History

The chancel and eastern part of the nave are probably early C14, the nave was extended westwards in late C15 or early C16 and S porch added. The church was restored in 1850 and again in 1886 when the S vestry and chancel arch were built.

Exterior

Simple Decorated style church. Nave of 4 bays with S porch; shorter narrower chancel at E end with S vestry. Nave has an ashlar bellcote at the W end and tall angle buttresses at E end with helm caps. Built of rubble masonry, walls are rendered, with freestone dressings. Slate roof with stone copings and crosses at gable apexes. Entrance to the church is through the S porch; outer elliptical-arched doorway with moulded jambs, inner round-headed, C15 doorway with chamfered surround (right hand jamb with broach stop) and hoodmould. The S wall of the nave has mid C19 windows; W of the porch a single trefoil-headed light, E of the porch 2 paired trefoil-headed lights in square frames. The N wall has 4 windows; that to E end a C15 paired trefoil-headed window in a square frame with moulded hoodmould, and to right of this window is the blocked, pointed-arched, N doorway (probably C14). The second window in from the W end is a re-set C13 chamfered lancet; other windows are mid C19 trefoil-headed lights. Chancel has a C14 E window of 3 trefoiled ogee lights with tracery in a 2-centred arch with a moulded label with human head stops. N and S walls of the chancel have similarly detailed early C14 windows; easternmost windows are paired trefoil-headed lights with trefoils in 2-centred heads with moulded labels with human head stops. Westernmost windows are single trefoiled-headed lights; similarly detailed window in S vestry.

Interior

Nave of 4 roof bays with exposed C19 rafters and arched collared trusses with braces down to plain corbels. Chancel of 6 roof bays, similarly detailed trusses but with cusped cross braces above collars; raised by one step through a single, hollow chamfered, pointed arch with C19 wooden screen. Screen has lower part of recessed panelling spaced by tall moulded columns supporting a moulded rail over a plain entablature articulated by widely spaced floriate bosses; central part has carved floriate 4-centred arch to upper part, flanking bays with Perpendicular carving. Chancel and sanctuary have encaustic tiling; sanctuary rail moulded on turned balusters with trefoil pierced brackets. Below the window in the N wall of the chancel is a pointed-arched recess beneath which is a C14 tapered gravestone decorated with a floriated cross, with circular head, flanked by a running leaf pattern to either side of the stem bearing the inscription: HIC / JACET / DD' / BARKER / CVI' / AIE PPICIET / D[EVS] (broken off at the foot). In a similar recess in the S wall is a gravestone with the effigy in high relief of a priest in mass vestments, his head resting on a cushion under an ogee canopy, holding a chalice in his hands; on the edge is mutilated inscription reading: HIC / IA[C/ET / DNS / MATHEVS / AP / ELY] * / CAPELLANVUS / BEATE / MA[RIE] / **** / ***** / AIA / QCIESC/VQ / DIXERIT / P[****] / AVE / MARIA / HA/BERI / QVIQVU / [CETV]** / ***IES / IDVLGE/CIA / DE / RO ...., also C14. The pulpit is octagonal with 4 recessed facing panels under a Perpendicular style frieze and moulded cornice. Font is a circular gritstone bowl set on a square base, C12, with 3 rectangular carved panels (a fourth panel is blank); one panel has a crude interlaced cross with Stafford knots at the intersection, one has two vertical rows of incised interlaced and loop work and the third has a Maltese cross formed of triangular knotwork with a central ring.

Reasons for Listing

Listed as a C19 restoration of a largely late medieval church, in which a simple rural gothic idiom was retainined in the restoration. The church contains a number of early features of particular note, including a C12 font and a pair of C14 gravestones.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• St Peter's Church at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q17742724

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990
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  Oxfordshire: North and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  For the Record
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  Hampshire: Winchester and the North (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)