St Peters Church

St Peters Church

Church located in Braunstone, to the south-west of Leicester. The building is principally of medieval origin, probably dating to the 13th century, though it has undergone significant restoration and enlargement in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The tower is probably 13th century in date. The remainder of the church is also probably 13th century, with the addition of an 18th century south porch. The building was remodelled and restored during the 19th century, with an 1885 restoration undertaken by E. Turner. A major enlargement took place in the 20th century. The structure is built of stone rubble with freestone dressings, the porch being of red brick, with slate roofs throughout. The plan comprises a west tower, nave and chancel. A 1930s north extension is transeptal and aisled with a north porch.

The exterior features Y-tracery windows throughout. The chancel is two bays with buttressing, including diagonal east buttresses. It has a three-light east window with intersecting tracery and two-light north and south windows. The nave features a diagonal south-west buttress and two-light windows. The south porch is notably fine, constructed in Flemish bond red brick with a moulded brick and stone cornice. The gable is treated as a pediment. The porch has a round-headed outer doorway with a tile-repaired keyblock, and contains a pair of timber gates with ramped top rails and ramshorn finials, with a steeply-pointed arched inner doorway. The squat two-stage west tower has secondary diagonal buttresses. One buttress records that the steeple was rebuilt in 1704, the tower restored in 1938, the church damaged by fire in 1975 and restored and rededicated in 1976. The tower has a three-light west window under a segmental arch and a low pyramidal roof. The 1930s transept has a plain parapet; the nave gables to the north; the aisles have coped parapets and Y-traceried windows. The shallow gabled north porch features a wide, cranked, chamfered arch.

The interior is plastered and painted. The medieval chancel arch is chamfered, as is the tower arch which has octagonal responds. The 1885 nave roof is of common rafters with straight braces to the collar and ashlar pieces. The 1874-5 chancel roof is arch-braced with decorative tracery above the collar and toothed decoration to the braces, which descend as posts onto carved stone corbels. A medieval Perpendicular chancel screen survives, much repaired with probably 19th century coving and panelling, though the main structure with square-headed openings is original. The chancel contains a trefoil-headed piscina and a 19th century timber reredos with blind traceried panels in a frame that sweeps up to a central gable. Circa early 20th century communion rails feature bobbin-turned balusters. The font is unusual, perhaps dating to the 17th century, with a richly-moulded octagonal stone bowl on a circular stem with roll moulding. The north side of the nave contains a 1970s wall blocking the first bay of the 1930s addition, with the octagonal 1930s piers buried within it. A round-headed doorway to the east opens into the 1930s transept, which has a three-bay arcade on the east side and a two-bay arcade with wider bays on the west side.

Prior to being incorporated into Leicester in 1929, Braunstone village comprised a main street with the parish church of St Peter and a manor, whose parkland became a metropolitan public open space. The church has 13th century origins, though all windows were replaced in the 19th century. The chancel was restored in 1874-7, and the rest of the church was restored by E. Turner in 1885. In 1936, plans were made to remodel the church on a north-south alignment, and a north extension, probably designed by E.D. O'Connor, was started but not completed as planned. The extension served as the nave until 1973 when it was altered to form a hall and offices. The tower was remodelled in 1938.