Church Of St Peter And St Paul

The Church of St Peter and St Paul is an Anglican parish church with origins in the 13th century, significantly altered in the 15th century and restored with the addition of transepts in 1874. The church is constructed of ham stone ashlar and near-ashlar with a plain clay tile roof, featuring bands of scallop tiles and coped gables. It follows a cruciform plan, comprising a two-bay chancel, a three-bay nave, a central tower above the crossing, transepts, a south porch, and a south-east vestry.

The chancel appears to be a 19th-century rebuild and features a chamfered plinth, cill course, stylised bay and corner buttresses. Its east window is a three-light Geometric traceried window, topped with a quatrefoil vent. To the north are a cusped lancet and a matching three-light window; to the south, a two-light window and the vestry, which has a parallel roof, a two-light east window, and a south door in a plain pointed arch with a label.

The north transept seems to be a partial rebuild, featuring angled corner buttresses and two-light windows in hollow chamfered arched recesses, and a cusped lancet east of the south porch. The west window is a four-light window. The west door is likely a reused element from a previous location, featuring a moulded pointed arch within a rectangular recess, surmounted by carved spandrils and a deep square label with headstops.

The south porch, seemingly dating to the 15th century, possesses angled corner buttresses topped with crocketted pinnacles. It has a stilted four-centred outer arch and a plain pointed inner arch with a headstop label. Inside, the roof is a fine panelled rib vault, supported by stone ribs set on angel corbels over a deep quatrefoil-panelled frieze.

The tower rises two stages above the eaves, with string courses and gargoyles at the top course, and a battlemented parapet, which is probably a 19th-century addition. Angled corner buttresses with pinnacles are also present, along with a stair turret to the south-east corner. Small rectangular windows are set into the lower stage, and blind two-light windows with a 15th-century style are above, with a clockface set into each side.

The interior is largely 19th century. The chancel has a four-plane rib and arched truss ceiling, an ogee arched piscina, possibly dating to the 14th century, and a plain 13th-century chancel arch. The side arches to the crossing are plain, while the arch to the nave may be late 14th or early 15th century. The nave features a boarded rib and panel pointed vault ceiling. Fittings are mostly 19th century, but a square font, with a bowl of Purbeck stone bearing four round arched panels on each face, stands on a later panelled base. Remains of a 14th-century traceried panelled font lid are mounted on a nearby wall. A hatchment board from 1852 is also present. The east window contains glass dating to 1968; the remaining windows feature reclaimed 19th-century stained glass. A copy of a Buckler drawing of the church reveals an earlier appearance with a shorter nave, a similar west door, no south transept or tower crown, and a stone slab roof to the porch. The first recorded rector was in 1245.