Church Of St Peter

Church of St Peter

This is a parish church of mixed dates spanning from the 13th century to the 19th century. The 13th-century nave survives largely intact, the south aisle was rebuilt in the 14th century, and the west tower dates to the 15th century. The north aisle was added in 1841 or 1842 at the expense of Frances Thursby, and the chancel was rebuilt in 1862 by architect S. Pountney Smith at the expense of the Reverend Henry Thursby-Pelham, M.A. of Cound Hall. The nave and south aisle were restored in 1843 and again in 1891, with a vestry added in 1891. The building is constructed of dressed red, yellow and grey sandstone with ashlar dressings, while the chancel is of snecked dressed red sandstone with red and yellow ashlar dressings. All roofs are plain tile.

The plan comprises a 4-bay nave, a 3-bay south aisle with porch, a 4-bay north aisle, a higher 4-bay chancel with north vestry and organ chamber, and a west tower. The 19th-century additions follow 14th-century Gothic style.

The tower is of two stages with a plinth, diagonal buttresses with seven offsets, a moulded string, and a parapet string with carved gargoyles. The parapet is battlemented with eight pinnacles and a low pyramidal cap with weathervane. A north-east stair turret has a square first stage chamfered to a three-sided belfry stage with chamfered top and chamfered rectangular openings. The belfry openings are four-centred arches with louvres, featuring three ogee-headed lights and moulded reveals. Quatrefoiled square sounding holes with returned hoodmoulds appear to the north and south, with a small rectangular plaque to the west above the string having a moulded surround and clock above. The west window is probably a reused 14th-century example with three cinquefoil-headed lights, intersecting tracery with cinquefoils, moulded reveals, and hoodmould with weathered carved stops.

The south aisle has a chamfered plinth, diagonal buttresses, and parapeted gable ends, the western one featuring a carved head at its foot. Windows display two trefoiled ogee-headed lights with reticulated tracery containing quatrefoils, moulded reveals, and hoodmoulds with carved stops. The east window has three trefoiled ogee-headed lights with similar details. A central south doorway has continuous quarter-round mouldings and probably a late 14th-century door with ogee-headed panels, brattishing, pierced quatrefoils above, large wrought iron strap hinges, nails, a keyplate and ring. The gabled south porch is set off-centre to the left and dates to the 14th century, though altered probably in 1891. It has moulded red sandstone reveals, a pair of 19th-century boarded doors with flanking paired leaded cinquefoil-headed side-lights, a moulded cambered tie-beam, and a boarded tympanum. The interior features a moulded cambered tie-beam, moulded wall-plates with run-out stops, and a collar and tie-beam truss roof with single purlins and chamfered windbraces.

The north aisle has diagonal buttresses, a chamfered offset at cill level, chamfered eaves with corbels, and parapeted gable ends. Windows have two cinquefoil-headed lights with sexfoils in the tracery, chamfered reveals, and hoodmoulds. The west end displays a chamfered rectangular window and a small quatrefoiled square window in the apex of the gable.

The chancel has a chamfered plinth, angle buttresses, and coped parapeted gable ends with trefoil-gabled kneelers. Windows feature two trefoil-headed lights with quatrefoils and cinquefoils in the tracery, chamfered reveals, and hoodmoulds with carved stops. A central south porch has a chamfered plinth, roll-moulded corners, a string halfway up a parapeted gable, and an entrance with a roll-moulded Caernarvon arch and boarded door with wrought iron strap hinges. The large east window has five trefoil-headed lights with Geometrical tracery consisting of cusped circles, chamfered reveals, and hoodmould with carved stops.

The organ chamber and vestry comprise a taller rear part with a rose window in the front gable, featuring quatrefoil mouchettes in the tracery and hoodmould. Ground-floor windows in the left-hand return front have paired trefoiled ogee-headed lights. The lower front block has a chamfered plinth, diagonal buttress, and gable, with a window containing two trefoiled ogee-headed lights with quatrefoils in the tracery and hollow-chamfered reveals. The left-hand return front displays pairs of trefoiled ogee-headed lights and a reset 13th-century archway to the right with half-round moulded jambs and a 19th-century boarded door.

Interior

The 4-bay aisle arcades date to the 13th century on the south, with double-chamfered arches and circular piers with moulded bases and capitals. A set-back tower arch has triple chamfering dying into responds. A four-centred arched doorway leads to the tower staircase. Two steps ascend to a double-chamfered 13th-century chancel arch, with the outer arch springing from imposts and the inner arch springing from short half-round colonnettes with moulded bases and capitals. A chancel south doorway has chamfered reveals, a shallow trefoil-head arch with dogtooth ornament, and a hoodmould with 17th-century-style carving. A chamfered organ chamber arch appears in the chancel to the north. The north aisle has a reused doorway to the east with half-round moulding and three 19th-century blind trefoil-headed chamfered arches to the right.

The 3-bay chancel roof has moulded arch-bracing to collars springing from short colonnettes resting on corbels, chamfered single purlins, ashlar pieces, moulded windbraces, and cusping in apexes. The 19th-century nave and south aisle roofs are double-framed with arch-braced collars. The 19th-century north aisle roof has cambered tie-beams, king posts, and moulded and carved corbels.

A 14th-century piscina in the south aisle has a trefoiled nodding ogee with crockets and pinnacle, and a square aumbry to its right. Chamfered rear arches appear to the chancel windows.

Fittings

A 12th-century stone tub font has rosettes in beaded medallions and a foliage frieze above. Reused 14th-century floor tiles lie in front of the communion rail. A late 16th-century chancel screen, moved to the tower arch in 1843, consists of three bays with a moulded rail and surround to the top panels, openwork cresting and brattishing, a central shaped-head doorway with moulded reveals and boarded door, and evidence of painted inscription at the top of the side panels.

A seven-sided wooden pulpit dates to 1633 and stands two panels high, decorated with lozenge and arabesque ornament, a carved frieze, and a carved panelled back board. Pews of 1891 incorporate some 17th-century fragments. Nineteenth-century choir stalls and wrought iron and wooden altar rails are present. Choir panelling of 1912 possibly incorporates some 17th-century fragments.

A small 14th-century figure appears in the east window of the south aisle. The east window of 1891 is an early work by Kempe. A carved head corbel in the south wall probably served to carry an image. Faded remains of doom painting appear above the chancel arch.

Monuments

A good series of 18th-century tablets is present. In the chancel, a monument to Robert Cressett, died 5 May 1728, has set-back flanking pilasters, a broken segmental pediment, an urn and flaming lamps above, and a shield and skull below. A monument to Barbara Cressett, died 16 July 1736, has panelled pilasters supporting a Doric frieze and broken segmental pediment with shield in tympanum and skulls supporting the base. A monument to Dr Edward Cressett, Bishop of Llandaff, died 13 February 1755, displays three putto heads below, a cartouche above, and a bishop's crozier and mitre flanking an urn at the top. A monument to Sir William Fowler features a standing putto in front of a grey obelisk.

In the north aisle, a monument to Sir William Fowler, died 28 March 1717, has console brackets, flanking set-back scrolls, and a figure next to a medallion of the deceased. In the south aisle, a monument to John Dod, died 28 November 1774, has a cornice breaking forward in the centre with a large urn and shield with swags above, and cherubs and crossed palms beneath. Other 18th-century tablets, three 18th-century brass plaques, and an 18th-century hatchment are also present.