Church of St Peter is a Grade II* listed building in the Mid Suffolk local planning authority area, England. First listed on 9 December 1955. A Medieval Church.

Church of St Peter

WRENN ID
veiled-lintel-primrose
Grade
II*
Local Planning Authority
Mid Suffolk
Constituency
Central Suffolk and North Ipswich MP: Patrick Spencer (Con)
Country
England
Date first listed
9 December 1955
Type
Church
Period
Medieval
Address
Church of St Peter, Church Lane, Baylham
OS grid reference
TM 102 515
Coordinates
52.12226, 1.06955
Source
Historic England listing

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

Description

The Church of St. Peter is a medieval church located in Baylham, featuring a nave, chancel, and west tower. The chancel underwent significant remodeling, and two transepts along with a south porch were added in 1870 in the Decorated style. The building is constructed of flint rubble with freestone dressings and has a plaintiled roof with a parapet gable.

An unusual north nave doorway, which is now blocked, likely dates from the 11th century. It features a deep lintel resting on square jambs, topped by a round arch. The tympanum displays a scratched diaperwork pattern framed by an arched raised band. Inside, there is an early 14th-century pointed window in the south aisle wall, accompanied by a matching restored piscina. A later 14th-century traceried window can be found in the south nave.

The plain late 14th-century tower includes lion-head gargoyles, two-light belfry openings, a west window, and splayed ringing chamber windows made of red brick. The nave and chancel roofs, dating from the 15th century, feature coupled rafters and canted designs with unusual cavetto-moulded eaves sprockets. In 1870, moulded crownposts were added to the existing nave tie-beams, and both roofs were ceiled with boarding.

The north nave wall contains two windows from around 1500. A notable 15th-century octagonal limestone font features sunk panels on the bowl adorned with roses, lions, and angels, while the stem is decorated with seated lion figures at each angle. The north chancel wall houses a fine 17th-century monument to John and Elizabeth Acton, featuring their kneeling effigies overshadowed by the skeletal figure of Death, along with representations of their five children. The chancel floor is laid with six marble slabs commemorating late 17th and early 18th-century members of the Acton family, while another slab from 1689 is found in the nave floor.

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 67% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 24 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 74% of listed buildings. Of these, 12 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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