Church Of Saint Peter

The Church of St Peter has origins in the 12th century, with a south aisle added in the late 12th century, an early 13th century west tower and north aisle, a 14th century chancel, the tower raised in the 15th century, a 1730 south chancel chapel, and a 19th century north vestry. The church is constructed of coursed squared rubble with significant brick patching, brick to the porch, and slate roofs.

The west tower is three-stage with a lancet window to the second stage, a two-light belfry opening with Perpendicular tracery, and a crenellated parapet with corner finials. A two-light pointed west window also features Perpendicular tracery. The nave has three bays and an aisled arrangement. The nave’s south wall contains two two-light square-headed windows with Perpendicular tracery and a deeply moulded 13th century pointed south door under a hoodmould with face stops. Pointed openings lead to a 19th century south porch. The north wall is buttressed and contains three two-light square-headed windows with Perpendicular tracery; a hoodmould is present on the centre window, and there is a blocked north door. The south chapel has a two-light square-headed window with Perpendicular tracery to the south. The chancel has buttresses with offsets and a two-light square-headed window with cusped ogee tracery. The east window is a three-light pointed window with Perpendicular tracery. A raised coped gable with a cross finial tops both the nave and chancel. There is a 19th century three-light pointed window with Perpendicular tracery to the north vestry.

Inside, the tower has a pointed arch on plain imposts. The late 12th century south arcade features three pointed double-chamfered arches on polygonal abaci, with leaf-carved capitals, cylindrical piers, and water-holding bases. The early 13th century north arcade has three double-chamfered pointed arches on polygonal abaci with nailhead decoration on cylindrical piers, also with water-holding bases. A 19th century pointed double-chamfered chancel arch rests on column corbels. A round arch with a keystone and sunk foliage panels to the soffit leads into the south chapel, which is lined with marble funerary tablets to the Ellerker family. A round-headed piscina with a broad chamfer is set into the chancel’s south wall. The early 13th century font has a tapering square base ornamented with blank arcading (pointed arches) on a central cylindrical column flanked by four corner colonettes with annuli.