head with foliage and shields in the spandrels, one bearing three hanks of cord and the other a merchant's mark; the W. window is of three cinque-foiled lights with vertical tracery in a two-centred head with moulded reveals and label. The second stage has a square-headed window in the W. wall. The bell-chamber has, in each wall, a window of two cinque-foiled lights with blind tracery in a two-centred head. The square stair-turret is finished with a flat stone roof with a central pedestal formerly supporting a pinnacle.