Church Of St Peter

The Church of St Peter is a Grade II* listed church located on Firs Lane in Westleigh. It was built between 1880 and 1881 by the architectural firm Paley and Austin. The church is constructed of brick with red sandstone dressings and features a slate roof. The design includes a nave and chancel that are separated by a central tower, with an aisle and vestry located only on the north side and a porch on the south side.

The church has a three-bay nave and a two-bay chancel, both of which are supported by low weathered buttresses. It features a continuous sill band and two-light flat-headed windows, some of which are paired and adorned with Decorated tracery and brick hoodmoulds. The gabled porch has a statue niche above the arched doorway, and the gables are coped. The bold tower, topped with a pyramidal roof, has heavy weathered buttresses, a three-light transomed window, flat-headed belfry openings, and an ashlar frieze below the parapet. The east and west windows are five-light and four-light transomed, respectively. The aisle roof is a lean-to, and there are no clerestory lights.

Inside, the church features circular columns with moulded capitals and bases that support moulded brick arches in the north arcade. Heavily moulded brick responds support the tower arches and a ribbed quadripartite crossing vault. The nave has king-post roof trusses with curved wind braces, while the chancel features hammer-beam roof trusses. Notable interior elements include an alabaster pulpit believed to have originated from the Military Chapel of Manchester Cathedral, a stone font, a reredos, timber fittings, and stained glass. This church is regarded as one of Paley and Austin's more radical and impressive designs.