Church Of St Peter And St Paul

The Church of St Peter and St Paul is a parish church located on Newchurch Road in Bilsington. It dates back to the 12th century, with the nave and chancel originating from that period, while the tower was added in the 16th century. The church underwent restoration in 1883 by Joseph Clarke. It is constructed from ragstone, featuring a red brick and timbered south porch, with plain tiled roofs and a shingled upper stage and spire on the tower.

The church consists of a chancel, nave, western tower, and south porch. The two-stage tower sits on a high plinth, with the upper stage covered in shingles and topped with a shallow spire and finial. A small single light on the western side bears the Sydney Arms and the date 1590. The nave is supported by massive 19th-century offset buttresses and has 19th-century Decorated style windows on the south side, while the north side retains unrestored 14th-century windows featuring ogee and early Perpendicular tracery. The south porch is made of red brick in English bond, with a 19th-century bargeboard and door frame. The south doorway is simply arched and features a plank and muntin door that may date from the 17th century.

Inside, the nave has a western doorway leading to the tower, which includes some re-used 12th-century tooled stonework in the voussoirs, and a blocked deeply splayed Romanesque window above the south doorway. The roof features three 19th-century crown posts, and there is a simple chamfered chancel arch. To the south, there are blocked doorways at the base and head of a rood stair, with an external vice removed during the restoration. The chancel has a low southeastern lancet reveal with a carved head jamb stop and a 19th-century roof.

Fittings within the church include a 19th-century sedile and piscina in the chancel, and a 14th-century trefoil-headed water stoup by the south doorway in the nave. Fragments of 14th-century glass can be found in the north windows of the nave. Additionally, there is a 20th-century reredos and hatchment for Lord Justice of Appeal, Sir Arthur Luxmore, along with seven oval prayer boards and two rectangular text boards in the nave, and the Royal Arms dated 1754 above the chancel arch.