Church Of St Peter

Parish Church of St. Peter

This is a parish church with Norman origins, later substantially rebuilt. The structure comprises a nave, chancel, south transept, south aisle, south porch, west tower, and a nineteenth-century vestry on the north side of the chancel.

The oldest element is the square north pier of the chancel arch, which appears to be Norman in date. The church underwent total reconstruction in the thirteenth century, as evidenced by the chancel fabric. The south chapel probably dates to the early fourteenth century. The church may originally have been cruciform, though only the south transept now survives, and this contains no features earlier than the fifteenth century. The tower's lack of buttressing suggests it may predate the fifteenth century, though its west window and doorway are Perpendicular in style. The south aisle and porch were added in the fifteenth century. A vestry was constructed against the north side of the chancel in the nineteenth century.

Exterior

The stone rubble walls feature coursed granite in the tower with some dressed stone. The gable-ended slate roofs cover the nave, aisle, transept, and porch.

The three-stage unbuttressed tower is battlemented with small crocketted pinnacles and a moulded plinth. The west doorway consists of richly moulded granite with a pointed arch and quatrefoils in the recessed spandrels, topped by a heavy square hoodmould. The three-light Perpendicular west window is of granite with a moulded surround, and the stringcourse above it serves as a hoodmould. The belfry openings are of one and two lights with arched heads. A square stair turret with slit lights occupies the north side of the tower.

On the north side of the nave, a late fifteenth-century three-light window with cinquefoiled heads—the central one taller—is positioned towards the west end. To its left is an early sixteenth-century four-light window with segmental heads to the lights and a square hoodmould. Beyond this is a rectangular projection housing the rood stairs. Further east is the nineteenth-century vestry, which projects at right angles.

The north window to the chancel is very late Perpendicular, consisting of three round-headed lights and partially restored. The east window is Early English, a three-light lancet.

The south chapel contains an early fourteenth-century east window of two lights with Y-tracery and a similar window on its south wall. To the left of these is a late fifteenth-century arched granite window with two cinquefoiled lights. Between the two windows stands a small granite priest's door with a round-headed arch, simple roll moulding, and decorated spandrels. The two windows to the south transept and the aisle to its west are Perpendicular, each of three lights in granite.

The single-storey fifteenth-century south porch is crowned with a stone cross at its apex. The outer doorway features a heavily moulded four-centred arched granite surround with moulded plinth to the jambs and an arched hoodmould.

Interior

The south porch possesses a chamfered granite cornice below the moulded wall plate, which projects at intervals marking the former position of ribs that would have formed a moulded wagon roof. The bowl of the holy water stoup is carved in the shape of a grotesque face.

The fifteenth-century south doorway has a pointed granite arch with hollow and convex moulding and double stops.

The south aisle contains a three-bay arcade with a further arch dividing the chancel and south chapel. The piers are of Pevsner A-type with deep cup capitals and bases. The two arches to the aisle are four-centred, whereas that to the transept has a shallow segmental head, and the arch from chancel to chapel has a depressed four-centred head. The mouldings run up from all piers.

The chancel arch has a tall four-centred head. On the left, it runs down to a square pier of alternating Dunstone and red sandstone with chamfered edges, each bearing a carved ram's head at the top—features suggesting a Norman date. The tower arch is very plain and tall.

In the north wall of the nave is a small moulded granite arched doorway, originally leading to the rood screen, which was removed in 1840. A hagioscope provides a view of the altar from the south chapel.

The chancel roof is likely a nineteenth-century restoration. The wagon roof to the nave appears to retain its original moulded principal rafters, which terminate in drop pendants. The large bosses may have been restored along with some other timbers, although the wall-plates appear mainly original. The south chapel retains its very large original elaborately carved bosses, which include depictions of Christ's head, a dying stag, a lioness, and a woman's head. The south aisle and transept roofs have been at least partially restored.

The octagonal granite font is probably sixteenth century, with a simple shaft and chamfered base. Its panels are decorated with devices such as shields, the keys of St. Peter, and the sword of St. Paul.

The marble reredos dates to 1884 and was created by J.D. Sedding. The oak chancel stalls with carved animals and birds were installed in 1892.

Though the church does not retain much of its early fittings, it preserves a largely medieval fabric with traces of an earlier building. It is notable for the survival of a number of early windows dating from the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries.