Church Of St Peter

The Church of St Peter is a parish church, largely dating to the 15th century, although it may incorporate earlier fabric. The interior was remodelled in the 18th century, and the chancel was restored in 1852. The church is constructed mainly of unrendered stone rubble, with roughly coursed ashlar quoins and dressings; the south side of the nave and the south porch are rendered and painted. A weatherboarded bell-cote tops the west end.

The church consists of a nave with a bellcote, a south porch, and a chancel. 19th-century windows punctuate the building, including a straight-headed window of three trefoil-headed lights to the right of the porch. Pointed arched windows with two trefoil-headed lights are present on each side of the chancel and at its east and west ends. The south porch has a virtually semi-circular arched doorway with a hollow-moulded surround, and a 19th-century timber gate. Inside the porch is a fine 15th-century timber inner doorway with an ogee-headed shape, set within a straight-headed surround, both deeply hollow-moulded. An original ledged door, featuring strap hinges, an old lock, and handle, secures the entrance.

External wall monuments on the south side of the nave commemorate Robert Hatch, who died in 1699 (recorded as being inside the church in 1844), Grace Webber, who died in 1801, and John Webber, who died in 1823, by Manning; and William Melhuish Esq., who died in 1770. A small triangular-headed stone memorializes Thomas Collins, who died in 1752.

The interior’s nave and chancel are covered by plain-ceilinged waggon roofs. The nave roof features three moulded ribs with carved bosses along the ridge, and an ornate ceilure of 12 panels with moulded ribs, diagonal struts, and carved bosses at their intersections. The chancel contains nowy-headed commandment boards with moulded timber surrounds on each side of the east window, alongside 19th-century altar rails and a small altar table, and a patterned tiled floor.

The nave has primarily 19th- or early-20th-century seating with decorative carved bench ends, although some 16th-century carved bench ends survive towards the west end on the south side of the nave. A tympanum over the site of the former rood is inscribed, possibly in the early 19th century, with the Creed and Lord’s Prayer, flanked by scrollwork bearing verses. Hat-pegs are positioned at intervals throughout the nave and chancel. An early 18th-century pulpit features a panelled, faceted drum with a wooden tester over, a moulded cornice, and a desk to the north side, incorporating turned candlesticks. A painted 18th-century cartouche displays the first two verses of Psalm 95 on the north side of the nave. A painted depiction of the Royal Arms of 1726 is positioned above the south door. A Perpendicular-style octagonal font incorporates quatrefoil panels. Stained glass in the east window is dedicated to James Gould Esq. and his wife, both of whom died in 1857. A wall monument on the chancel’s south side commemorates Henry Byre Esq., who died in 1821, and his wife, which includes a heraldic crest within an oval medallion at the base.

The church is noted for its small size, its bell-cote, the richness of its interior fittings, including the 15th-century ceilure, 16th-century bench ends, 18th-century pulpit, tester, and tympanum, and the modest 19th-century restoration, alongside painted text.