Church Of St Peter And St Paul

Church of St Peter and St Paul

This church dates from the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries. It was repaired between 1770 and 1774, restored in 1864 by E.F. Law, and again restored between 1887 and 1892 by Edward Swinfen Harris. The building is constructed of coursed squared limestone with a plain-tile roof to the chancel and lead roofs to the body of the church. It comprises a chancel, nave, north aisle and west tower.

The chancel features a 3-light east window with reticulated tracery and hood mould, and 19th-century stepped triple lancet windows to north and south. A priest's door dating from 1864 opens to the north. The chancel displays Early English style work with shafts and foliage capitals. A 13th-century ornamental string-course marks the level of the springing of the central lancets, partly renewed and carried over the windows as hood mould and over the blocked side-lights of the original east window on either side of the present window.

The nave contains 3-light windows to the south with 19th-century geometrical tracery and hood moulds. Three quatrefoil clerestory windows appear to the north only, with square chamfered stone surrounds. A plain stone-coped parapet runs along the south side, featuring a central datestone inscribed 1586.

The north aisle has a 3-light east window with 19th-century Decorated tracery, 3-light windows to the north with late 19th-century Perpendicular tracery and 4-centred heads, and a small 2-light west window with Y-tracery and pointed trefoil-headed lights; all are furnished with hood moulds. A blocked chamfered north door with imposts and toothed hood mould is visible.

The 4-stage tower features a many-moulded west door. Above it is a 3-light window with 19th-century Perpendicular tracery, and a 2-light west window to the next stage with Decorated tracery and quatrefoil to the head, all with hood moulds. The bell-chamber has 2-light openings with cinquefoil-headed lights, quatrefoils to the heads and hood moulds. The tower displays diagonal off-set buttresses, a battlemented parapet and a turret to the south-east angle with a ridged pyramidal stone roof. A weather-vane and gilded copper weathercock, possibly medieval, crown the structure.

Chamfered plinths appear to the tower and chancel. Irregularly sited off-set buttresses rise from the nave and aisle, and chamfered wood eaves run along the north side of the nave and north aisle.

Interior: The chancel contains an aumbry. A double-chamfered chancel arch with a continuous outer arch and polygonal responds with moulded bases and capitals is innermost. The nave features a 13th-century 5-bay arcade with quatrefoil piers, moulded bases and capitals, double-chamfered arches and toothed hood moulding. A part-blocked tower arch contains a 18th-century door to a vestibule in the tower; this is a round-arched door with moulded wood surround and keyblock. The chancel has a 19th-century roof. The north aisle is covered by a plaster ceiling. The nave has a 5-bay roof, formerly hidden by an 18th-century coved plaster ceiling. The roof features arch-braced ties, wall-posts on corbels and king posts. Two trusses to the east half of the roof have stop-moulded ties, raised principals and side-struts from ties to principals. Those to the west are probably late 15th or early 17th century, with bar stops to ties and side-struts to principal rafters.

The church contains several monuments. A small wall monument with a brass inscription plate in a moulded stone surround commemorates Reverend William Bradshawe, died 1601, and his wife Barbara. A wall monument in oil on board in a Japanned wood frame records Henry Longueville, died 1713. Three wall monuments are signed by William Cox of Northampton: one to Harriet Kantchbull, died 1767; one to Reverend Pulter Forester, rector of Cosgrove and Passenham, died 1778; and one to Reverend Richard Wadsworth, died 1781. All bear obelisk backgrounds and cartouches of arms; the monument to Pulter Forester includes an inscription on an open book.