Church Of St Peter And St Paul (Church Of England)

This large Perpendicular-style town church stands as one of Hertfordshire's most significant medieval buildings, with fabric and a plan dating from the 13th century. The original structure consisted of an aisled nave and square-ended chancel. In the early 14th century, the north aisle was rebuilt, the south aisle widened, and the south porch constructed, with the lower stages of the west tower following soon after. The 15th century saw the nave arcades rebuilt, a clearstorey added, the tower completed, and the chancel arch renewed. The chancel and north aisle were partly rebuilt in the 16th century. A northeast vestry was added in 1825, with a larger choir vestry and organ following in 1874.

The interior underwent thorough restoration in 1861–2, when new oak seating and a pulpit were designed by William Slater and made by James Forsyth of London, and the chancel roof was rebuilt to its original height. Further major restoration took place in 1880–2 by Carpenter and Ingelow, who renewed the piers and bases of the nave arcades, rebuilt the clearstorey and north aisle, and moved the Gore tomb to the north aisle. In 1899–1900, G.F. Bodley added an oak rood screen, panelling, and roof gilding and painting in the chancel, and formed a chapel at the east end of the south aisle. A contemporary painted crucifixion on the east wall of the nave was executed by Messrs Powell of London.

The church is built of flint rubble faced with uncoursed knapped flint and random stone blocks, with chequerwork embattled parapets of stone and flint to each section. Totternhoe clunch, much renewed in Ancaster stone, is used throughout, and the roofs are low-pitched metal. The building comprises a chancel, clearstoried nave, aisles, south porch, massive west tower with spike and vane, vestries along the north side of the chancel, and an octagonal turret rising above the stair to the rood loft in the north jamb of the chancel arch.

13th-Century Remains

Surviving from the 13th century are a lancet window by the altar on the north wall of the chancel, the moulded rear-arch of the south doorway (the doorway itself is a 19th-century copy of a 13th-century original, re-used in the 14th-century aisle), and a three-lobed bell capital from the arcade set in a niche in the north aisle.

The Chancel

The three-bay chancel has an encaustic tile floor and a low-pitched roof with carved bosses at the junctions of the ridge and purlins with principals, all painted and gilded in medieval multicolours. The five-light east window (1851) has a traceried pointed top and stained glass by Clayton and Bell. The north wall retains the 13th-century lancet with deep internal splays and a small rectangular locker recess below. A two-bay arcade in 15th-century style gives onto the choir vestry with organ and a north window re-used from the chancel north wall, matching the three early 16th-century south windows of the chancel, each of three cinquefoil lights. Stained glass by Kempe fills the two western windows.

Several 17th-century monuments to the Anderson family of Pendley are set in the floor. The carved wooden reredos, riddel posts, and standing angels, painted and gilded, were made by W.E. Howard in 1928. The east window of the choir vestry, with two trefoil lights and a quatrefoil in the head, may also have come from the chancel north wall. Beside it is a wall monument to William Kay (died 1838) by J. Browne of London, featuring a seated female mourner and urn in a Greek aedicule with pilasters and trusses.

A 14th-century pointed canopy fragment in the north aisle niche probably came from sedilia in the chancel. Fragments of early 14th-century figure tiles are kept in the church, while others dispersed in the mid-19th-century restoration are now in the British Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum. These probably came from a tiled frieze around the chancel.

The Nave

The lofty and wide six-bay nave has a 15th-century open timber roof. The six-bay north and south arcades have unusual piers, each with four attached shafts and thin fillets between hollows at the diagonals tying into the polygonal base. The capitals, arches, and imposts are 15th century, but the piers are careful Portland stone copies (circa 1882) of the original church piers and bases, which were then built into All Saints Church, Long Marston. The blunt-pointed clearstorey windows of three cinquefoil lights were renewed at the same time, with the roof supported on scaffolding.

