Church Of St Peter And St Paul

Church of St Peter and St Paul, Eye

A Grade I listed church of major architectural importance, mainly dating from the early 14th century but substantially modified and restored in later periods.

The church was built to replace an earlier 13th-century church. It was heightened and re-roofed in the late 15th century, when the tower and south porch were also constructed. The building underwent significant restoration in 1869 under the architect J.K. Colling. It is constructed of flint with ashlar dressings and brick, with aluminium roofs to the aisles and cedar shingle roofing to the remainder.

The plan comprises a west tower, nave with aisles, chancel with north and south chancel chapels.

The west tower is the most striking external feature. Four stages tall, it is supported by diagonal polygonal buttresses that step down in size at each stage. The west face is completely faced with flushwork of tall cusped panels, with a base frieze containing shields. The west doorway has an undercut moulded arch set within a square frame, with carving in the spandrels. Above is a frieze of quatrefoils with statuary niches to right and left. The main west window is of four lights with transoms and panel tracery. Two stages above contain two-light Decorated windows each, with the upper window set beneath a clock face. The belfry stage has two two-light Perpendicular openings on each face. A double crenellated stone parapet with arcades of tracery panels crowns the tower, with polygonal corner pinnacles. The south parapet displays a coat-of-arms of the de Pole family. The east, north and south faces of the tower are of plain knapped flint with some ashlar. The tower's ground stage contains proto-fan vaulting consisting of four bays of tierceron vault converging to a central roundel, supported on colonnettes at each corner.

The south porch is two storeys tall with polygonal panelled buttresses flanking the entrance. It has close flushwork panelling to east and west faces, though the flint was replaced with brick in the 18th century. Each flank has one two-light square-headed window. A 13th-century inner south doorway with crocket capitals survives to a single order of shafts.

The aisle windows are of four three-light Perpendicular panels with tracery, separated by stepped buttresses—five windows light the north aisle. Flushwork crenellated parapets run along the aisles. Five three-light clerestory windows with stepped tracery light the nave. The chancel chapels have crenellated brick parapets and two and three-light Perpendicular windows. A priests' door to the south chapel has been cut through a buttress. The chancel east window is of five lights in Perpendicular style and dates from 1869, when the east and south chancel walls were rebuilt. Six two-light Perpendicular clerestory windows are positioned along the chancel, three on each side.

The interior is architecturally rich. The five-bay nave arcade comprises octagonal piers with moulded polygonal capitals beneath hollow and chamfered arches. A tall tower arch with circular responds supports a triple-hollow-moulded arch. A timber west gallery is installed. The south-west corner of the canted west bay contains a four-centred tower stair doorway. The chancel arch has polygonal responds and a double chamfered arch.

The nave roof dates to the late 15th century and was extensively restored in 1869. Its structure consists of alternate principals dropping to moulded wall posts supported on carved timber head corbels (all 1869). Arched longitudinal braces connect to secondary principals, with false hammerbeams taking the form of carved crowned figures (all 1869). The principals carry arched braces to a king post, with one tier of moulded butt purlins. Large rosette bosses mark the junctions. The boarding and moulding are in ashlar style. The east bay over the screen has painted decoration. Aisle roofs of principals and rafters were renewed in 1869.

The late 15th-century chancel screen is of exceptional quality, comprising four principal bays on either side of a two-bay opening. The opening itself has a cusped and sub-cusped arch carved three tiers deep. The dado carries painted saints, kings and bishops set within ogee and crocketed arches—nine figures stand to the north of the central opening, six to the south. A lierne-vaulted canopy crowns the screen. The rood and rood figures were added in 1925 by Sir Ninian Comper.

The chancel has a two-bay arcade opening into north and south chapels. The piers are quatrefoil with chamfered arches—the north arcade arches are double chamfered, whilst the south arcade has triple chamfered arches with the pier lobes detailed with fillets. The chancel roof has principals with arched braces to the ridge piece, terminating at wall posts on angel corbels. Two tiers of moulded butt purlins support the structure.

A north aisle vestry door has moulded jambs without capitals, set beneath a hood mould with fleurons. A notable tomb recess in the north aisle dates to circa 1340. It comprises a wide ogee recess, cusped and sub-cusped and terminating in a crocketed finial, with crocketed side pinnacles.

Monuments of significance include a wall monument to John Brown (died 1732) in the south chancel, executed in marble with a predella panel depicting the Parable of the Good Samaritan in high relief, a putti head below, and an inscription panel above within a cornice formed as a scrolled open pediment. An altar tomb to Nicholas Cutler (1568) in the north aisle is of stone, with a rectangular tomb-chest bearing three shields in lozenges and a canopy supported by two columns with vestigial Ionic capitals. Below the brattished cresting runs a frieze of encircled quatrefoils. An altar tomb to William Honyng (1569) in the south chapel reproduces the Cutler tomb design.

The font and seating date from 1869 and were designed by J.K. Colling. The font cover was added in 1932 by Sir Ninian Comper.