Church Of St Peter

Church of St Peter, Hever

This is a Grade I listed church of considerable architectural and historical importance. The building was constructed over several centuries, beginning with the north aisle in the late 13th century (around 1292), followed by the early 14th-century chancel, nave and tower. The 15th century saw significant alterations, and the Bullen Chapel was added around 1450 to the north of the chancel.

The church is constructed of roughly coursed rubble with ashlar dressings, and features gabled plain tile roofs and a tall splay-footed shingled spire. The plan comprises a chancel with north chapel, a nave with north aisle, and a west tower.

The chancel is buttressed with diagonal corner buttresses and offset buttresses. It contains a 15th-century Perpendicular three-light east window, and to the south a lancet window with 15th-century arched head and an early 14th-century two-light window. The Bullen Chapel, also with diagonal corner buttresses, has a 15th-century three-light east window with cinquefoiled heads and a four-centred arched doorway with sunk spandrels, adjoining a lateral north stack with octagonal ashlar shaft.

The north aisle features offset buttresses and hood moulds over two 14th-century cinquefoil-headed two-light windows, a label mould over a square-headed 14th-century two-light window with trefoiled ogee heads and a trefoil-headed light. The south wall of the nave has a roof-stair projection to the east, and hood moulds over 15th-century segmental-arched and trefoil-headed two-light windows flanking a gabled south porch of 1894 built in front of a 14th-century plank door with iron strap hinges and knocker set in a two-centred arch of two hollow-chamfered orders.

The west tower is of 14th-century date in two stages. It contains a 15th-century Perpendicular two-light window above a hood mould over a two-centred arched doorway of two chamfered orders. The upper stage has chamfered lancets above trefoil-headed lancets.

The interior of the chancel contains two 14th-century carved head corbels beneath the roof hidden by mid to late 19th-century soffit boarding, and two brattished cross beams. There is a mid-15th-century two-bay arcade to the Bullen Chapel with four-centred arches of two chamfered orders set on octagonal and engaged piers with moulded capitals. The Bullen Chapel has a similar arch to the north aisle, a piscina to the east, a 15th-century fireplace with sunk spandrels and hollow-moulded architrave, and mid to late 19th-century soffit boarding to the canted roof.

The nave contains a 14th-century plank door with strap hinges set in a rebated pointed arch to the rood stairs, and a 15th-century arch-braced common-rafter roof with moulded ashlar plates and moulded cross-beam. Mid to late 19th-century collar purlin and late 16th-century texts are visible on the south wall. The late 13th-century three-bay north arcade has two-centred arches of two chamfered orders set on circular piers with moulded capitals. The north aisle has a 14th-century common-rafter roof with soulace pieces and moulded ashlar plates.

Among the fittings are late 19th-century reredos, choir stalls screen and pews. There is a late 16th-century altar (formerly a manifold chest) with fluted Ionic columns and carved Renaissance decoration. An early 17th-century dated 1621 pulpit features strapwork panels and quilloche carving to muntins and rails, with a late 19th-century top-rail and base and 17th-century tester. The font has a 14th-century octagonal bowl set on a mid to late 19th-century base surrounded by reset 14th to 15th-century tiles.

The church contains several important monuments. The chancel houses a fine brass to William Todde, died 1585, with kneeling figure at desk, a fine brass with recumbent effigy flanked by angels to Margaret Cheyne, died 1419, and an early 16th-century floor tablet with brass cross to Henry, infant son of Sir Thomas Bullen. The Bullen Chapel contains an exceptionally fine brass with recumbent effigies to Sir Thomas Bullen, died 1538, and his wife set on a tomb chest with crocketed ogee panels divided by pilasters to the sides and with a heraldic shield set in a quatrefoil to the end. There is also a slate floor slab to Robert Humphreys died 1736, two mid-19th-century wall tablets to members of the Mead-Waldo family, a stele with urn to Colonel Rochfort died 1856, a Neo-classical wall monument with Grecian mourner and urn to Harriet Bloomfield died 1838, and a plain tablet to James Johnstone died 1846.

The stained glass is mostly 19th and 20th century, including an east window of 1898. There are Royal Arms of 1660 in the south-west window and a south chancel window of 1858.