Fourteen large carved stone 15th-century fabulous beasts in the spandrels of the arcades support shafts running up to moulded corbels. These corbels support fourteen carved wooden figures at the springing of the moulded curved braces to the cranked tie beams of the roof, which has moulded ridge, purlins and wallplates supporting flat rafters, and moulded sub-principals.

The wide 14th-century chancel arch has two deeply moulded orders, engaged shafts and moulded capitals and bases. Above the north springing, about one metre above the level of the balustraded rood loft surmounting the traceried wooden screen, is a narrow three-centred arched-headed doorway. A crucifixion with kneeling angels on a diapered ground appears on the wall above. The cut-off end of the moulded medieval rood beam projects at the south side.

The sharply pointed 14th-century tall tower arch has four orders, with engaged shafts to the second and third orders. It is flanked by high churchwardens' pews of 1862 and tall narrow paintings of Moses and Aaron presented by William Gore of Tring Park circa 1715 when he "restored and beautified" the church. High up in the tower is a small arched-headed window.

The North Aisle

The north aisle has a large 15th-century east window of five lights with tracery, now unglazed and opening to the choir vestry. In the southeast corner is a three-centred arched-headed narrow doorway to the rood stair. The west window has a 14th-century rear arch and renewed tracery of two trefoil lights with a quatrefoil over. The rest of the aisle and roof were removed and rebuilt to facilitate engineering works to the arcades circa 1881–2, with four three-light windows with transoms and segmental heads and a chamfered pointed niche near the middle with architectural fragments built in.

A large standing monument on the axis of the south door commemorates Sir William Gore (died 1707) and Elizabeth his wife (died 1705). Possibly by Grinling Gibbons (a half-opened pea-pod is carved in the foliage at top right) but probably by Nost, according to Pevsner. In black and grey marbles, a sarcophagus with an inscribed front panel supports two life-size figures of Sir William in robes of Lord Mayor of London and Lady Gore, reclining on the concave sides of the plinth to a large gadrooned urn with flambeau top. This is backed by a wide Corinthian aedicule with segmental open pediment and decorated with mantling over the cap, mace and sword of office of Lord Mayor. The monument was moved here from the chancel in 1882.

To the left is a wall monument to John Gore (died 1765) with fluted Ionic pilasters to an aedicule and a flared sarcophagus before an obelisk bearing a portrait medallion, all in coloured marbles, with flanking putti. A 13th-century grave slab with raised cross fleurie is set into the floor. Moulded timbers suggest the old roof was rebuilt. A memorial tablet on the wall at the east part to Mary Anderson (died 1638) with Latin verses came from the chancel.

The South Aisle

The south aisle has a 15th-century east window like that of the north aisle, with stained glass by Kempe. Four windows in the south wall have three cinquefoil lights; the eastern two are like the south windows of the chancel, while the other two have a wider central light, as do the clearstorey windows. Stained glass is by Kempe's firm. The west window is similar. Moulded roof timbers are probably 15th century. The south door is flanked by stone 19th-century tablets of the Lord's Prayer and Creed. A fine 14th-century chamfered and trefoil-headed piscina near the altar of the Lady Chapel is concealed by doors installed when the chapel was restored with screen and panelling in 1900.

The West Tower

The large square three-stage west tower has massive corner buttresses and an octagonal southeast stair turret carried higher than the embattled parapet. Each face has a three-light cinquefoil bell-chamber opening under a label, with only the outer openings pierced. String courses run between stages. The middle stage has single slits with an openwork clock face on the south only. The tall three-light west window has a traceried pointed head and stained glass by Clayton and Bell, above the much-restored 14th-century west door.

The lower stage of the tower has a 14th-century stone tierceron vault with chamfered ribs, a central circular bell-opening, and ridge-ribs which are not aligned on centre.

Furnishings

The tough octagonal font of 1862 is in coloured Streetly stone inlaid with coloured marbles and cement.

The South Porch

The gabled and battlemented south porch has an ashlar front and continuously moulded arch. The elaborate south doorway reproduces 13th-century work with three nook-shafts of stone and water-holding bases.