Church Of St Peter

The Church of St Peter is a parish church largely dating to the 12th and 13th or early 14th centuries, with a 14th-century tower (the upper part of which is 15th century), alterations of 1822, and the addition of the Witts Mortuary Chapel in 1854 by Francis Niblett, a Gloucestershire architect. A restoration occurred in 1877 by J E K Cutts. The building is constructed of rubble, partly coursed, Cotswold stone, with Cotswold stone roofs.

The church comprises a 4-bay 12th-century nave with a north aisle; a tower inserted into the west bay in the 14th century; a south porch assembled from carved 12th-century fragments; and a 3-bay chancel with the Witts chapel to the north. There is also a 15th-century sanctus turret. Windows on the northwest and north aisle are largely from 1877, or are reset from then, in Perpendicular style, following the re-Gothicization of a Georgian preaching box from 1822. The west tower is three-stage and reuses Norman orders, along with a vault and corbels from a tower that was previously further west by one bay. It has battlements and pinnacles.

The Witts Mortuary Chapel, a Decorated-style chapel designed by Niblett, features a cross-looped stair turret to the west, a gabled break with a quatrefoil for a tomb recess, and an east window with a crocketted label. An enriched cornice tops the chapel.

The tower arch and vault show an impressive collection of reused Norman material, with further carved Norman corbels in the deadening chamber. A 3-bay arcade is restored with lightly enriched scallop caps. The chancel arch is by Niblett, in a style he termed ‘modern Norman’.

Inside the church are two fonts – one 15th century and restored, and an octagonal chalice-type from the 13th century – along with a 14th-century piscina in the chancel. A 14th-century Easter sepulchre is now filled by a baroque monument to Frances and Andrew Wanley, who died in 1682. The Mortuary Chapel contains a marble tomb signed Waller, and retains original tiles and ceiling patterning. Stained glass by Clayton and Bell is present, while the Mortuary Chapel contains faded glass by Hardman.

The church is not mentioned in the Domesday Book, but during the Civil War, the Abbot of Gloucester reported its use for defensive purposes, which may have resulted in partial destruction. Evidence suggests work from the early and mid 12th centuries.