Church of St Peter Walpole, England

Text courtesy of Historic England. © Crown Copyright, reprinted under the Open Government License.

WALPOLE ST. PETER CHURCH ROAD TF 5016

14/57 Church of St. Peter 11.8.51

G.V. I

Parish church. Early C14 base of west tower. Remainder of late C14 comprising nave, aisles and chancel. Restored 1898. Ashlar with lead roofs. 4 stage tower, externally of 3 stages. Angle buttresses with polygonal stair turret to south-west. Arched west door with undercut mouldings below string course. 2-light arched west window of early C14. In buttresses to right and left one trefoiled statuary niche. Lancets to ringing chamber. String course below 2-light transomed belfry windows. Crenellated parapet with gargoyles. Aisles with stepped side buttresses, angled at corners. 3-light aisle windows with embattled transoms and rising supermullions, 4-light to east and west ends. Crenellated parapets to aisles and clerestory, all with panelling and corbel tables, the latter studded at intervals with animal head gargoyles. 2-light closely set clerestory windows under stilted arches, each window separated by stepped pilasters of such- weight as to appear as flat buttresses. Elaborate 2 storey early C15 south porch with stepped side buttresses and angle buttresses to south face. Heads of buttresses gabled. 4-centred arched opening below square hood, the spandrels with punched roundels containing coats of arms. Above is frieze containing 9 bay arcade of cusped arches also with heraldic devices. 3-light window lights upper room and is flanked by canopied statuary niches to right and left. Crenellated parapet with panelled arcading obscures gabled roof. 2 2-light side windows to each storey. Vault of porch in 2 bays with moulded tierceron ribs, the bosses carved with religious scenes and animal and figurative motifs. Inner south door arched and moulded. Original double timber doors with tiers of carved arcading. Simple north gabled porch with crenellated parapet. Square corner pinnacles with crockets. Diagonal buttressing and one window to east and west faces. Polygonal rood stair turrets to nave east wall with roll moulded edges and spirelets. Bell cote at gable head. 5 bay chancel with stepped buttresses, angled to east. 3-light arched Perpendicular windows stepping up to east end. Crenellated parapet with panelled arcading. Over east buttresses a square pinnacle. 7-light east window. Beneath east bay of chancel a vaulted passageway in shape of a depressed 4-centred arch. 2 bay tierceron vault with bosses of foliage and some figurative carving. Interior. 7 bay arcade of quatrefoil piers on moulded polygonal bases and with polygonal moulded capitals. The piers have fillets to the cardinal points. Arches of roll mouldings. Nave roof of moulded tie beams on arched braces dropping on wall posts to head corbels. Moulded curved Queen struts rise to moulded principals. One tier butt purlins and ridge piece. North aisle roof of alternating large and small arched braces to principals. 2 tiers butt purlins. South aisle roof 1812. Stilted tower arch with double hollow chamfers. Internal corbels carved with grotesque figures. C17 timber screen extends across nave and aisles at west end. 3 doorways with pediments. Arched leaf trail panelling runs below openwork balustrade of turned shafts in turn below frieze of continuous circles with floral patterns. Early C17 tower gallery with turned balusters. Roll moulded chancel arch on circular responds. Ogee headed doorways to rood stairs. Dado of C15 rood screen survives in 6 bays right and left of central opening, each bay with painted figures of saints and apostles. South chancel arch pier with 3-light arched window from rood stairs looking down into chancel. Chancel dado of cinquefoil roll moulded arcade, each bay of which has miniture rib vault. String course runs beneath chancel windows. Between each window a nodding ogee canopy with pierced arcading sits above a statuary niche. Shallow niche to right and left of east window also with canopy. Stepped sedilia and piscina in south wall with m