Church Of St Peter

Church of St. Peter, Upwell

A parish church of exceptional architectural interest, St. Peter combines a 13th-century north-west tower with a nave that is early 14th-century in origin, though substantially rebuilt in the mid-15th century with aisles and chancel. The building underwent significant restoration in 1836-38, when crenellations were added to parapets, and the chancel was further restored in 1887. It is constructed of Barnack stone and clunch with leaded roofs.

The Tower and Exterior

The tower rises in three stages above the north aisle, with angle buttresses to the second stage. A 3-light mid-14th-century west window with hexagon tracery and hood mould lights the interior, with string courses marking the division of storeys. The 13th-century ringing chamber windows are of 2-light plate tracery, with columns serving as both responds and as the central shaft; the spandrels are pierced by trefoils. Above this is an octagonal late 14th-century belfry stage with renewed glazed 2-light cusped windows, set beneath a string course and crenellated parapet.

The west door into the nave is arched, and above it rises a 4-light cusped intersecting west window of early 14th-century date, topped by a crenellated gable. Both aisles and clerestories are crowned with crenellated parapets. The aisles feature five 3-light windows of 15th-century panel tracery beneath 4-centred arches, set between stepped buttresses. A 4-centred door occupies the west bay of the south aisle, while the west bay of the north aisle contains a two-storey porch. This porch is gabled with angle buttresses and is entered through a wave-moulded arch, with 2-light square-headed side windows below a first-floor trefoiled lancet. To the north is a 3-light flat-headed panel tracery window flanked by statuary niches on either side, each canopied with a nodding ogee. The porch interior contains a tierceron vault.

The clerestory consists of 2-light square-headed windows with cusped round arches—six on the south side and five on the north. To the south-east of the nave stands a brick stair turret, terminating in a bell-cote with finial. The chancel is reinforced by stepped buttresses to its flanks and angle buttresses to the east. It displays three 3-light 4-centred windows with panel tracery to its flanks; the centre window on the south side has been reduced to accommodate an arched priest's door. A 19th-century 4-light Perpendicular east window lights the chancel, and a single-storey 19th-century brick vestry adjoins the chancel to the north.

The Interior

The interior is dominated by a six-bay arcade of lozenge piers on high plinths, supporting continuous double wave and roll-moulded arches with polygonal capitals to east and west. Thin colonnettes rise from the spandrels of the arches to roof corbels. The south and east tower arches are blocked.

The nave roof is of exceptional quality, featuring alternating tie and hammer beams. The hammer beams carry flights of carved angels with spread wings, while the tie beams have arched braces dropping to corbels, crenellations, and carved angels. From the ties, traceried panels rise to moulded principals. Arched braces with fleurons rise from the hammer beams to principals (two pairs of principals to each bay). The roof is completed with one tier of moulded butt purlins and a moulded ridge piece. Central roof bosses are carved in the form of angels. The aisle roofs are similarly of hammer-beam type, with every alternate hammer beam carved as an angel with spread wings. The principals and two tiers of butt purlins are moulded, while non-figurative hammer beams have carved and traceried arched braces dropping to wall posts on carved corbels, and traceried arched braces rising to the principals.

The western and north galleries date to 1838 and stand on octagonal cast-iron columns. The chancel roof has boarded ashlaring decorated with a row of angels, with a row of false hammer beams alternating between carved figures of angels and devils. It contains one tier of moulded butt purlins and a moulded ridge piece, with foliate bosses on the angels and angel bosses on the devils.

An octagonal 15th-century font stands in the nave. Its stem is decorated with shields and nodding ogees, while the bowl is carved with angels holding shields. The chancel south wall displays a brass to William Mowbray, dated 1428, beneath a triple-cusped canopy. The chancel north wall contains a brass to Henry Martyn, dated 1435, with flanking shields. Both figures are depicted in classical dress.