Church Of St Peter And St Paul

A church of Early 12th-century origin with significant mid-13th-century alterations and major remodelling around 1400, when the tower and clerestory were added. The building is constructed of coursed limestone rubble with shallow-pitched lead roofs. It comprises a chancel, aisled nave, and west tower.

The chancel features a label mould with head corbels depicting a King and Queen above a late 19th-century three-light window. A roll-moulded string course runs beneath the sills of this east window and two early 13th-century pointed lancets to the south. A 12th-century chamfered and round-arched doorway retains an ancient, probably 15th-century, studded door.

The north chapel, which continues as the north aisle, has a one-light window and label mould above a 14th-century two-light trefoil-headed window to the east, a mid-13th-century pointed lancet, and a label mould with head stops above a circa 1400 three-light trefoil-headed window. The north aisle to the nave contains an early 13th-century pointed lancet, a mid-13th-century two-light geometrical window, a small late 12th-century round-arched lancet, and a circa 1400 two-light window with panel tracery.

An early 13th-century north porch has an archway of three orders, with a hollow-chamfered arch set on triple jamb shafts, and 17th-century studded double doors with strap hinges. A fine early 12th-century north doorway features a zigzag-carved hood above a roll-moulded arch set on jamb shafts with scalloped capitals. The tympanum displays very fine carving of St. Peter, the Agnus Dei, and the Lion of St. Mark, with a 17th-century studded door and strap hinges. A Norman lancet occupies the west end of the aisle.

The south aisle contains a Norman lancet at its east end, label moulds above two circa 1400 three-light ogee-headed windows, a late 19th-century two-light window, and a hood mould above a circa 1400 two-light window with panel tracery. A 17th-century south porch has a timber lintel above a plank studded door with label moulds set in an ovolo-moulded wood architrave, and a 12th-century round-arched doorway.

The west tower dates to circa 1400 and has three stages. It features large offset buttresses, a hood mould above a three-light window with panel tracery above a label mould over a two-centred doorway set in a casement-moulded architrave. Two-light belfry windows are set beneath a moulded string course with corner gargoyles, and a parapet with carved quatrefoils. The tower is crowned by a ribbed ashlar spire. A 15th-century clerestory with Perpendicular windows completes the exterior.

The interior contains a 15th-century piscina in the vestry and a mid-13th-century string course carried around the chancel. A 15th-century trefoiled piscina and segmental arch surmount a 15th-century studded door to the south. To the north are a 12th-century round-arched aumbry, a square aumbry, and a pointed chamfered arch above a fine 15th-century studded door with iron hinges and fittings. A late 17th-century communion rail with turned balusters stands before the altar. The bases of two mid-13th-century jamb shafts flank the east window. The chancel roof is of 15th-century construction with three bays.

A 15th-century double-chamfered archway leads to the north chapel, whilst a mid-13th-century hollow-chamfered archway opens to the south chapel, which has an ogee-headed piscina and stone steps with an ancient plank door to the former rood loft. The mid-13th-century chancel arch stands on shafts with moulded capitals.

The nave has 15th-century three-bay arcades with concave-moulded capitals and octagonal piers. The roof is of 15th-century construction with three bays, featuring moulded tie beams arch-braced to 15th-century head corbels. A restored 15th-century polygonal pulpit on a narrow stem retains some 15th-century panel tracery.

Very fine late 15th-century rood screens extend to the chancel and aisles, decorated with much late 15th-century gold, red, and black painted decoration. The traceried heads contain open panels and blind tracery, with coving of rood lofts in the aisles featuring vine-leaf trail to the frieze on the south side. The north aisle has a stoup with billeted sill, and the south aisle contains a plain aumbry. Lean-to roofs in the aisles date to the 17th century. A late 17th-century decoratively carved parish chest stands at the west end of the nave.

Wall paintings comprise two trefoil-headed recesses in the north aisle displaying fine 15th-century paintings of white roses on a red background.

The church contains numerous monuments spanning several centuries. An arched recess in the north wall of the chancel holds a brass to Dr. Alexander Belsyre (died 1567) depicting a corpse in a shroud. The chancel floor has small brasses to Joanna Mericke (died 1617) and Walter Culpepper (died 1616). A marble wall monument surmounted by an urn commemorates Thomas Smith (died 1729) and his family. Baroque cartouches honour William Denison (died 1756) and Anna Maria Denison (died 1751), the latter with an unusual rococo-shaped tablet. The north wall displays a broken-pedimented wall tablet to Jane Culpepper (died 1636) and a wall monument with Ionic pilasters and heraldic shields erected in 1632 to the memory of Margaret Clarke (died 1592). Various late 17th- and 18th-century ledger stones are present throughout. A late 15th-century brass to Jane Ford and two husbands occupies the east end of the nave. A white marble wall tablet with an urn, erected in 1780 by William Bouchier in memory of his wife and parents, stands at the east end of the north aisle. Two 18th-century lead tablets are positioned at the west end of the nave.

Stained glass includes two late 15th-century tracery lights with Tudor roses set in a foliate background in the south-east window of the south aisle.

A tapered 14th-century grave slab is attached to the south side of the chancel.