Church Of St Peter

Church of St Peter

This church sits on Church Road in Grandborough and consists of a chancel, aisled nave, north chancel aisle, and west tower. The building is constructed of squared coursed red sandstone, except for the tower which is built of limestone ashlar. Tile roofs cover the structure, with the chancel having 20th-century tiles, while the nave and aisle roofs are lean-to with coped gable parapets featuring kneelers.

The church dates primarily to the mid-14th century, with the tower added in the late 14th century. The architectural style is Decorated, featuring reticulated and other tracery throughout, mostly with hood moulds. The tower was restored in 1848, the church underwent restoration in 1862, a clerestory was added in 1863, and the nave roof was restored in 1879.

The chancel is a 3-bay structure with 2 bays forming the chancel aisle. It has diagonal and 2 south buttresses of 2 offsets each. The 4-light east window displays intersecting tracery, with a tomb recess beneath containing a re-used 12th or 13th-century moulded Romanesque arch along with upper parts of shafts, colonnettes, and remains of a gable. A 2-order chamfered and moulded south doorway has a 19th-century plank door. A 3-light western window sits above a blocked low-side window, with 2-light windows nearby. The north window has Y-tracery.

The nave and aisles form a 4-bay structure. The aisles have diagonal and other buttresses of one offset. 3-light east windows are present, with north and south doorways of 4 moulded orders and hood moulds with foliage stops. The south doorway has 19th-century double-leaf doors, while the north has an old plank door. Aisle windows include 2-light eastern and south aisle west windows with curvilinear tracery, and western windows with Y-tracery. The north aisle features straight-headed 2-light north and west windows with hood moulds and head stops. A clerestory with trefoil lights runs above.

The tower is Perpendicular in style and comprises 3 stages. It sits on a double splayed plinth and features diagonal buttresses of 5 offsets, moulded string courses, and a west doorway of 2 chamfered orders with 19th-century double-leaf doors. The second stage contains a deep-set 3-light window with a splayed sill merging with the string course. The third stage holds a clock in a moulded stone surround, with paired 2-light bell openings having a transom with blind tracery below. A continuous hood mould runs beneath, topped by a cornice and moulded embattled parapet. A fine recessed spire crowns the tower. The north and south sides feature chamfered straight-headed lights in place of clock faces. The south side has a canted stair projection in 2 staggered sections, the upper rising from the south aisle roof.

The interior is plastered throughout. The chancel roof contains medieval elements including moulded tie beams and carved bosses, cusped arched braces, and curved scissor braced rafters. A trefoiled ogee piscina is present. The 2-bay north arcade has an octagonal pier and responds rising only to the upper part, with a 19th-century lancet opening to the west. Arches throughout are of 2 chamfered orders with octagonal piers and half-octagonal responds. The chancel arch has responds to the inner order only. The 4-bay arcades have splayed bases and moulded capitals. A 19th-century moulded arched brace roof spans the nave, while a higher tower arch with responds to the inner order only features a timber rib vault above. The south aisle contains fragments of a piscina, with roofs mostly dating to the 19th century featuring moulded beams and ribs. A wide chancel aisle arch is evident.

Fittings within the church include an elaborate mid-19th-century stone reredos bearing texts, 18th-century altar rails with column-on-vase balusters and fluted newel posts, and a pulpit said to be 17th-century with traceried openwork. A brass corona dating to around 1862, mid-19th-century stalls and pews, and a mid-19th-century octagonal font with a moulded base and top featuring a traceried frieze complete the interior furnishings.