Church Of St Peter Ad Vincula

Church of St Peter ad Vincula

This is a largely 13th-century church with some later medieval additions and substantial 19th-century restoration work. The tower, rebuilt with new parapet and buttresses in the 15th or 16th century, received further restoration in 1630. The chancel and south transept were extensively restored between 1857 and 1864, with the chancel roof designed by S S Teulon. The nave roof was raised in 1956.

The building is constructed of ironstone and limestone rubble with limestone ashlar dressings. The roofs are lead-covered over the nave aisles and slate elsewhere. The church follows a cruciform plan with a west tower, a three-bay aisled nave with north and south porches, transepts, and a three-bay chancel.

The two-stage tower has angle buttresses, needle lancets to the first stage, and narrow stairway lighting slits on the south side. A stringcourse runs around the tower, which features pointed two-light belfry openings with quatrefoils above them. The parapet is coped, embattled, and decorated with crocketed finials, supported on a corbel table. Gargoyles are positioned around the tower base.

The nave and chancel have plinth and cill bands with quoins at the corners of the chancel and transepts. The nave's south aisle has pointed three-light windows with 19th-century intersecting tracery. The north aisle has square-headed three-light windows with largely 19th-century Perpendicular tracery, dripmoulds and carved headstops. The nave clerestory alternates between circular windows and lancets, all with dripmoulds and carved stops.

The south porch features a pointed double-chamfered outer arch with an inner order on moulded corbels. The inner arch has three chamfered orders with nook shafts. The north porch has an ashlar front and preserves an early 12th-century round-headed chamfered arch with a nailhead dripmould, reset in place. Its inner arch is pointed with double chamfers and moulded imposts.

The south transept's south wall, rebuilt in the 19th century, contains two needle-lancets with a circular window above, flanked by single lancets. The north transept's north wall has three stepped needle-lancets with a circular window above, three lancets to the east side, and one to the west. The chancel has needle-lancets with dripmoulds. Its east wall, rebuilt in 1857, features stepped lancets with a stringcourse, two round-headed windows, and a circular window above. The walls of the chancel and transepts have nailhead dripmoulds and carved stops, predominantly whorl-shaped.

Internally, the nave arcades consist of pointed double-chamfered arches on quatrefoil piers with engaged shafts, moulded capitals, and mostly water-holding bases, some probably re-cut. The south piers have high circular plinths with round abaci and 19th-century shaft rings, while the north piers have octagonal plinths. The tall tower arch is double-chamfered with the inner order supported on corbels, featured a dripmould and headstops. The chancel arch is double-chamfered on shafted responds on the west side of the crossing, with a 19th-century low pointed arch above. The transept arches are double-chamfered; those to the north have shafted responds, while those to the south have inner orders on moulded corbels. Pointed chamfered openings above the chancel arches are set in the arches from the chancel.

The north transept, known as Morley Chapel, contains a trefoil-headed piscina with a projecting bowl on a filleted shaft and moulded octagonal base. The chancel has a moulded cill band and nook shafts to all lancets; those on the south side are keeled, while those at the east end are filleted. Linked dripmoulds run along the side windows, with nailhead dripmoulds to the east windows and upper transept arches, and whorl-stops throughout. All lancets and circular windows are deeply splayed. The wooden chancel roof is supported on wall shafts.

The south wall of the chancel contains sedilia with pointed moulded arches on shafts and responds with moulded capitals and bases. A double piscina with pointed moulded arches on filleted responds is also present. At the east end is an aumbry with double pointed arches and a square dividing shaft rebated for doors. The north wall has an aumbry with double pointed arches and plank doors beneath nailhead dripmoulds.

Fittings include a moulded octagonal pulpit base with stone steps in the north aisle, and a 19th-century font set on an earlier circular base. Single table tombs occupy each transept: the north transept tomb has a mensa slab on top and carries a 17th-century (or possibly later) tablet recording the burial of the Morleys and Holmes of Holme Hall. The south transept tomb has a gravestone recording burials of the Healey family in 1677 and 1717.