Parish Church Of St Peter

The parish church of St Peter is a building with a complex history, dating back to the 13th century. The chancel originates from the 13th century, while the tower was built in the late 14th or early 15th century. The north and south arcades, along with the clerestory, were added in the 15th century. The nave and aisles were restored in 1894, and the chancel in 1907. The church is constructed of flint and pebble rubble with limestone and clunch dressings, and has roofs of slate and modern plain tiles.

The tower is of three stages, featuring clasping buttresses, a moulded plinth band, and a belfry. It has a parapet with flint flush work and corner pinnacles with finials. Two-light belfry windows are set in two-centred arches. The south aisle wall projects to the east and west as buttresses, with one blocked window, possibly from the 14th century. There are four windows with cinquefoil lights in flat arches, and two round windows with quatrefoils. Two lancet windows are found in the south chancel wall, framed by two-stage buttresses. The east window has been rebuilt.

Inside, the nave arcade comprises four bays with piers featuring embattled capitals. The two-centred arches have hollow and plain chamfers. A guild bracket is located on the south side of a pier within the north arcade, along with graffiti including a woman with a head-dress. Head corbels have been reset into the aisle walls. A particularly fine 15th-century niche is situated in the south aisle, featuring a crocketed canopy supported by a demi figure of an angel. The nave roof was restored in the 19th century and retains 15th-century carved wooden corbels, moulded tie beams, and carved spandrels to the braces. The chancel roof is also from the 19th century. The organ is a 19th-century instrument by Henry Jones of London. The font is 16th century, with an octagonal bowl decorated with carved head bosses and quatrefoils, supported on an octagonal stem and spurs to the plinth. A monument in the north aisle is dedicated to Henry Gorges, who died in 1674 and served as Superintendent and Surveyor General of the draining of the Bedford Level. This monument, attributed to A. Storey, depicts two kneeling figures holding hands over two books, beneath an open pediment—representing his parents—with a white marble effigy of Henry Gorges himself lying on a tomb chest. A monument to Ashton Benyon, who died in 1856, was created by E. Davis.