Church Of St Peter

Church of St Peter, Lutton

Church with 12th-century origins, substantially rebuilt in the 13th to 15th centuries, and restored in the 19th century. Constructed from regular coursed and squared coursed limestone with ashlar dressings and a lead roof. The building comprises an aisled nave, chancel, south porch, and west tower.

The chancel's south elevation contains two bays. The left bay has two windows: a 4-light window with trefoil and quatrefoil circles and a spherical triangle above, and a lancet window to the right. Below the left-hand light are small, blocked low-side windows. The right bay has a blocked square-head window with hood mould and the remains of carved label stops, with a triangle of ashlar masonry above the window head. A 19th-century two-stage buttress stands between the bays. The chancel has a shallow gabled roof with an ashlar gable parapet and finial. The 3-light east window, added in 1883, features plate tracery, with shallow single-stage buttresses at the corners.

The chancel's north elevation spans four bays. The bay to the right contains a 19th-century lancet window with a medieval low-side lancet below. A 19th-century lateral stack lies to the right of the centre bay, with 19th-century two-stage buttresses between the bays.

The south aisle consists of three bays with a lean-to roof and ashlar parapet. The right-hand bay has a 3-light window, probably reset, with a truncated head. The left bay is blank. Single-stage clasping buttresses appear at the corners. A 2-light square-head east window and 2-light west window with a 4-centred arch head are present. The central porch has a double-chamfered outer arch with one order of shafts, hood mould, and carved label stops. The 15th-century inner door features a 4-centred arch head and roll mouldings, beneath a shallow gabled roof with ashlar gable parapet.

The north aisle also comprises three bays with a 2-window range and a lean-to roof with ashlar parapet. The left and right windows are 2-light; the left window has ogee-head lights, a segmental head, and a raised ashlar surround with square head, while the right window has a 4-centred arch head. The north door in the centre bay has a 4-centred arch head. Two-stage gabled buttresses stand between the bays and at the left-hand corner, with two-stage clasping buttresses at the right-hand corner. A 2-light square-head east window and a single lancet west window complete this elevation.

The nave clerestory contains a 3-window range of 2-light windows under 4-centred arch heads, with a shallow gabled roof and ashlar parapets.

The Perpendicular west tower stands in three stages with a plinth. Six-stage ashlar pilasters mark the corners. The lower stage's west face is ashlar, with a west door having a 4-centred arch head and moulded stone surround. Above is a 2-light west window with hollow reveals and a 4-centred arch head. Slit windows appear on each face of the second stage. The upper stage contains 4-light bell-chamber openings on each face with transoms, hollow reveals, and 4-centred arch heads. Castellated ashlar parapets with corner gargoyles complete the tower.

Interior features include a 3-bay nave arcade with double-chamfered arches. The mid-13th-century north arcade has circular piers with octagonal abaci and nailhead decoration. The late 13th- and early 14th-century south arcade features quatrefoil piers with polygonal responds and corbelled heads, accompanied by carved-head label stops. The chancel arch and tower arch are both double-chamfered; the chancel arch has polygonal bracket responds, while the tower arch has semi-circular responds.

A piscina to the right of the altar has a double arch head with a rosette in the centre. An Easter Sepulchre to the left of the altar displays six cusped panels beneath a 4-centred arch head, with the middle two panels stopped to form a square blank panel.

The nave roof retains original shallow arched braced trusses with moulded cross beams, carved angels, and bosses. The north aisle retains some original moulded beams. The south aisle and chancel roofs are 19th-century replacements.

A lancet in the south wall of the chancel has shafted reveals. Fragments of reset carved masonry appear on the south pier of the chancel arch and the south wall of the south aisle. A fragment of Saxon interlaced sculpture has been reset in the north wall of the tower. An octagonal font with a quatrefoil base is present, along with a Jacobean communion rail and 19th-century furnishings.

Monuments include one to Adlard Apreece (died 1608), featuring a small kneeling figure in a square recess to the right of the altar, with flanking pilasters bearing heraldic devices and an inscribed tablet below. A monument to Robert, William, and Robert Apreece (c.1633) shows three frontal kneeling figures to the left of the altar with flanking detached columns supporting a cornice with an arched centre section over a heraldic device, with inscribed panels below. A brass wall plaque to John Loftus (died 1657) hangs to the right of the altar. Various 17th-century inscribed floor tablets to the Apreece family are set in the sanctuary floor. Some masonry may be reset from Washingley Church, which was incorporated into the living of Lutton in the 15th century. The windows retain 19th-century plain glass throughout.