Church of St Peter is a Grade II* listed building in the Somerset local planning authority area, England. First listed on 29 March 1963. A Medieval Church.

Church of St Peter

WRENN ID
tangled-corridor-jay
Grade
II*
Local Planning Authority
Somerset
Constituency
Bridgwater MP: Sir Ashley Fox (Con)
Country
England
Date first listed
29 March 1963
Type
Church
Period
Medieval
Address
Church of St Peter, Church Road, North Petherton
OS grid reference
ST 301 311
Coordinates
51.07527, -2.99904
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Church of St Peter is an Anglican church located in North Petherton, with a tower believed to date back to Saxon times, altered in 1635. The rest of the church was completely rebuilt in 1885 for Rev. Thomas Eaton. The structure features coursed and squared rubble with freestone dressings, coped verges, and tile roofs. It includes a nave, chancel, North and South aisles, a North vestry, and a West tower porch.

The tower exhibits Perpendicular architectural features, while the rest of the building is designed in an Early English style. The tower consists of two stages with a parapet and moulded coping, and it has 2 and 3-light ovolo-moulded stone mullioned windows with labels and leaded lights, along with a slit window on the North face of the upper stage. The West entrance features a 4-centred arch door opening in a moulded surround, leading to a plank door. The remaining structure has grouped lancet windows, buttresses, and offsets, with the vestry including a chimney and a rose window.

Inside, there is a benched porch with a flag floor, Jacobean panelling, a moulded inner doorway, and paired plank doors. The interior is plastered, with flag and tile floors, and features a broad chancel arch. Notable interior elements include Jacobean furniture such as an arcaded rood screen with a heavy moulded cornice supported by four caryatids, three of which are said to represent the Three Virtues. Other significant items include a carved reader, a pulpit dated 1637, a carved door to the vestry depicting the parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins, a reredos and altar made from re-used panelling, a table, and two carved chairs. A medieval consecration cross is located on the south wall of the south aisle. The church also contains a painting of the interior before restoration by W. Cartright, a 17th-century coffin stool and chest, 19th-century pews, choir stalls, altar rails, and a font. The stained glass, in a simple Early English style, is particularly notable in the chancel. The Jacobean work was executed for Sir Thomas Wroth.

Local climate

Church of St Peter receives an average of 830 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 55% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 65% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 26 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 72% of listed buildings. Of these, 9 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

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