Church Of St Peter

A parish church of 13th to 16th-century date, substantially restored in the late 18th and 19th centuries. The building stands on the east side of Main Street at Kirby Bellars. It is constructed of coursed and squared ironstone and brick with limestone ashlar dressings, and features copper, lead and slate roofs. The plan comprises a west tower with spire, nave with clerestory, chancel, south aisle, and south porch. The north aisle was demolished in 1690. Major restoration campaigns took place in the late 18th century and in 1820. The nave was re-roofed and parapets were added by the architects Goddard & Paget in 1885. The south aisle was restored in 1889 and re-roofed in 1897.

The west tower is in four stages with a moulded plinth and sill band, three string courses, and an eaves band decorated with ballflower ornament. Two corner buttresses to the west have five setoffs; a single buttress stands to the north east. To the south east is a buttressed octagonal stair turret with a light at each stage. The first stage contains to the west a 14th-century reticulated double lancet. The second stage has to the west a 14th-century canopied niche with two smaller niches above it, and to north and south, an early 14th-century ogee double lancet. The third stage has to the west a 14th-century ogee double lancet with flat head, and single lancets to north and south. The fourth stage contains four paired 14th-century double lancet bell openings with shafts. All windows have hood moulds with stops. The octagonal broach spire carries a finial and weathercock and three tiers of gabled lucarnes with double lancets.

The nave north side, comprising three bays, has two but-trusses, the eastern one rebuilt in the 19th century. An off-centre moulded blocked 14th-century doorway is flanked by single Decorated triple lancets, with a reticulated double lancet reset above the door; the doorway has a hood mould. The clerestory has a moulded string course, parapet, and coped east gable with cross. The north side contains three plain double lancets with flat heads, and the south side has four ogee double lancets with flat heads.

The chancel comprises two bays with a coped east gable. The north side has a slightly off-centre early 14th-century triple lancet with intersecting tracery, and to the west, a small chamfered rectangular blocked window. The east side has a 19th-century corner buttress to the north and a late 18th-century brick corner buttress to the south, flanking a restored early 14th-century triple lancet with intersecting tracery. The south side has to the west a square blocked window, and to its right, a chamfered restored 13th-century doorway; to the east is a squat 14th-century triple lancet with intersecting tracery.

The south aisle extends over four bays and has two corner buttresses, with an additional pair of buttresses at the east end and a sill band. The east end displays a restored 14th-century cusped triple lancet with intersecting tracery and hood mould with stops. The south side has to the west a restored ogee triple lancet with flamboyant tracery, and to the east a 15th-century transomed cusped double lancet; further east is a 14th-century ogee reticulated triple lancet. The two eastern lancets have hood moulds with mask stops. The west end has a 19th-century Geometrical double lancet with hood mould.

The south porch dates to the 14th century and has flanking buttresses, a coped gable with kneelers and cross, and a double chamfered and rebated doorway with hood mould.

The interior contains wood and stone benches. The 14th-century inner tower doorway has double filleted roll moulding, a 16th-century plank door and hinges, and is surmounted by a mid-20th-century crested war memorial screen. The tower chamber has a vault.

The blocked north arcade, dating to the 14th century, comprises four bays with octagonal piers and a west respond with moulded abaci. The arches are double chamfered and rebated with hood mould and mask stops. A central window contains 18th-century stained glass fragments. The 1885 roof has large arch braces with traceried spandrels, bosses, and foliate and shield corbels.

The south arcade dates to the 13th century and comprises four bays. The eastern pier has four large and four smaller filleted shafts with rings, and the central pier is square with four plain and four intermediate shafts. The remaining pier and responds are octagonal with moulded abaci decorated with nailhead and dogtooth bands. The arches are chamfered and keeled moulded.

The chancel has a 14th-century double chamfered arch with remains of hood mould and round and octagonal shafts. A restored 15th-century traceried oak screen stands beneath. To its left is a chamfered 14th-century doorway. The north side has a pointed aumbry to the east, and the east end contains a stained glass window by H. Harvey, 1980. The south side has to the east a coved 13th-century piscina and restored chamfered sedilia. The roof, restored in 1820, has a 15th-century billeted span beam.

The south aisle east end has a moulded window opening with shafts and a small square aumbry. To the east is a 14th-century crocketed ogee corner piscina. The south side has two 14th-century chamfered and moulded tomb recesses to the east. The easternmost window contains 15th-century stained glass fragments. The west end window has flanking shafts and remains of stained glass of 1857 by Wailes. The 1897 roof has arch braces.

Fittings include a 15th-century traceried bench end with poppyhead, an 18th-century chest, a panelled altar and reredos of 1898, a 19th-century desk and skeleton pulpit, and chairs of 1907. A late 20th-century octagonal font is also present.

The memorials include an alabaster effigy of approximately 1360, probably representing Sir Roger Beler II, and a similar effigy to one of his wives. There is also a slate tablet of 1812.