Building record 17/2/1 - Church of St. Peter and St. Paul

Church built in the late 13th century, but predominantly 14th and early 15th century in date, with some restoration in the 19th century. Built of regular coursed ironstone with moulded plinths, there is some rubble in the chancel. Most of the roofs are of lead, but the chancel roof is of plastic. The church consists of an aisled nave, chancel, west tower, south porch and north vestries

{1} Church. Late C13 origins, but predominantly C14 and early C15. Regular coursed ironstone with moulded plinths; chancel has some rubble. Lead roofs; chancel roof plastic. Aisled nave, chancel, west tower, south porch and north vestries. Decorated and Early Perpendicular style. 4-bay nave with 5-bay aisles embracing tower, 3-bay chancel. Early Perpendicular tower of 4 stages: Substantial diagonal buttresses. Ribbed double-leaf arched west door in moulded doorway with fluerons and crocketed ogee hood mould; badly eroded. Small moulded panel to left. Moulded string course, continued across buttresses. 3-light window with moulded arch and jambs, and flanking small moulded ogee niches. Upper stages have simple moulded string courses. Bell openings of 2 traceried lights with transom and hood mould. Crenellated parapet with panelled and crocketed pinnacles. South porch Early Perpendicular. Diagonal buttresses with 2 offsets. Low pitched roof with gable and side parapet and elaborately moulded arch. East side has trefoiled lancet, west side has 2-light traceried window. Ribbed double-leaf south door and elaborate Early Perpendicular moulded doorway. Both aisles have string course at sill level. South aisle has moulded parapet with gargoyle near east end. Two 2-light south and 3-light east windows with reticulated tracery. North and south aisles each have 3-light Perpendicular west window with cinqfoiled lights, straight head and hood mould. North aisle has gabled diagonal buttresses; east buttress has niche with nodding ogee arch. Parapet with alternating head and ballflower frieze. North door (blocked inside) between 2 westernmost windows has string course carried over as hood mould. Plank door with decorative strap hinges. 3 Decorated north windows have hood moulds with head stops. Nave has moulded parapets throughout. Early Perpendicular clerestory of three 4-light windows with cusped lights and hood mould. Chancel has square-headed south doorway with plank door, inserted below 2-light Perpendicular window. To left a late C13 two-light low side window with plate tracery; to right, a 3-light Decorated window. Early Perpendicular 4-light east window of 8 cusped lights in 2 tiers, with moulded arch and jambs. North vestries have 3-light Perpendicular north window, and 3-light Decorated east window with ogee arch, and hood mould with head stops. Interior: Wide nave and aisles. Tall wide 4-bay Early Perpendicular arcade. Piers of 4 main and 4 subsidiary shafts with broad fillets. Elaborately moulded arches, bases and capitals. Hood moulds with angel stops; head stops to aisles. Perpendicular roof with head corbels. Tall elaborately moulded Transitional tower arch with head stops, and two heads in wall above arch. Lower part blocked; upper part has balustrade with turned balusters. Aisles have blind triple-chamfered tower arches; south aisle arch has hood mould. South aisle has Perpendicular roof with moulded tie beams. 3 sedilia and adjoining piscina have detached shafts with fillets, moulded arches and hood moulds and fragments of dog-tooth ornament. Piscina now blocked has simple ogee arch and square hood mould. North aisle has lean-to roof. 2 moulded corbels in north wall. Triple-chamfered chancel arch without imposts. Chancel has king-post roof with moulded purlins and Transitional style head corbels; eastern roof truss filled in with Gothic openwork. North wall has remains of 2 blocked round arches and small 2-centred door with hood mould. Small piscina, and C14 stone shelf on good head corbel. Squint into chancel from west vestry. South wall has ogee-headed piscina. Stone seat below easternmost window. West vestry has small piscina or holy water stoup with trefoiled arch and semi octagonal shaft. Fittings: octagonal stone font with panels of shields and fleurs de lys, and carved foliage. Painted wooden cover dated 1662(?). C17 aisle west screens with moulded muntins, openwork top with diagonally-set square uprights, and spikes; doors with H-L hinges. Simple moulded stone reredos with C17 wood panels. Late C17/early C18 panelled pulpit with back panel and tester, pews, and box pews, in tiers at west end. C18 altar rails with vase and column balusters. Aumbry with carved and moulded wood door inscribed "John Ward Gave This 1627" set in chancel north wall. Royal arms in tower arch. Monuments: north aisle floor brass: William Makepiece, d.1584, and wife; small figures, with daughters below. Chancel floor brass: William Smarte, rector, d.1468; small figure. Wall monument; Edward Bathurst, d.1668. (Buildings of England: Northamptonshire, pp.148-9).

