Church of Saint Peter

Church of Saint Peter

This parish church is built of purple rubble stone with traces of lime render and slate roofs. It comprises a western tower, nave, chancel and south porch.

The tower stands in two stages with a battered base and a north-east polygonal stair turret. It has a corbelled flat parapet, embattled only to the stair turret. Large corner stones are set with a moulded string course below the parapet carrying six carved gargoyles, and another string course between the stages. The 19th-century bell-lights are renewed ashlar with two lights and pointed heads with hoodmoulds. The west door is a blocked moulded pointed opening with two-colour voussoirs. The large west window dates to the 19th century in Perpendicular style, with three lights, hoodmould and bicolour voussoirs; its tracery was renewed in 1991. A small medieval rectangular chamfered opening appears on the south side, with three small loops to the stair tower.

The nave's south side has a two-light window to the left, possibly 17th-century with segment-headed lights and renewed in 1991, then a porch, followed by two earlier 19th-century three-light ashlar windows with segmental-pointed heads and pointed heads to the two outer lights, leaving an untraceried broad centre light. The south porch has a coped gable with 19th-century cross finial and a low chamfered Tudor arched entry with purple stone dressings and broach stops. Its interior contains flagstones, benches and flat ceiling. A plain chamfered pointed south door with 19th-century boarded door leads into the church. The nave's east and north walls are rendered. The north wall has an eroded red stone two-light pulpit window, possibly 17th-century with segment-headed lights. A break occurs midway along the north wall.

The chancel has battered base walls. Its south side features an ashlar blocked door with hollow moulding, curved stop and fillet, and stone voussoirs above, alongside a 19th-century ashlar three-light south window with flat head and cusped lights. The east end shows traces of whitewash and has a large 19th-century ashlar three-light window in Perpendicular Gothic style with hoodmould and stone voussoirs. The chancel north side is windowless.

The interior has a whitewashed plastered nave, while the chancel was scraped of plaster in the later 20th century. The nave roof is low 19th-century shallow-curved boarding with moulded ribs to six by four panels. The nave floor is paved with incised slabs. The south door has stone voussoirs. A plastered low chancel arch with plastered beam above, possibly a former rood beam, steps the walling forward above the beam. The nave south windows (19th-century insertions) have attractive clear leaded glazing. The north pulpit window and south font window have deeply splayed reveals. The tower arch is plastered with a Tudor arch over a pointed chamfered arch dying into side piers. The tower has no ceiling but has put-log holes to the walls and a pointed chamfered stair door with broach stops. The renewed west window has 1991 glazing depicting keys of Saint Peter on a shield.

The chancel has a 15th-century panelled barrel roof of four by four panels with moulded ribs and nine carved bosses with leaf motifs. The east and south windows have stone voussoirs. A low blocked south door with stone voussoirs is infilled with a shelf; its base is said to be approximately 50 millimetres lower than the present floor level. Scant remnants of wall painting remain on the jambs of the east window.

The church contains an unusual tooled octagonal red granite font on a circular stem, said to be 13th-century. A plain panelled later 19th-century pulpit stands on an octagonal base, with matching reading desk and pews. A benefaction board dates to 1809.

Memorials include an eroding plaque on the east wall to David Williams with oval and plant sprays, died 1809; a chancel north similar plaque with rustic floral drop and circle to Edward Williams, died 1808; a south painted stone oval plaque with fans in spandrels to Mary Morgans, died 1782, and Mary Harries, died 1811; an eroding plaque to Mary Abraham circa 1815. The nave floor has incised grave slabs with dates from 1681 to 1753. The nave north wall holds an eroding plaque to Mary John, a plain shaped plaque to Mary Williams died 1800, and a plaque to Adam Thomas died 1729.

The church contains three bells: one of circa 1350 made in Bristol, one of 1711 by E. Evans of Chepstow, and one of 1656 by John Palmer II of Gloucester.