Church Of St Peter

LEIRE DUNTON LANE (North Side) SP59 SW 3/33 Church of St. Peter 11.1.55

GV II* Parish church. Only the tower survives of a medieval building, and is late C13. The rest is of 1867-8 by W. Bassett Smith of London. Tower is of squared limestone, the rest coursed and squared granite with limestone dressings and plain tile roofs. West tower, nave and north aisle, chancel. Massy west tower of four unequal stages on plinth, with clasping buttresses to lower stages, which are angled above and terminate in gargoyles at the embattled parapet. 2-light west window and paired lights to bell chamber, all the detail coarse and heavy. Recessed spire with lucarnes. Clock and sun dial on tower. South doorway in steep coped gabled porch with inner doorway in a late C13 style with hoodmould, keeled moulding and hollow chamfer to archway, of banded gold and grey stone. Windows are in a Decorated style, each of 2-lights, with hoodmould. Moulded string course and buttresses. Priests door in chancel, its hoodmould springing from the string course. East window is of 3-lights in the Decorated style. Small vernacular gothic vestry to north, with coped gable with kneelers and a depressed foiled window. Unprojecting string course to vestry and north aisle, which is buttressed and has segmentally arched windows of 2-lights. Interior: west tower arch of late C13: triple chamfered shallow archway springs high up from double chamfered responds. North nave arcade of 4 bays, banded grey and gold ashlar: double chamfered arches with chamfer stops have small foliate bands in capitals and spring from shafts alternately cylindrical and octagonal. Responds are semi-octagonal and keeled. Roof partially ceiled above cambered braced tie-beam. Chancel arch has outer slim cylindrical shafts but is largely carried on small corbel-piers with heavy foliage capitals: it is also of banded ashlar. All fittings are contemporary with the rebuilding including encaustic floor tiles, pews and stalls and altar rails. Glass: east window is of 1844 removed from the earlier church: emblematic motifs, circles quatrefoils etc. on a filigree background. Figures of St. Peter, James and John in north and south chancel windows, c1870, gaudily coloured. Two windows in north aisle are narrative scenes, and one is dated 1889. The other is attributed to Heaton, Butler and Bayne: as the two windows form a stylistic pair presumably they were both the work of this firm. West tower window of 1882, the Good Shepherd and the Light of the World, heavily detailed. Font: c1850. Octagonal and heavily carved with reliefs of the emblems of the evangelists etc.

Listing NGR: SP5257090025