Church of St Peter is a Grade II* listed building in the Breckland local planning authority area, England. First listed on 3 April 1951. A Medieval Church. 3 related planning applications.

Church of St Peter

WRENN ID
high-pillar-martin
Grade
II*
Local Planning Authority
Breckland
Constituency
South West Norfolk MP: Terry Jermy (Lab)
Country
England
Date first listed
3 April 1951
Type
Church
Period
Medieval
Address
Church of St Peter, White Hart Street, Thetford, IP24 1AA
OS grid reference
TL 869 831
Coordinates
52.41465, 0.74713
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: related consents · flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Church of St Peter is a parish church located in Thetford, dating from the 14th and 15th centuries, with a west tower that was rebuilt in 1789. The church is constructed of flint and flushwork, featuring ashlar dressings, with tiled roofs for the nave and chancel, and lead roofs for the north aisle. The west tower is four stages high, supported by diagonal buttresses on the west and side buttresses on the east. It has an ogeed west doorway with multiple mouldings from 1789, a ringing chamber with 2-light Y-tracery windows on the north and south sides, and a 3-light Y-tracery window in the upper ringing chamber. The belfry features 2-light louvred windows and is topped with a crenellated parapet.

The south nave has four 3-light Perpendicular windows under 4-centred arches, separated by stepped buttresses, while the gabled nave roof adds to the structure's character. The north nave aisle includes a 3-light Perpendicular west window, an arched north doorway with double sunk-quadrant mouldings, and two 3-light cusped windows beneath flat hoods. A later chimney divides the nave from the north chancel aisle, which has four 2-light clerestory windows from the 15th century. The north chancel aisle is pierced by three paired lancets, and the south chancel is illuminated by two 19th-century three-light Perpendicular windows, with stepped side buttresses and a 20th-century arched brick door to the right. The east window is a 19th-century 3-light design, and there is a section of flint and brick wall running south from the east buttress, containing a stone pointed arch.

Inside, the church features a 4-bay north arcade with double chamfered arches resting on octagonal piers, complete with moulded capitals and bases. The chancel arch is also double-chamfered with circular responds. The north aisle roof showcases 15th-century moulded principals, a tier of butt purlins, carved arched braces, and 4-centred wall arches. The north chancel chapel has three arcade bays with double-chamfered pointed arches and a 16th-century four-bay roof with flat-moulded principals and butt purlins. The chancel has a boarded barrel-vaulted roof, a 19th-century octagonal font, and 19th-century seating and pulpit. The west wall of the nave features painted Royal Arms of George III.

Local climate

Church of St Peter sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 700 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 91% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 99% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 30 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 65% of listed buildings. Of these, 15 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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  • No EPC on record for this property
  • No sale records on file
  • Related listed building consents — 3 applications
  • Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
  • Flood risk assessment
  • Radon risk assessment
  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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