St Andrew's Church is a parish church in Oakington, England. Parts of the thick walls of the nave above the arcading, and the base of the tower in the church are the earliest surviving parts of it, likely from the 12th century.

The church was rebuilt in the 13th century, with the addition of a narrow south aisle with tiny lancet windows, and larger ones in the chancel. In the 14th century, the tower was heightened, and the aisles and chancel arch were widened. The tower arch was widened in the 15th century. The south porch and the present roofs were built in the 19th century along with the enlargement of the east window. The church building is a grade II* listed building.

A Church of England parish church, it was dedicated to St. Andrew in 1490, and the parish register of baptisms, marriages and burials dates from 1561; it is virtually complete, with a gap 1696-1708.

Exterior of the church

West tower

The Perpendicular west tower with earlier work is built of pebblestone and rubblestone with some re-used tiles. The base of the tower was probably built in the 12th century, the same time as the thick walled nave. The tower was heightened in the 14th century, embattled and buttressed on the west in the 15th century. The four stages of diagonal buttresses are made of ashlar stone. There are gargoyles below the embattled parapet decorated with stone faces.

There was once a weathercock mounted on the tower roof, now it is on the roof of the shed in the vicarage garden.

Perhaps the west doorway and the window over it were inserted in the lower stage of the tower in the late 14th or early 15th century. The higher windows are from earlier, late 13th or early 14th century. The three timber louvred windows were re-instated in 1963.

The west doorway's two-centred arch with chamfered orders, was renewed in 1843-4. The doors are open for weddings and some Sunday services. The west window above was restored in 1885.

South aisle

The 13th century south aisle was re-built in the 14th century. The roof and lead covering were replaced in the 19th century. Further extensive repairs to the roof timbers and lead guttering were undertaken in 2002.

On the exterior of the west wall of the south aisle, there is a blocked-up, narrow lancet window close to the line of the aisle arcade. This was obviously a west window of a 13th-century aisle, much narrower than the 14th century one that appears today.

On the east face of the tower at the abutment of the nave roof, the water table of the earlier 13th century nave roof is still visible above the present roof and is much steeper, suggesting that the earlier roof was probably thatched. The present roofs to both nave and aisles were renewed in 1843-4 with new tiling to the nave and lead to the aisles.

The stone cross built into the west wall of the south aisle was originally on the east end of the nave roof. It was blown off in the gales of c.1978. The builders incorporated the cross in the wall during repair and repointing work.

The new stone cross of the nave roof was designed by Brian Page, based on this one.

There are six three-light, foil-headed windows in the south aisle.

The present south porch was built in 1890, replacing the earlier one that was demolished in c. 1843.

The curved lines of stones at the base of the outside of the south aisle are probably relieving arches for a crypt. Tombs were excavated there around 1838.

There is a sundial (f) at the east corner buttress of the south aisle with the inscription 'God always cares'. The numbers seem older than the writing.

Chancel

The chancel is from the early 13th century. Its walls contain pudding stones. There are three lancet windows on each side, with chamfered internal arches. On the south side, there is another double light window with plate tracery from c.1200 to light the altar. It has a plain circle in the head.

There is a bricked-up lower window on each side under the lancets closest to the nave. Their framework and centre mullion are still visible. It is possible that lepers used to receive holy communion through them.

The original priest's door is on the south wall of the chancel with a single chamfered order in a pointed arch. The metal outer gate was designed and fixed in 2002 to enable air flow in the chancel in better weather conditions. It is in memory of Beulah Anne Goody (1930–1984) and Robert Joseph Goody (1919–2002).

To the right of the priest's door, there is a fragment of the stone cross that used to be on the roof, built into the wall.

On the buttress of the south-east corner of the chancel, there is a scratch dial, a primitive medieval sundial used to determine the time for devotions. A small peg was inserted in the central hole to cast a shadow on the stone.

The east window, copied from the north aisle windows, was enlarged during major Victorian restoration work in 1885-1889. It was restored in 1995.

At the south-east corner of the church yard, stands the Church Hall designed by the then church architect Brian Page and built in 2009.

The basis of the building fund was from earlier legacies but the major part of the cost was raised by the congregation at the time together with donations from the village community.

The purpose of the hall was to provide much needed meeting space, and the motivation was to further the church's ministry, and to offer a well-appointed venue for community groups.

Moving round to the north side of the chancel, there is another bricked-up lower window (j) under the most western lancet.

In the corner, where the north wall of the chancel meets the wall of the north aisle, there is the underground boiler house of the 1920s heating system, that was filled in 1979.

North aisle

The north aisle was probably re-built in the 15th century. Its six windows have standard Perpendicular tracery, renewed in 1843-4 and again in 1949.

