Church Of St Peter

The Church of St Peter is a church dating back to the early 12th century, with alterations in the early 14th and early 15th centuries. It is constructed of roughly cast limestone rubble with limestone ashlar dressings, and has a stone slate roof to the chancel and a lead roof to the nave. The church comprises a chancel, nave, and a north aisle. The east window is an early 15th-century three-light design; the south wall of the chancel has two late 13th-century two-light windows. The south wall of the nave features early 15th-century straight-headed three-light windows, with one early 14th-century two-light window to the left of the porch. The south doorway, dating from around 1120-1140, has chamfered outer and inner arches, the outer arch featuring a cable moulded border with rapidly set carved faces with forking tongues. A gabled south porch from around 1880 has a pointed arch to its doorway. The north aisle has four-centred arches over early 15th-century three-light windows in its end walls, along with a single-light window and a doorway with a chamfered architrave and an old plank door in its north wall. An early 15th-century crenellated parapet runs along the nave and north aisle. A unique early 17th-century bellcote stands at the west end. The building has a shallow pitched gabled roof to the nave and a lean-to roof over the north aisle.

Inside, stained glass borders the east window. The chancel contains a plain pointed piscina and an early 12th-century blocked doorway in its north wall; the tympanum of this doorway features carvings of winged beasts gripping a figure of a man. The chancel roof is a two-bay structure with late 19th-century purlins and rafters, but retains a 14th-century arch-braced collar truss with butt side purlins and a collar purlin. A 12th-century circular font sits on an octagonal base, and a 14th-century wood pulpit is present in a Decorated style. The nave's roof is an early 15th-century six-bay tie beam construction with short king studs from the tie beam to the apex, moulded purlins, and brattished tie beams, along with an ashlar plate. A double-chamfered arch arcade, spanning six bays and set on octagonal piers, separates the nave from the north aisle, which is covered by a lean-to roof with chamfered purlins and beams. A 17th-century parish chest is located at the east end of the north aisle. The church retains significant medieval features and is situated adjacent to Charney Manor, originally constructed as a grange by Abingdon Abbey, who also held the advowson of the church.