Church of St Peter is a Grade II* listed building in the East Suffolk local planning authority area, England. First listed on 13 December 1949. A Medieval Church.
Church of St Peter
- WRENN ID
- tired-belfry-storm
- Grade
- II*
- Local Planning Authority
- East Suffolk
- Constituency
- Lowestoft MP: Jess Asato (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 13 December 1949
- Type
- Church
- Period
- Medieval
- Address
- Church of St Peter, Gunton Church Lane, Lowestoft
- OS grid reference
- TM 542 957
- Coordinates
- 52.50038, 1.7443
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Church of St Peter is a parish church located in Gunton, dating back to the 12th century, with significant alterations around 1340, and restorations in 1700, 1790, and 1901. It features a west tower, a continuous nave and chancel, and a south porch. The exterior is constructed of whole flints with ashlar dressings and has plain tile roofs.
The three-stage round tower from the 12th century is illuminated by a pointed lancet in the lower stage and a rounded lancet in the ringing chamber. The belfry has four 2-light 14th-century ogee windows, each with one reticulation unit. A brick parapet added in 1985 conceals a low conical roof. The south porch, made of brick and flint, is gabled and accessed through a 4-centred arch beneath a square brick hood with labels. There are 19th-century lancet windows on the east and west flanks. The inner south door features one order of Norman zig-zag decoration.
The main south wall is lit by a central pointed lancet and flanked by two 19th-century two-light Y-tracery windows. The east end has triple stepped lancets, also from the 19th century. On the north side, there is a gabled 19th-century chancel vestry accessed through a doorway in the west return. The main wall includes (from east to west) a 13th-century pointed lancet, a round-headed 12th-century lancet, and a 19th-century pointed lancet. Next to the west is a Norman north doorway with two orders of engaged shafts topped with block capitals; the round arch features an outer roll moulding and inner zig-zag.
Inside, the church has a round-arched early Norman tower arch with minimal long-and-short quoins. The pews and scissor-braced roof were installed in 1901. A 4-centred arch on the north side leads to blocked rood stairs. The chancel contains an arched piscina and bench sedilia.
Local climate
Church of St Peter receives an average of 780 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 60% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 78% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 6 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 96% of listed buildings. Of these, 4 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.
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- 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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