Church Of Saint Peter

Church of Saint Peter

This parish church at Adderley comprises structures of different periods: a north (Kilmorey) chapel dating from 1635–7 (restored in 1822), a west tower built in 1712–13, and the remainder rebuilt in 1801 by the architect Richard Baker. The building is constructed of yellow and grey sandstone ashlar, with red sandstone used in the tower, and has slate roofs throughout. The plan is cruciform, with a three-bay nave, one-bay transepts, a chancel, and a west tower.

The west tower rises in two stages. It sits on a chamfered and moulded plinth with giant Doric pilasters at the corners supporting sections of entablature. A moulded cornice and parapet with corner dies and moulded coping crown the structure, though finials were missing at the time of survey in July 1986. The belfry openings are louvred and chamfered in Gothic style with Y-tracery. The first stage contains a round-arched west window with two hollow chamfered round-arched lights, a circular panel in the tympanum, and a hollow-chamfered hoodmould with scrolls to a cable-fluted keystone. A raised datestone above the window bears the date and initials of the churchwardens, largely illegible by 1986 but including the inscription "15 / 17 WT CW 12 / M.....".

The nave, chancel, and south transept share a common architectural language: plinth, cill band with slightly chamfered top, moulded cornice, and blocking course. Gabled ends are triangular-pedimented, and two small gabled finials on the blocking course to the north mark the division between nave, crossing, and chancel. The exterior windows are cast-iron Gothic designs with three lights and panelled tracery. The south wall of the transept, the east and north walls of the chancel, and the north wall of the crossing feature full-height recessed blank panels. A central south nave doorway has a pair of beaded flush-panelled doors within a moulded surround. A square projection occupies the angle between the chancel and south transept.

The north (Kilmorey) chapel has a chamfered plinth, a coved parapet string, and a battlemented parapet with moulded coping and crocketed finials at the corners (the north-east finial was missing at survey) and at the gable apex. The north window has a four-centred arch with three cinquefoil-headed lights whose mullions continue into the head, moulded reveals, and diamond-leaded glazing. The segmental-headed east window contains two cinquefoil-headed lights with Y-tracery, reveals with cyma-recta moulding, and diamond-leaded lights. A nail-studded boarded west door is set within a four-centred moulded archway under a square head, with a moulded step and a flight of four steps with rounded corners.

The interior was divided at the time of survey, with the nave serving as the active parish church while the remainder was declared redundant. Both the chancel and south transept terminate in apsidal ends. A round tower arch opens from the nave, and there is a round-arched recess in the south wall of the chancel. Beaded flush dado panelling, ramped up to the apse in the south transept, runs beneath a moulded cornice supporting a flat ceiling.

A 12th-century stone font occupies the nave. It has a circular base and a bowl shaped like a cushion capital, carved with foliage ornament, a cross patée, addorsed volutes, and the Latin inscription "HIC MALE PRIMUS HOMO FRUITUR CUM CONIUGE POMO" (Here first man enjoys with spouse the apple). Late 17th-century wooden altar rails feature a moulded base, fluted balusters with carved acanthus ornament to the lower parts, and a moulded rail; doubled balusters mark each end. Benches date from around 1801 and have beaded flush back and end panels. A hexagonal wooden pulpit, also of circa 1801, displays four panels to each side, a fluted band to the base, fret ornament to the moulded cornice, a hexagonal stem with moulded base and top, and three steps.

A vestry screen, dated 1908, stands beneath the tower, with raised and fielded panelling, a central four-panelled door, and a moulded cornice. A segmental-headed 18th-century nail-studded door provides access to the tower from the vestry. A seven-bay inlaid wooden altar, probably dating from around 1900, features three-quarter columns. An oak chancel screen of circa 1908 comprises bays in a 2:1:2 arrangement with unfluted Corinthian columns on pedestals and entablature; the central section breaks forward and is surmounted by a crucifix with a pair of central wrought-iron gates below. An old iron-bound oak chest and the remains of a 19th-century organ are also present. South doors bear large L-hinges on the inside. Commandment boards flank the tower arch, and a benefactors board in the vestry records "WILLIAM DUCKERS JOHN KEMP, CHURCH WARDENS 1826". A tablet above the south door displays the Creed and Lord's Prayer.

The Kilmorey chapel interior preserves exceptional early work. A screen of 3:2:3 bays, dating from circa 1637, features lower panels with strapwork and Tuscan colonnettes supporting pierced round arches with central pendants. An openwork frieze and obelisk pinnacles flanking a central carved coat of arms appear above. The ceiling comprises a four-bay roof of moulded cambered tie-beams resting on wooden corbels, with carved shields at the centre and carved bosses at intersections of moulded joists. Panelling with strapwork ornament, a carved frieze, and a moulded cornice finish the walls. A doorway to the north-west incorporates an inner door into the panelling, inscribed "GOD SPAKE THESE WORDS AND SAYD I AM THE LORD THY GOD" with a triangular pediment above bearing a phoenix. The west wall contains a fireplace with a 17th-century carved bolection surround and an early 19th-century cast-iron grate with reeded architrave. Heraldic stained glass appears in the north window.

Several monuments and memorial tablets are present. A tablet to Sir Corbet Corbet (died 1823), executed by John Carline and Son, shows a mourning figure against a background of drapery. Two Kilmorey tablets date from 1818 and 1824 and were made by Bacon Jun. and S. Manning respectively. Further late 18th and early 19th-century tablets commemorate members of the Kilmorey family and others. Brasses, not noted at the time of survey, include a bishop of circa 1390, Sir Robert Needham (died 1556) and his wife Agnes (died 1560), and John Podmore, rector (died 1673).