Church Of St Peter

The Church of St Peter is an Anglican parish church dating from 1872 to 1874, designed by Sir T G Jackson for Rector Geoffrey Thring. It is constructed with stone, Doulting dressings, and features tile roofs with stone tiles to the eaves, coped verges with floral finials. The tower is tile-hung with a timber sub-structure and a tiled, broached spire, with a glazed wooden arcade directly below and a small clock inset to the west side. The church is built in a Geometric and Early English style, characteristic of the late 14th and early 15th centuries, and comprises a nave, south porch, a combined vestry and organ loft, and a chancel, with a west tower.

The tower has a two-light west window and lancets to its north and south sides; a recessed west door is set between buttresses. The nave has two-light windows and buttresses, while the two-bay chancel features lancets and a shafted five-light east window, with stopped labels. The porch has columns to the outer door opening and a plank door with elaborate strap hinges.

The interior retains the original design and is complete. The walls are covered in fine sgraffito executed in strawberry and cream plaster, depicting sunflowers, branches, texts, and figures. Above the west door are depictions of Isaiah and Jeremiah; under the tower is Moses; over the chancel arch, The Annunciation; in the chancel, two angels; and in the porch, texts. Tile floors are laid throughout, with the chancel pavement being glazed and patterned. The nave features a collar truss and king-post roof on corbels, while the chancel has a wagon roof. The chancel arch is in Early English style. An alabaster reredos is adorned with figures of the Evangelists on enamel tiles. Features include an inlaid oak pulpit, lectern, altar, and choir stalls, as well as co-eval altar rails and pews. A narrow doorway to the vestry leads to a blank cusped head incorporating a carved relief of Christ, with an inlaid door, inside which are a 15th-century piscina and an 18th-century monument incorporated from the previous church. A Norman tub font sits under the tower. Stained glass to the chancel, including the east window depicting The Crucifixion (1874), and the west window (1874), are by Powell and Sons, who were also responsible for the chancel pavement. A 19th-century organ is also present. The building remains virtually unaltered and represents a rare example of Jackson’s church design.