Church Of St. Peter

Church of St. Peter

Parish church with origins in the 14th century, substantially remodelled in the 15th century with further additions and restoration in the 18th and 19th centuries. The building is constructed of flint rubble, largely knapped with some squared stone, featuring flushwork in the south porch and ashlar dressings throughout. The chancel has a red brick plinth. All roofs are steeply pitched and plain tiled.

The plan comprises a square west tower, a long nave with south porch, a north aisle and porch added in 1861, and a short chancel dating to the early 18th century. The church was restored in 1861 with the addition of the north aisle.

The three-stage 14th-century west tower is unbuttressed with ashlar quoining. The lower stage contains a two-light Y-traceried window to the west, with a small round opening in the second stage. A string course marks the belfry, which has louvred two-light cusped openings, and continues to the embattled parapet with corner pinnacles. Clocks are positioned to south and north just below the belfry, above which are gargoyles.

The south side of the nave features four Perpendicular windows of three lights each, which are restored. Two-stage buttresses are present, with the south-east example having a semi-octagonal projection that originally housed rood stairs.

The 15th-century south porch is exceptionally ornate. It was originally two storeys tall, though the upper chamber (used as an armoury) has been removed. The pointed entrance arch is enriched with fleurons and crowns in its mouldings, with shafted inner jambs and outer moulding enclosing spandrels decorated with reliefs of St. George and the Dragon. Flanking the arch are ogee-headed niches, crocketed and pinnacled with arms above. A quatrefoil frieze runs above, beneath a two-light window with panelled flushwork throughout. Three-stage diagonal buttresses support the structure. The embattled parapet displays panelled flushwork with shields in octafoils flanking a central niche with pinnacled canopy, a ridge cross, and octagonal pinnacles at the angles and returns, which feature two-light Perpendicular windows. At the west angle where the porch meets the nave is a canted stair projection.

The north aisle and porch date to 1861 and follow the 15th-century model in their fenestration, with some flushwork on the buttresses. The parapet is plain. These additions are slightly lower and narrower than the rest of the church.

The slightly lower and narrower 18th-century chancel is unbuttressed with ashlar quoining and an offset plinth. Round-headed windows with shallow chamfered reveals are present, with 19th-century Y tracery. To the east is a blocked oculus below the gable parapet with kneelers and a ridge cross. Coved eaves cornices run to north and south.

The interior preserves significant medieval features. A 14th-century chancel arch has triple hollow mouldings with triple shafted responds, ring capitals, and bases. The 14th-century tower arch features a chamfer dying into plain responds. The 19th-century north arcade comprises five bays with double hollow-moulded pointed arches and quatrefoil piers.

The nave roof is particularly fine, spanning 10 bays. It is a single hammerbeam design with arched braces meeting without collars and continuing directly onto the hammerbeams. Braces spring from stone mask corbels to the hammerbeams. The wall plates are brattished with leaf ornament. The roof is throughout moulded with original painted decoration featuring tracery and star patterning.

The chancel roof is a barrel vault with coving to a timber cornice. The north aisle has a lean-to roof with bosses and mask corbels.

A small piscina with a chamfered round-arched head is set in the nave's south wall. Stairs to the former porch upper chamber now serve a cupboard.

A late 12th-century font of limestone has a square bowl with masks in high relief at the corners and crosses on each face. The stem is octagonal with colonnettes at the angles having scalloped capitals and ringed bases.

Parish armour hangs over the south door. Royal Arms of Victoria, dated 1850, are displayed over the tower arch. The pews, choir stalls, pulpit, and reading desk all date to 1861. The organ is dated 1907.

Memorials include a tablet in the south porch on the west wall commemorating T. Martin, an antiquary and historian of Thetford (died 1771), erected by Sir J. Fenn. This inscription is set on a round slate slab in a square marble surround with cornice, arms below, and an urn above. Late 18th and early 19th-century wall slabs are present on the nave and north aisle walls, with some floor slabs also surviving. Wall slabs dating to around 1800 are positioned on the chancel's external walls.