Church Of St Peter And St Paul

Church of St Peter and St Paul

This is a parish church dating from the 12th, 13th and 15th centuries, built of flint. It comprises a western tower, nave and aisles, chancel and aisles, a south porch, and a priests room to the north west.

The exterior features a large two-stage tower with string course to parapet. The west doorway is Romanesque with attached shafts, roll mould, beaded zig-zag surround and fish-scale pattern on the drip mould. Above this is a three-light 15th-century Perpendicular window, with a 12th-century two-light window in the upper stage and a 15th-century two-light belfry opening. A lozenge-shaped clock face appears on the south wall. A one-storey square stair turret sits to the north west.

The south aisle has a diagonal corner buttress and battlemented parapet, with 15th-century Perpendicular windows. The south porch is battlemented with water-spouts. A battlemented octagonal vice separates the aisle from the south east chapel. The south east chapel displays two offset buttresses and an eastern diagonal buttress, beneath a steeply pitched roof. Its windows include the top portion of a restored 13th-century lancet window, a three-light 16th-century window, and a restored 14th-century Kentish-traceried window with mouchettes and flattened heads. The north east and south east chapels stand on plinths; the chancel, not so positioned, reveals 12th-century quoins. The south east window features circa 1300 cusped Y-tracery; the east window is 19th-century in reticuled style; the north east chapel window is circa 1300 cusped Y-tracery. The north aisle has three buttresses and three 14th-century curvilinear two-light windows with mouchettes.

The interior contains a large 12th-century tower arch with scalloped moulding and attached shafts. A two-bay double-chamfered nave arcade rises on octagonal water-holding based piers. The roof comprises three crown posts and one wooden clerestory light. The south east chapel has a two-bay arcade to the chancel, showing the upper half of a lancet reveal. The chancel has been heavily restored and includes a 19th-century two-bay arcade to the north east chapel, now used as organ space. The chancel roof is 19th-century with cusped and panelled ceiling. The south east chapel has a 15th-century boarded segmental tunnel-vault, with coved bases concealing hammer-beams.

Fittings include an angle piscina in the chancel and cusped piscinae in the south chapel and south aisle. Doorways in the south aisle lead to an external vice, associated with the missing rood loft. The 15th-century font is octagonal with large raised letters reading DTB on its side, fitted with a wrought iron hood attached to a pulley system on the wall. A hexagonal 17th-century pulpit is also present.

Monuments in the south east chapel include a wall monument to Robert Plot the elder (died 1671), showing St. Michael spearing the Devil beneath St. Michael's shield bearing an inscription, supported by a shield below bearing weapons of war and a crest of canons supporting a knight's helm, attributed to Jaspar Latham. In the north aisle stands a wall tablet to Dr. Robert Plot (died 1696), antiquarian and Oxford don who was the first secretary of the Royal Society. This features a large oval tablet wreathed with flowers and palms, an urn above, putti on the oval's edge, and a coat of arms below. Also in the north aisle is a wall tablet to Ralph Sherwood (died 1705) and Mary Sherwood (died 1708), in white alabaster with scrolled design, putti and urn above on a coved base. A coat of arms in a lozenge panel in the north aisle commemorates Rebecca Plot. Brasses record William Fyge (died circa 1450) and William Fordmell (died 1521), a layman and priest respectively. Wall painting of St. Christopher on the north wall dates from circa 1500. Royal Arms over the south door date from 1719.