Building record 7203/133/2 - St. Peter's Church (New Build), Midland Road

1906-7 by Talbot Brown & Fisher. Large, brick and stone in a free version of Transitional Decorated/ Perpendicular Gothic. The former church is behind.

{1} St. Peter's Church, Midland Road. A red brick structure was erected in 1905-6 in front of the earlier stone built church. The foundation stone for the new church was laid on September 25th 1906 and the building was consecrated on December 12th 1907. Film 15, photo 15-17.

{2} This Church was built in 1907 and designed by a well-known local firm, Talbot Brown and Fisher of Wellingborough. It is of red brick with stone dressings and has a plain tile roof with stone-coped gables. It is in the perpendicular style with nave and chancel in one space, aisles, north Lady Chapel and south organ loft and vestry. The north wall is parapeted and has an octagonal bell tower. There is a main entrance porch to the west end of the north elevation and a subsidiary entrance porch further to the east on the same elevation. The chancel has a 7-lighty east window with high 3-light windows to the north and south side. The nave has a 6-light tripartite west window and 3-light clerestory windows. There is a mixture of 2- and 3-light windows on the side and west elevations of the aisles. All these windows have leaded lights with quarries of hand-blown and other glass in muted tints and those to the aisles display varying designs of tracery. The Lady Chapel has three 3-light windows with early 20th century stained glass.
Internally, the chancel has a panelled sanctuary with sedilia, communion rail, choir stalls and an organ with carved and moulded case. There is an elaborate rood screen with a carved pierced cornice and widely spaced metal grilles with uprights topped by fleur-de-lis finials. A carved pulpit on a stone base is approached through the rood screen. The nave is of four bays, plus a narrow west bay, and is separated from the aisles by stone arcades of moulded arches dying into lozenge-plan piers, which are wood-panelled to half height. The nave walls have shafts running to the eaves cornice and a cill band to the clerestory windows. The windows to the aisles also have a cill band running below. Below the west window is a 3-bay blind arcade. The nave and chancel have a boarded flattened barrel roof and the Lady Chapel a panelled keel-shaped roof with painted enrichment and bosses to the east end. There is an octagonal font dating from 1922, on a buttressed base with an elaborate painted and gilded cover with spirelet.

<1> Ballinger J., 1999, Northamptonshire Extensive Urban Survey: Industrial Period, (unchecked) (Digital archive). SNN4.

<2> Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 2005, Addition to The Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, Addition of 29/09/2005 (checked) (Schedule). SNN105806.

<3> Bailey, B, Pevsner, N, and Cherry, B, 2013, The Buildings of England: Northamptonshire, p. 560 (Book). SNN111989.

Record last edited

Sep 5 2023 2:47PM