Church Of St Peter

The Church of St Peter is a parish church that dates back to the medieval period and was restored in 1872. It features a nave, chancel, north aisle, west tower, south porch, and north vestry. The building is constructed from random flint and stone rubble, with knapped flint on the lower part of the chancel and stone dressings, topped with plaintiled roofs. The early 15th-century tower has three-stage diagonal buttresses on its west face, a later crenellated parapet adorned with flushwork motifs, and large gargoyles at the corners. It includes a two-light west window and two-light openings for the bell chamber. A stone sundial dated 1827 is located on the south face of the tower.

The nave and chancel exhibit late 19th-century exteriors designed in the style of the 13th century, featuring two two-light windows on the south side of the nave. The simple porch was added in 1893, while the south nave doorway, dating from the late 12th century, has two orders of engaged shafts and a semi-circular moulded arch. The north aisle consists of five bays with 19th-century three-light windows and a restored early 13th-century doorway; the west window of the aisle is original. The chancel was rebuilt in 1878.

Inside, there is a four-bay aisle arcade with circular piers, likely re-used from a nearby abbey. The nave boasts a remarkable 15th-century seven-bay hammerbeam roof, featuring east-west arched bracing between the wall posts and along the ridge, with angels flanking the collars and a richly decorated wallplate; the east bay is panelled out as a canopy of honour for the rood. The church also contains a 15th-century octagonal font with well-preserved carved panels.

On either side of the chancel arch are twin canopied niches that retain significant remains of medieval colouring. An early 17th-century pulpit has been reduced in height during the 19th century. A late 19th-century dwarf screen incorporates four fine 15th-century traceried panels from the former rood screen, which still display original colouring. The chancel features 17th-century altar rails, and the north chancel contains a notable wall monument to Sir Edmond Barker (1676) and Lady Barker, with two interlocked oval niches housing frontal busts. In the south nave, there is an alabaster wall monument to Johan Scrivener (1662), along with effigy brasses for Edmond Chapman (1574) and Edmond Chapman (1626) located in the nave and chancel, respectively. Several ledger slabs from the 17th and 18th centuries commemorate the Barker family in the chancel. The church is listed as Grade I for its well-preserved medieval features.