Church Of St Peter

Church of St Peter

Church. Late 19th century, with early 20th-century additions. The chancel, crossing and transepts were designed in 1876-77 by Frederick Rogers of London. Vestries, organ chamber and other alterations were made in 1881 by John Loughborough Pearson. The nave dates from 1891-92, designed by JL Pearson and completed by his son Frank Loughborough Pearson in 1900-01. The south porch was added in 1933 by FL Pearson. An earlier church built in 1833-34 by Tullock has been entirely replaced by the present building.

The building is constructed of coursed, squared Purbeck stone with Bath stone dressings, under plain tile roofs with tile ridges. The temporary north tower is timber-framed with a hipped slate roof, and the attached porch has a roof of wood shingles. The interior features Bath stone ashlar.

The plan comprises a chancel with ambulatory, vestries and organ chamber to the north side, a chapel to the south, north and south transepts, a temporary north tower, an aisled nave and north and south porches. The architecture follows an Early Gothic style.

The chancel is high and three bays with a triple-stepped lancet east window under a single pointed hoodmould stepped down and continued as a string course. A lancet window to the gable is flanked by blank panels with twin-arched heads. Paired lancet windows light the clerestorey. A triforium passage with ridged stone roof runs between buttresses. The ambulatory below has a hipped roof interrupted by stone slopes of internal flying buttresses with gablets over outer piers. The south chapel, positioned in the angle between ambulatory and transept, has a hipped roof and small lancet windows. The vestry to the north side of the chancel has a double-chamfered east door with hoodmould and paired lancet windows. The tall organ chamber beside the north transept has a small lancet window to the north and a hipped roof.

The transepts feature groups of four stepped lancets to their gable ends and paired lancets to the top of the gable. The five-bay nave has two-light clerestorey windows with plate tracery and hoodmould continued as a string course between prominent gabled buttresses. The aisles have lancet windows with hoodmoulds continued as string courses between offset buttresses with stone gablets.

The temporary tower occupies the angle between the north aisle and transept and covers the first stage only, with weatherboarded sides and a hipped slate roof. An attached timber-framed porch to the north has openwork tracery to the front and cusped barge-boards meeting in an ogee arch. The north porch has a doorway with three orders of shafts, a quatrefoil frieze at eaves level, and three small stepped lancet windows to the gable within a stepped arcade with blank roundels to the spandrels. Lancet windows to the sides are surmounted by a quadripartite stone vault within, nailhead ornament, and a shafted south door with keel-moulded and hollow-chamfered head and hoodmould.

The large south porch features a doorway with three orders of shafts, a many-moulded head and hoodmould. An arcade above displays six seated statues of saints and a wheel window to the gable with seven lobes around a central circle and moulded surround. Lancet windows to the sides are framed by arcades. Within is a quadripartite stone vault and a shafted south door with many-moulded head, hoodmould and double-leaf doors with ornamental hinges.

The west end has a pair of tall three-light windows to the nave with plate tracery and hoodmoulds on either side of a central offset buttress bearing a niche for a statue of St Peter. Pairs of lancets light the gable, which is flanked by octagonal pinnacles to the offset angle buttresses. Four-light windows to the ends of the aisles feature Geometrical tracery. The nave and chancel have a continuous roof. Throughout, there is a chamfered plinth, moulded cill bands and string courses, corbel tables, and stone-coped gables with kneelers and foliated stone gable crosses.

The interior is spatially impressive, a characteristic of Pearson's work. The aisles and ambulatory have stone quadripartite vaulting. A timber quadripartite vault with ridge rib and stone springers on vaulting shafts covers the nave and chancel. Ribbed timber tunnel vaults cover the transepts. The chancel triforium has square piers with shafts to angles and roll-moulded arches, doubled behind with alternating arcading where shafts occur at the centre of front arches. The nave has blind arcaded triforium. The arcades feature clustered piers with attached shafts, mid rings and richly carved foliage capitals. Tiled floors cover most of the church, with a black and white marble floor to the chancel approached by three semicircular steps in the crossing. Three further steps lead to the sanctuary and five more to the High Altar.

The marble High Altar of 1883-84 stands on a carved and gilded timber-frame with Twelve Apostles in niches to the front, either side of the Lamb, made by Zwincke of Oberammergau. Wrought-iron chancel screens were designed by JL Pearson. A lavish Bath stone pulpit of 1909 with Purbeck marble shafts by FL Pearson has an oak canopy. The font of alabaster and marble has a tall carved oak cover, both made in 1907 by FL Pearson. A carved and gilded timber reredos to the altar of the Holy Name Chapel was made by Zwincke of Oberammergau.

Stained-glass windows to the chancel and south transept and stained glass in the Holy Name Chapel date from 1904 and were made by Kempe. A projected north tower and 212-foot spire remain unbuilt.