Church of St Peter

Cadw's description

Location

In a walled churchyard on the W side of the town and on the W side of the cattle market.

History

A church of medieval origin, of which only the C16 tower survived substantial remodelling in 1884-5 by J Middleton, architect of Cheltenham.

Exterior

Early-English style church comprising nave, lower and narrower chancel, W tower, S porch and N vestry. Of rubble stone and steep slate roofs with overhanging eaves behind coped gables on moulded kneelers. The S porch has a 2-centred doorway with continuous chamfer and hood mould. Inside, the S door to the nave has a single order of nook shafts, a 2-centred arch and hood with foliage stops, to double boarded doors with strap hinges. To the R of the porch are 2 pairs of cusped lights, and a deep buttress to the SE angle. The chancel has 3 cusped windows in the S wall, and a 3-light E window with geometrical tracery and hood mould. On the N side is a single cusped window and the vestry. The vestry has a 2-centred doorway with hood mould in its E wall, with boarded door, and a 2-light plate-tracery N window with hood mould and head stops. A later pebble-dashed lean-to has been added to the W side. The N wall of the nave has 3 pairs of cusped lights. A grave slab to Morgan Rees (d 1805) is attached to the wall to the R of centre. The N and S walls of the nave both have, at the W end, straight vertical joints between nave and the earlier fabric of the tower.

The 3-stage tower is battered at the base and has a higher square NE turret. Its W door has a 2-centred head with rubble voussoirs, and double boarded doors with strap hinges. The W window is a 2-light square-headed C16 window with round-headed lights and sunk spandrels with hood mould. Above it the second stage has a narrow loop, with similar loops to the N and S walls, while the belfry has a small 2-light opening in each face with slate louvres. The plain coped parapet projects on a corbel table.

Interior

The nave has a roof of closely spaced arched braces on a moulded cornice. The tower arch is pointed and plastered, and the tower has a plastered pointed tunnel vault. The moulded 2-centred chancel arch is on corbels and has an outer order of continuous chamfer and a hood mould. The keeled wagon roof to the chancel has moulded cornice and ribs, and boarded panels. The vestry doorway in the N wall is cusped and has a boarded door. The E window has a shafted rere arch with annulets and a hood mould. The central aisle, chancel and sanctuary are laid with decorative tiles.

The octagonal font is dated 1933 and is late Perpendicular in style with panelled stem and relief carvings around the bowl. The simple benches and the polygonal pulpit with open Gothic panels are both of 1884-5. The choir stalls have open-arcaded fronts and moulded ends. The simple communion rail has turned balusters and moulded wooden rail.

The E window shows Christ with SS Peter and Paul, by A K Nicholson of London, after 1921.

Reason for designation

Listed as a small late C19 Gothic-revival church with a fine and prominent late medieval tower.