St Andrew, Earlsfield

St Andrew's is a late Victorian red-brick neo-Gothic church executed on a grand scale, with some nice Arts & Crafts furnishings.

The church was built in 1889 to designs by Edward William Mountford (1855-1908), architect of Sheffield Town Hall and the Old Bailey. Intended to serve the burgeoning (and then working-class) suburbs growing along the London & South Western Railway line, its present scale derives from the addition of a further two bays to the nave in 1902, together with an imposing west front with twin turrets and three big lancets.

The layout comprises a continuous nave and chancel, with transepts and aisles, a south chancel chapel and north vestry, the roof surmounted by a fleche. Inside, the nave - over 45ft high - has three bays of large pointed arches with aisles, with a further bay for the transepts, and a further two bays for the nave. The exterior and interior are almost inverted in their colour schemes: the exterior is red brick, with golden Doulton stone dressings; the interior is light brown stock brick with red brick dressings, again with Doulton stone piers for the arcades. In contrast, the St Andrew's Chapel has a more intimate, almost cosy feel.

The largely Arts and Crafts fittings are a delight: best is the large but incredibly delicate iron chancel screen, which actually came in the 1920's from the church of St. Mary, Trinity Road; the rather more sturdy screens in the chapel were made by Starke Gardner & Co. The octagonal font is by Doulton & Co, in stone and blur terracotta, and has an impressive cover. Four of the eight sides depict biblical scenes, comprising the finding of Moses, Hannah bringing Samuel to Eli, Christ in the Manger and Christ blessing children. 

In 1911, the west front was graced with a large twin-faced clock with filigree decoration. Almost municipal in style, it was also designed by Mountford, and dedicated to Edward VII. The stained glass is largely unremarkable, although the chapel's east window is unusually in the shape of a saltire cross, with the St Andrew's head in the centre. Four small roundels have glass depicting three different types of fish, and a boat.

The church has both traditional and modern styles of worship, but emphasises an inclusive welcome to all. During the week, the west end of the nave hosts the Home community cafe, which seems to be a very popular venue: I can vouch for the quality of the homemade lemonade, and cakes.

St Andrew, Garrett Lane, London SW18 3QG