Church Of St Peter

The Church of St Peter is a parish church, likely dating to the 15th century, with substantial rebuilding in 1793 and around 1855. The church is constructed of ashlar, with a slate roof featuring coped verges. It comprises a west tower, a three-bay nave, a single-bay chancel, and a north-east vestry, all punctuated by diagonal buttresses.

The west tower is of 15th-century origin, displaying three stages marked by offsets and a crenellated parapet. A massive buttress is located at the north-west corner. A large pointed south doorway features wide chamfered jambs, with a two-order arch composed of half-rolls, fillets, and sunken chamfers. A small rectangular window sits above the doorway, adorned with a hood mould. The belfry windows are pointed, with two trefoil-headed lights topped with a quatrefoil bounded by four-centred arches.

The nave, dated 1793, has pointed windows each containing two trefoil-headed lights and a reticulation, all topped with hood moulds displaying foliated stops. The chancel, dating to approximately 1855, features a pointed south door with two moulded orders and an east window of three lights incorporating reticulated tracery and a hood mould with foliated stops. The vestry’s east door has a Caernarvon arch head, while its north window contains two trefoil-headed lights.

Inside, a pointed and widely splayed door leads to the tower. A high pointed chancel arch separates the nave from the chancel, and pointed doors are located on both sides of the chancel. The nave roof is characterised by braced tie beams springing from stone corbels, arch braced collars, two pairs of purlins, and a ridge piece. The chancel roof has a similar arch braced collar design. A west gallery houses the organ and is accessed via a wooden staircase with splat balusters.

The church interior contains a full complement of 19th-century box pews. A good oak pulpit of 1875, in Gothic style with octagonal panels and a brass balustrade, is present, alongside a matching reading desk from the same year featuring open panels. Also from around 1855 are the wooden altar rail, a pair of Gothic-style armchairs, and an altar table. The font is octagonal and constructed from stone, standing on a pedestal formed by five columns with stiff-leaf capitals.

Monuments include one to Sir Robert Peel (the statesman), dating to after his death in 1850, executed by White of Vauxhall Bridge Road. This features a Gothic-style, elaborate traceried canopy over a large inscription panel with black lettering, all set within a panelled wooden enclosure. A simpler aedicule commemorates a previous Robert Peel, who died in 1830. Memorial tablets are present for Samuel Cooper (died 1816), the Dickenson family (circa 1846), John Webster (died 1849), the Webster family (circa 1830), and Alice Mayou (died 1837). The stained glass in the nave and east windows was installed in 1875 and is unremarkable.