St Andrews Church was built in 1884-5 after fire destroyed the original 7th Century church.The heat of the fire was so great that the bells melted and fell as a shower of molten metal in the west end of the old Church. This metal was later salvaged by the local schoolchildren and used to make bells for the new church, which was built in the centre of the village. The insurance from the fire (£1000) was not enough to cover the rebuilding costs, and the villagers of East Hanningfield raised the rest of the money, a further £2500, themselves. The site for the new church was donated by Elijah Slater, a retired wool merchant.