Church of St Andrew, Hempstead (EHER 14840)

Mid 14th century stone rubble church (consecrated in 1365). The west tower (15th century) collapsed in 1882 and was rebuilt in 1933 in memory of William Harvey (1578-1657), physician to James I and Charles I and the discoverer of the circulation of the blood. The north and south arcades have quatrefoil piers and two centred arches. The north and south aisles were rebuilt in the 19th century. The chancel is 15th century, with a 16th century brick east wall and window. The north vestry and chapel were added in the 17th century. William Harvey was buried, at first in the family vault beneath the north chapel which contains 13 remarkable lead coffins with modelled faces on them, and later was removed to the massive Carrava marble Sarcophagus, repaired by the Royal College of Physicians in 1883, in the north chapel. Restored 1933.

Monument description derived from merging EHER 14840, 14841, and 36097. Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import: The church stands on the east side of the village. Mid 14th century stone rubble church (consecrated in 1365). The west tower (15th century) collapsed in 1882 and was rebuilt in 1933 in memory of William Harvey (1578-1657), physician to James I and Charles I and the discoverer of the circulation of the blood. The north and south arcades have quatrefoil piers and two centred arches. The north and south aisles were rebuilt in the 19th century. The chancel is 15th century, with a 16th century brick east wall and window. The north vestry and chapel were added in the 17th century. William Harvey was buried, at first in the family vault beneath the north chapel which contains 13 remarkable lead coffins with modelled faces on them, and later was removed to the massive Carrava marble Sarcophagus, repaired by the Royal College of Physicians in 1883, in the north chapel. Restored 1933. <1> - <4> 1994. Excavation. In 1994 an excavation was carried out below the floor of the Harvey Vault. Some human bones were found in a pit. Builders trench was dug by hand to a depth of 30cm below the brick floor of the Harvey vault, along its western edge. Part of a small pit was observed, cut 25cm into the natural. This contained a skull and limb bones (not articulated) of at least two adults (This material given to the incumbent for re-burial). Full dimensions of the pit were not established because of the limited size of the builder's trench, but if slumping in the adjacent brick flooring was any guide, it would have been circular and at least 1 metre in diameter. The human bone is most plausibly interpreted as deriving from burials formerly in the churchyard, which were disturbed by the construction of the Harvey vault. The 1830 coffin of Admiral Sir Elias Harvey is identical to that of Lady Augusta Lovelace (daughter of Byron) in the Byron vault in Dorset. The society undertakers Dowbiggen and Holland probably also made the Harvey coffin. <1> <2> 2000. Test pitting. In 2000 test pits were dug against the chancel walls. The concrete gutter on the south and east sides of the chancel was removed to create an evaporation zone to alleviate the damp on the interior of the walls. A test hole was dug at the south end of the east wall to assess what depth of earth could safely be removed. On the south side of the chancel, removal of the gutter revealed that the base of the wall had been repaired, or had a slight plinth created, with four courses of 19th or 20th century bricks. Below this brickwork, there is a flint foundation which seems to extend downwards for another 200mm (i.e. 200mm below the base of the concrete gutter). On the west side of the diagonal buttress at the south-east corner of the chancel (which is part of the brick rebuild of the east end), there is a stone foundation at right angles to the chancel wall. This extends out 800mm, is at least 900mm wide, and has straight edges on its west and south sides. This seems to be the remains of an earlier buttress in line with the east end of the wall. The test hole against the east wall, just by the south-east buttress, revealed an offset foundation at least 250mm deep made of well coursed flints bonded with a dark yellow brown silty mortar. Above this, there are low courses of large (150-200mm) flints which are the foundation of the 15th century brickwork at the end of the chancel. This could be a rebuild of an earlier square east end in the same position as the existing one. It is likely that this is earlier than the 15th century date proposed for it by the RCHM. <5> See also: <6> - <9>