Church of St. Peter

Church of St. Peter, Alstonefield

This is a parish church whose oldest parts date to the 12th century. It has been partly rebuilt in the 13th and 14th centuries, extended and repaired in the 16th century, refurbished in the 17th century, re-roofed in the 18th century, and restored in 1870. The building is constructed of coursed limestone rubble and sandstone ashlar with slate roofs. It comprises a three-bay chancel, four-bay nave, north and south aisles, and a west tower.

The chancel contains 13th-century lancet windows, one on the north side and two on the south side. There is one early 14th-century two-light window on each side. Plaques bearing the initials 'L.B.' and the date 1590 commemorate the rebuilding of the chancel's east wall by Lawrence Beresford. The east window, which has reticulated tracery, was restored in 1870.

The nave features a 16th-century clerestory window of two lights.

The north aisle, probably dating to the 16th century, has four-centred windows of three lights. The porch, added in 1870, incorporates three fragments of Anglo-Saxon carved stone alongside a 16th-century door with a Tudor arch and returned hoodmould.

The south aisle contains a 19th-century lancet at its west end and a 19th-century window at the east end with cusped intersecting Y-tracery. To the right of the porch are 15th-century square-headed windows with hoodmoulds stopped by grotesque heads. To the left of the porch is a 13th-century lancet. The gabled south porch, dating to around 1300, features a pointed barrel vault and stone slate roof, with buttresses to the angles and sides. The 12th-century south door has been reset here.

The west tower dates to the late 16th century and has four stages with angle buttresses. The west doorway has a deeply hollowed recess hoodmould stopped with figures, with spandrels decorated with shields and foliage, and an iron-studded door. The four-centred west window has three cinquefoiled lights. The window in the third stage to the west has a trefoiled ogee arch beneath a square head. The belfry has a string course and belfry openings with Y-tracery. The crenellated parapet has a string course and corner crocketed finials.

Interior: The south arcade dates to the 14th century, while the north arcade dates to around 1500. The 12th-century chancel arch has two roll-moulded orders springing from scalloped capitals on engaged columns. The tower arch has a chamfered inner arch and an ovolo-moulded outer arch springing from semi-octagonal piers with moulded capitals. The open timber roof, dated 1737, has a tie beam and short king post and queen posts supporting a ridge piece and double purlins respectively. Braces to the tie beam spring from corbels decorated with grotesque heads, foliage and fleurons. The chancel has a 19th-century scissor-truss roof.

Fittings include a 20th-century stone font. Early 17th-century box pews bear the inscription "JOHN BERESFORD / ROBERT BOSTORNE IS 1637 E.S." The Cotton family box pew at the east end of the north aisle has a heavily decorated canopy with the family coat of arms. A double-decker pulpit (originally three-decker) is inscribed "ROBERT BOSTORNE / THOMAS . WESTON / ROGER . YATE 1637 / CHURCH WARDENS" and is panelled with carved decoration. A balustraded altar rail probably dates to the late 17th century. Balustraded screens in the south aisle and tower probably date to the early 17th century. A double aumbry in the chancel with roll-moulded lancet openings dates to the 13th century. The west end of the north aisle contains several fragments of carved Anglo-Saxon crosses, two stone bowls possibly former fonts, several fragments of slim cylindrical columns or shafts, and a medieval coffin. A wooden plaque to Roger Farmer, who died in 1682, is attached to the west wall of the chancel.