Church Of St Peter

Church of St Peter

This is a parish church of early 15th-century date, substantially rebuilt except for the tower in 1825 and subject to major alterations in 1907 by the architect Hodgson Fowler. The building is constructed of sandstone ashlar with a slate roof featuring stone coped gables topped by ridge crosses.

The church consists of a nave with a north aisle, a slightly lower chancel with a north vestry and chapel, and a two-stage tower positioned at the west end of the north nave aisle. A deep plinth runs around the building with moulded copings to the tower and chamfered tops elsewhere.

The gabled west elevation of the nave displays a central, deeply moulded four-centred arched doorcase with a crocketed ogee head and stepped 14th-century style crocketed side pilasters. Above this is a figure of a saint set within a crocketed gabled niche with crocketed side pilasters, and further above, a rose window in a chamfered surround.

The 15th-century tower is recessed to the north of the gable. It features full-height stepped diagonal buttresses to the northern corners and on its west side a 2-light four-centred arched mullioned window with pointed lights, set in a deep chamfered surround with a hoodmould bearing carved labelstops. Clockfaces appear on the west and east sides of the tower. Above these are four-centred arched Y-traceried louvred bell openings in chamfered surrounds with hoodmoulds featuring finely carved labelstops, with similar bell openings on the remaining sides. A moulded stringcourse sits above, followed by embattled parapets with ridgeback copings, crocketed corner pinnacles, and corner gargoyles.

The north elevation of the tower has a small pointed window at its base and a bell opening above. Beyond to the east, the nave aisle features a flat-headed 3-light north window set in a cavetto moulded recess with trefoil-headed lights and incised spandrels. A projecting bay further east has a four-centred arched cavetto moulded doorcase facing west and a flat-headed 3-light window with pointed lights and incised spandrels on its east side.

The north chapel to the east contains a flat-headed cusped 2-light panel tracery window. Beyond this, the north vestry has an ogee-headed doorcase to the north and adjoining cusped pair of lancets to the east elevation. The east window of the vestry is 3-light with reticulated tracery and a hoodmould.

The south chancel elevation displays one single light and one 2-light flat-headed cusped ogee-traceried window with pierced spandrels; the western window is 2-light. The nave elevation to the east has a stepped buttress at its east corner. To the west are three 3-light flat-headed windows with trefoil-headed lights and pierced spandrels, linked by a continuous hoodmould. Further west are two shallower flat-headed 2-light windows with pointed lights and pierced spandrels, arranged one above the other. All openings to the nave and south elevation of the chancel date from 1907.

The interior features a three-bay 19th-century north arcade with octagonal piers, moulded capitals, and double cavetto-moulded arches. At the west end, the tower base has tall double-chamfered arches to the east and south sides. The chancel arch also has a double-chamfered arch with a soffit supported by two moulded corbels. The north chapel has a continuous moulded pointed western arch and a chamfered flat arch through to the chancel.

All roofs date from 1907. Those of the nave and aisle are barrel vaulted. The north chapel and chancel roofs have additional ribs and carved bosses and are painted. Both the chapel and chancel feature carved wooden screens to the west and in the arch between them. The chancel is entirely painted and contains a carved oak reredos and panelling to the east, plain choir stalls with fleur-de-lys poppyheads, and a carved pulpit to the south.

At the west end is a wooden organ gallery with a screened entrance lobby below, its east side painted with coats of arms. The tower contains a small four-centred arched doorcase to a stair turret in the north-west corner and, at its centre, a circular 13th-century font on a 19th-century base, covered by a 19th or early 20th-century weighted font cover. The nave has plain 20th-century pews.

Wall memorials are predominantly early 19th-century slate with white marble surrounds, but include two brass memorials with green marble surrounds to the Harrisons of Snelston Hall, and a white marble memorial of 1699 to Sara, daughter of Robert Docksey and wife of Francisci Evans. The tower bears a brass charity plaque of 1805 inscribed with "Bolds Annual Donations". The west tower window contains stained glass by W Tower, as does the east window in similar style. The north chapel window dates from 1949 and is by Nuttgens.