Church Of St Peter

Church of St. Peter

A parish church of late 13th-century and 14th-century date, restored in 1830 and comprehensively restored again in 1882 by A. W. Blomfield, who rebuilt the chancel and added an organ chamber.

The church is built of coursed and squared ironstone and limestone with ashlar dressings. The roofs are lead and plain tile, with chamfered plinths and eaves, and coped gables.

The building comprises a west tower, nave with clerestory, north aisle and vestry, chancel, south aisle, and south porch.

The west tower is unbuttressed and dates from the 13th century. It is in three stages. A deep plinth and two string courses are present. At the eaves is a coved band decorated with masks and four gargoyles, and the parapet is plain with a pyramidal roof and wind vane. The first stage has a double lancet to the west with a quatrefoil head. The second stage has a clock to the south. The third stage has cusped ogee double lancet bell openings on each side with panel tracery. All openings have hood moulds and stops.

The clerestory comprises two bays with two restored Geometrical double lancets on each side.

The north aisle and vestry extend four bays and have single central and corner buttresses with four setoffs. The west end has a restored Geometrical double lancet. The north side contains a 13th-century lancet to the east. To the west is a blocked 13th-century doorway with moulded imposts, flanked on the left by an untraceried 14th-century triple lancet with flat head and on the right by a 14th-century ogee-headed Geometrical double lancet. The east end has a 19th-century plain double lancet. All openings have hood moulds.

The chancel east end displays a graduated plain triple lancet with linked hood mould and a coped gable with cross. The south side has a plain double lancet with hood mould.

The south aisle extends four bays and has an off-centre south side buttress and a similar buttress to the west corner. The south side contains a chamfered 19th-century doorway to the east, beyond which is a plain 19th-century double lancet, both with hood moulds. To the west, beyond the south porch, is a 14th-century Geometrical double lancet. To the east of the porch is a 19th-century reticulated triple lancet with flat head. The west end has a 19th-century cusped double lancet. All these openings have hood moulds.

The 19th-century south porch has a coped gable with kneelers and cross. The doorway is double chamfered and rebated with responds and hood mould. The east side has a single chamfered lancet.

Interior

The interior has a common rafter roof. The double chamfered and rebated inner doorway has chamfered responds and hood mould.

The 13th-century tower arch is double chamfered and rebated with octagonal responds. The tower chamber west window contains 19th-century stained glass.

The north and south arcades are 13th-century with three bays each, featuring octagonal piers and responds with water-holding bases and abaci with nailhead. The arches are double chamfered and rebated with hood moulds and stops. A low-pitched 19th-century roof with arch braces on corbels spans above. The north and south aisles have lean-to roofs with arch braces.

The north aisle west and eastern windows contain stained glass dated 1889. The east end has an unglazed 19th-century triple lancet containing organ pipes. The south aisle east window contains stained glass dated 1881. The west end has a stained glass window dated 1889.

The 14th-century chancel arch is double chamfered with hood mould and octagonal imposts on corbels.

The north side of the chancel has a segmental pointed organ recess with the organ installed in 1882. The east end features a Perpendicular style panelled traceried dado and reredos dated 1912. The east window has shafts and hood mould with stained glass circa 1879. The south side has a two-bay arcade with an octagonal pier featuring a nailhead band to the abacus, segmental arches, and hood mould. A traceried panelled Perpendicular style screen, also dated 1912, is present. The chancel has a pointed barrel vaulted roof with moulded ribs.

Fittings and Furnishings

The fittings include a 13th-century hemispherical lobed font on a round stem with four minor shafts. A late 16th-century semi-circular marble font has fluted projecting ribs. A 17th-century carved chest and two chairs are present.

Late 19th-century fittings comprise traceried panelled stalls and desks with poppyheads, a matching skeleton pulpit, plain benches, and a brass eagle lectern. Three coronet-shaped multiple oil lamps are also present.

A donations board dated 1826 and a notice regarding the 1830 restoration are displayed.

Memorials include a marble and alabaster tablet from 1843, marble and alabaster war memorial tablets from 1918 and 1945, a brass dated 1924 in an alabaster surround, and three 20th-century brasses.