Church Of St Peter And St Paul

Church of St Peter and St Paul

Anglican parish church at South Petherton with origins in the Saxon period. The building is cruciform with aisles, largely dating from the 15th century, though a 13th-century crosswing survives. It underwent major restoration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by A. Blomfield, and Sedding and Wilson.

The church is constructed of ham stone ashlar with some rubble work. The chancel and south porch are roofed with plain clay tiles with ornamental ridges behind parapets, while the remainder of the building is roofed with lead sheeting behind parapets.

The plan comprises a two-bay chancel, crossing, single-bay south and two-bay north transepts, a wide four-bay nave with side aisles, a single-storey south porch, and a two-storey north porch. An irregular octagonal tower with two stages above the roofline rises at the west end, with a south-west corner stair turret and small lead-covered spirelet topped with a wrought-iron weathervane.

The chancel features a chamfered plinth, eaves string and simple parapet with full-height corner buttresses. Its east window is a 15th-century four-light sub-arcuated design with cusped transome and plain gable vents above. To the north is a two-light Geometric traceried window with headstop label and a three-light 15th-century window in a hollowed recess; matching windows appear to the south, with a moulded pointed-arched doorway between them.

The south transept has similar detailing but with offset corner buttresses. Its east wall contains a matching three-light 15th-century window, and the south gable has a transomed four-light window with Perpendicular tracery.

The north transept features angled corner buttresses and a battlemented parapet. Its east wall contains a five-light early 15th-century flat-arched window with reticulated tracery and deep label, while the north window is a five-light reticulated pointed-arched design with plain label.

Both aisles have double plinths, string courses, plain parapets, bay buttresses and offset corner buttresses. The aisles are lit by rather wide 15th-century traceried three-light windows in hollowed recesses without labels, matched by west windows.

The south porch may be a 19th-century rebuild. It has angled corner buttresses and a late 13th-century style moulded arch with bell capitals to the shafts, beneath a sexpartite ceiling vault. The inner doorway is late 13th-century in style, with possibly earlier corbel brackets flanking it and a statue niche above.

The north porch dates from the 15th century and was built with the aisle. It has angled corner buttresses and a moulded pointed outer arch set in a rectangular recess with quatrefoil-carved spandrels and deep square label. Above is a two-light flat-arched window in a recess, with a stoup in the north-west corner. The inner doorway is plain.

The nave west window is a five-light Perpendicular traceried design with cusped transome, set above a blocked simple doorway.

The tower has string courses, battlemented parapets and angle gargoyles. To the north and east of stage one are two-light transomed flat-arched windows in recesses with stone frets, with lancets below on the north and south sides and smaller lancets higher on the south and west faces. Stage two has pointed-arched two-light 15th-century windows in hollowed recesses to all faces.

The spacious interior contains a chancel with an 1882 ceiling by Blomfield. The east window has rere-arches with shafts and 20th-century statues on the east wall. A cinquefoil cusped piscina and blocked squint to the north transept are also present.

The crossing is dominated by fine triple-order 13th-century arches with bell capitals and an octopartite tierceron vault. The nave arcades feature 15th-century shaft-and-hollow columns, with fine quality late 19th-century ceilings. The aisles have hafts for projected vaulting.

The fittings are mostly good quality 19th and 20th-century work, but include an oak altar table of 1698, a cusped piscina, and a 15th-century credence stand in the north transept. An early 20th-century painting on canvas hangs over the nave crossing arch.

The church contains many fine monuments. In the north transept is a monument to William Ayshe (died 1657) with three kneeling figures in a coloured marble surround with Ionic capitals and a pediment with cartouche, along with tablets to Samuel Cabel (died 1699) and Jacob Aysshe (died 1626). In the south transept are an effigy of Sir Philip De Albine (died 1294) set in a wall arch, and a chest tomb with Purbeck stone top and inlaid brasses to Sir Giles Daubeney (died 1445) and his wife. An EIIR hatchment hangs over the south aisle doorway.

Some early 20th-century stained glass by Nicholson is present in the church.

Aviet served as priest here in 1086. Thomas Coke was curate here from 1772 to 1777 before becoming a leading Methodist.