The Perpendicular north doorway was re-built in the 15th century with a four-centred arch below a square head moulding. There is a relieving arch still visible in the stonework above it. This door was probably blocked up during major restoration works in the 19th century. There used to be a St Andrew's cross made of pebbles decorating it, before it was replaced by a bronze cross as part of further restoration work in 2016.

Interior

Entering the church through the south porch, note the Early English inner arch of the original south doorway which is from the 13th century. It is two-centred with two chamfered orders with the outer of restored shafts and moulded caps. Entry to the church is via the west side door of the Victorian inner lobby. The double doors are opened for services in warm summer weather and for funerals and other events.

West end of the south aisle

The font, in the west end of the south aisle, is a square Norman bowl from the 12th or 13th century, it is mounted on five octagonal pillars from the 15th century. Three sides of the basin are carved. On two sides, there is round headed semicircular arcading with three bays each; on one side, there are two bays. The undecorated side probably stood against the wall originally. The cover was given by Kenneth Oates of Histon who designed and made it. It is of old church oak. The ironwork is based on the long-boats of the invading Danes.

The font was proposed to be removed from its present position in 1926, to be relocated near the south door and for its place to be screened off with a curtain for use as a vestry. However this project was never completed and the curtained vestry was retained within the north aisle.

The closest window to the side door of the lobby with the elephant headed arm is the Few memorial window which was completed in 1994. Previously this was a Victorian coloured glass window. The Dutch inscription of the arm 'Niet zonder arbeit' means 'Nothing without work'. Harry Selwyn Spicer Few (1918–1992), a prominent solicitor of Few & Kester Solicitors, Cambridge, used to live in Coles Lane.

The window to the right is decorated with St Andrew with his cross. It was restored in memory of Sidney Herbert Brickwood (1916–1993), the husband of Violet Brickwood, former postmistress of Oakington. Sidney was captured and imprisoned by the Japanese during WWII.

The window at the west end of the south aisle is the Millenium window with the inscription 'Year of Our Lord 2000'. A roundel of John the Baptist baptising Jesus, designed by Christopher Fiddes, was completed in 2005.

Nave

The thick walls of the nave, seen above the arcading, are the earliest surviving parts of the church from the 12th century. Both south and north arcades, each in five bays, seem to be cut roughly through the original thick Norman wall. The arches have only one small chamfer on each side.

The arcading of the south aisle with single chamfered, two-centred arches is supported by Early English circular columns, that used to be painted and were renewed in the 13th century, with moulded capitals and holdwater bases.

The octagonal columns of the north aisle are from slightly later than the south arcades, they have moulded capitals and bases. The east and west responds have Norman impost mouldings. If you look at the columns closely, you can see many engravings on them.

You may also notice the columns to both north and south aisles are out of plumb due to the outward thrust of the nave roof over many years. The installation of tie rods in 1970 was to overcome the possibility of this becoming a risk to the structure.

The nave floor was re-levelled in the late 19th century and new oak pews were installed by Dr Sewell, vicar. In both aisles, the old softwood pews were replaced by cushioned hardwood chairs in 1987.

Near the tower doors, there is a metal cover in the floor for the control of an old underfloor heating system. Its boiler is still under the nave floor. Its chimney went up inside the tower.

It was the forerunner of a more comprehensive coal-fired installation, completed in 1923. Its underground boiler house is located outside at the north side of the chancel. It used to feed large cast iron radiators. Electricity was connected in 1948 when electric lighting replaced oil pendant fittings. The present fittings were made locally and installed in 1986. Electric pew heating was installed in 1966, and upgraded in 1995 and 2023.

Tower

The 14th-century tower arch was widened in the 15th century. Note the two stone faces finishing its hood-mould. They might be faces of the builders themselves or well-known faces of that time.

Two 13th-century coffin lids with foliated crosses and omega ornament were found under the floor in 1850. They are displayed on either side of the tower arch. In 1911, they were recorded as being built into the interior of the north and west wall.

The tower room and ringing gallery were created in 1993. Before that, bellringers rang the bells from the ground floor using long ropes that were difficult to control. The room is separated from the nave by a glazed oak screen and doors and contains storage cupboards and fittings.

A circular stone plaque, designed and made by Mark Bury, on the south wall of the tower room, installed in 1994, tells us that the tower room and oak screen are dedicated to the memory of Jack Moore, a friend of this church; the ringing floor and seating are in memory of Patricia Devine, Beulah Anne Goody and Bunny Moore who was a bell ringer here for sixty years; the cupboards are in memory of Margaret Bilton.

The circular trapdoor in the ringing floor above provides access for bells if lowered for repair. A spiral staircase leads up to the oak ringing floor that has a seated balcony and glass screen protection.

The inscription on the tower west window reads 'This church was restored AD 1885-88.'

The timber floor of the belfry was removed and re-installed in 1963. Access to the bell chamber was improved in 2018 with a new ladder and slide-back hatchway.