{6} Drawing of medieval tile found

{7} Undated photo.

{9} [Former list description] A Church of St. Peter and St. Paul.
Coursed stone, string at nave cill level and below parapet, plaint parapet with coping; nave and aisle roofs lead, chancel slate. The church is mainly Decorated but the chancel was originally Norman, some built up Norman arches show on the internal walls, altered Perpendicular. The tower is late C14. The arcades of the nave have 4 bays, the 5th bay is occupied by the tower which has the aisles carried past it on either side. These arcades have elaborate moulded piers and arches with curved bosses at the junction of the hood moulds. The north aisle has three Decorated windows with interesting tracery and some remains of old glass, the other glass is probably C17, plain leaded with wrought iron grilles with spear heads. The south aisle has a good Decorated E. window, Early English sedilia of 3 bays and a piscina. The Perpendicular clerestory of the nave has large 3-light windows with flat arched heads and tracery. The roof is of the same date.
The tall narrow tower arch has a C17-18 gallery with the Royal Arms below. The pews are C17 of oak and the pulpit with sounding board of the same date is probably a three- decker altered. The chancel roof has some old timbers but has been restored C19. The east window is a tall Perpendicular 3-light divided into
three vertically and traceried.

On the south wall of the chancel the west window is Early English with plate tracery, the centre window is Perpendicular and the east is Decorated. Behind the altar is some cearly C17 panelling, on the north wall is a cupboard dated 1627, the altar rails are late C17 turned balustrading.- The altar table in the south aisle is C18, and at the west end of this aisle is the C16-17 font and an old chest. Both aisles have C17 screens at the west end, panelled with wrot iron grills and cresting. The tower has 4 stages, an ogee head west door, diagonal buttresses, battlemented parapet with large gargoyles in centre of west and west sides below parapet string, and corner pinnacles. In the churchyard are good C18 headstones.

{11} The remaining medieval glass in the church is in the chancel, nave north aisle and nave north clerestory.

{13} Ground plan of church by G Christopher Carter, 1907. Proposed rearrangement of seats.

{14} Sketches, drawings, measurements of various areas of the Church, also engraving;

<1> Clews Architects, 1980s, Database for Listing of Historic Buildings of Special Architectural Interest: Northamptonshire, 4/104 (checked) (Digital archive). SNN102353.

<2> List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest ("Greenback"), F02 (unchecked) (Catalogue). SNN45262.

<3> Pevsner N.; Cherry B., 1973, The Buildings of England: Northamptonshire, p.148-9 (unchecked) (Series). SNN1320.

<4> Baker G., 1830, The History and Antiquities of Northamptonshire, p.529-30 (unchecked) (Book). SNN77327.

<5> Bridges J., 1791, The History and Antiquities of Northamptonshire, p.115-16 (unchecked) (Book). SNN77325.

<6> Dryden H.E.L., 1842-1895, Dryden Collection, Parish Files (unchecked) (Archive). SNN115.

<7> Photographs of buildings in Chipping Warden (Photographs). SNN112072.

<8> Bloxham M.H., 1878, On The Medieval Sepulchral Antiquities of Northamptonshire, p.247+53 (unchecked) (Journal). SNN107097.

<9> List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, DOE (HHR) Dist. of Brackley R.D. Northants. September 1960, p. 21 (Report). SNN112993.

<10> Historic England, Undated, St Peter and St Paul's Church, Chipping Warden, BF107268 (Archive). SNN115772.

<11> Marks R., 1998, Stained Glass Of Northamptonshire, p. 36 (Book). SNN101533.

<12> Richmond H., 1988, Survey of Northamptonshire Parish Churches (Unpublished Report). SNN1195.

<13> Lambeth Palace Library, Incorporated Church Building Society Archive, ICBS10390 (Digital archive). SNN115761.

<14> Dryden H.E.L., 1842-1895, Dryden Collection, DR/25/284/2,6a,6b,7,9,10,13,14,15-18,21,22 (Archive). SNN115.

Record last edited

Dec 17 2024 9:16AM