2 SAINT ANDREW S CHURCH. 



who only remembers it in the incumbency of the late 

 respected vicar Rev. John Gandy, would scarcely re- 

 cognise the Old Church, with its huge, ill-contrived 

 galleries, its irregular, overgrown, unsightly pews — all 

 of them excrescences in the interior, and all constructed 

 in utter disregard of the style of^the fabric itself, 

 which, for the most part, is a specimen of the later 

 Gothic or Pointed style. 



Soon after the succession of the present vicar, Rev. 

 John Hatchard, it appeared that the repairs required 

 were so extensive as to render it most expedient to 

 renovate the whole interior, and to make considerable 

 alterations in the structure. Designs were furnished 

 by Mr. Foulston, under the direction of the church- 

 wardens and a special committee of the parishioners. 

 The old materials of the pews, galleries, &c. were dis- 

 posed of by public sale, and in the spring of 1826 the 

 interior was entirely cleared for the reception of the new 

 work, which was executed, by contract, by Mr. Rich- 

 ard Cuming and Mr. Drew, builders of this town, in 

 the most satisfactory manner, after Mr. Foulston's 

 plans, designed in accordance with the style of the 

 edifice. The floor was entirely levelled, from end to 

 end, the side galleries were appropriately and conveni- 

 ently placed in the lateral aisles or transepts; the 

 charity children's galleries and organ loft were rebuilt 

 at the west end, in a more convenient situation, (by 

 which means a spacious vestry room for parish meet- 

 ings was provided below) — a noble double staircase, 

 with a solid, handsome balustrade, was constructed in 

 the ground floor of the tower, by which access to the 

 whole western galleiy was secured, detached from the 

 church — the columns were cleared of innumerable coat- 

 ings of whitewash and the whole interior coloured in 

 imitation of granite — new stone mullions were intro- 

 duced in all the windows requiring them — handsome 

 exterior doors and porches were provided, — the whole 

 church was re-pewed with wainscot, in a substantial 

 and uniform manner, and the pulpit, reading desk, &:c. 

 transferred from one of the side columns to the centre, a 



