In the early March sunshine people in high viz vests and hard hats assembled at St Andrew’s Church full of anticipation for an unforgettable experience. Since before Christmas the tower had been covered in scaffolding with sheeting obscuring its distinctive structure. This was a chance to get behind the sheeting, climb the ladders to the top and understand what was going on.

When uncovered, the tower has a fascinating appearance and the chance to look at it up close helps us to understand what is going on. Rubble at the base of the tower gives way to neatly laid bricks, on top of which sit vertically placed wooden planks. A shingled spire tops it off. On the inside, the wooden framework makes an intricate pattern of interlocking timbers some of which are over 300mm square and nine metres long. Here and there are tool marks, carpenter marks and the ends of wooden pegs sticking out from below their joints, all a reminder that is a hand-built structure made from trees we now know were felled in 1493.

At seven metres from the ground you marvel at the skill of the craftsmen involved in this work. The timbers, possibly sourced locally from the Marks Tey Hall estate, would have to be cut and prepared, brought to site then lifted, positioned and pegged, all by hand and using a wooden scaffold, ropes and pullies. The builders used unseasoned oak that was easier to work with hand tools. They were skilled workers, experienced in the planning and construction of timber framed buildings and could use this knowledge locally, or to move around the medieval countryside from job to job, taking new ideas and ways of working with them.

Back down the ladders and into the church, there are clues to the different phases of the building’s life over the years. Built from a mix of materials including Roman brick, puddingstone and rubble, the earliest part of the church, the central nave, is thought to be Norman, although it could be even earlier. The eastern section, the chancel, dates from the 14th century. There is a 15th century octagonal wooden font. Once there would have been a stone rood screen, which is rare in Essex, separating the nave and the chancel, and fragments of this can be seen inside the church today along with parts of window tracery found under the floor in 2007. On the south wall is the Millennium Window, a celebration of the yesterday, today and tomorrow of the village. It was designed by Essex artist Susan McCarthy and shows the Marks and Tey family crests, sweet peas to remember the village’s seed growing history, Colliers’ brick kiln and people from the village through the years.