St Peter

	Three buildings have occupied the site of St Peter’s for over a thousand years. The original church was Saxon and is noted in Domesday Book. In 1315 the Bishop of Worcester consecrated a second church and its altar is reinstalled in the south aisle. The present building was restored in 1858, this date being inscribed on drainpipes, though the medieval pinnacled tower was retained.
Perpendicular Style The nave and chancel were rebuilt to imitate the graceful Perpendicular Style of architecture (1377-1547). All parapets are embattled and the chancel roof has pointed pinnacles and knobbly decorations called crockets. A north aisle was added to balance the south aisle and provide extra seating. The north porch was added and is another feature of this period.
	Medieval Tower The medieval tower is constructed from dressed blocks of red pennant sandstone while the 19th century nave and chancel uses pennant rubble. Quoins and dressings, also interior linings to walls are built with Bath stone. The spacious nave has five bays, separated from the aisles by an arcade of clustered columns and over the pillars are representations of angels looking down.
John Norton The architect - John Norton provided a building that was aesthetically pleasing to inspire the congregation to joyful creative worship. He was a pupil of Benjamin Ferrey who in turn was articled to Augustus Pugin. Pugin helped design the Houses of Parliament and this 19th century School of Architects used features of the Middle Ages in preference to drab Victorian architecture.
	Dr Edward Pusey A stained-glass window commemorated to Dr Pusey depicts 'Disciples sleeping in the Garden of Gethsemane'. 19th century clergymen were becoming neglectful, so Oxford dons led by John Newman tried to inspire a spiritual awakening by writing ‘Tracts for the times’ that were distributed throughout England. Edward Pusey was Professor of Divinity at Oxford in 1835 when he wrote a 300-page tract on baptism.
Rev H P Willoughby Rev Willoughby was rector during the decade before restoration. He was a student at Oxford in 1827-30 being influenced by John Newman and Edward Pusey who encouraged bringing colour and texts into church furnishings. Stained glass windows throughout the nave depict scenes from - Annunciation to descent of the Holy Spirit, and in the chancel Scenes from St Peter's life. Scrolls are carved on the walls between tops of the arches bearing admonitory texts.
	Paying for the restoration The Rev W C Fox was curate in 1858 when the new building was consecrated and he made a substantial contribution towards its restoration. The Government was alerted by the Napoleonic War and fearing that a godless people might be a revolutionary people they made money available to build new churches and enable others to be enlarged. In the porch we read that the Incorporated Church Building Society gave £150 to increase capacity from 228 persons to 512 providing the seats were rent-free.
Parish chest The parish chest of 1600 AD is constructed from iron with the mandatory three locks and when the incumbent and two churchwardens were present each with his own key, could the chest be opened. In addition to Church registers it contained documents belonging to the parish vestry when churchwardens were ‘overseers of the poor’.
	The Bells and Clock The Tenor cast in 1760 is inscribed "Let my sound move people to God." The 4th bell recast 1963 is inscribed "King, Pitt, and Quebec for ever." The second bell is inscribed 1627. The treble was first cast in 1760. The clock is prototype to clock of Big Ben, by Joyce of Whitchurch in Shropshire.
Pound Gate This wrought iron gate flanked by tall pennant-stone posts is conserved by making it entrance to the graveyard since 1963. Originally it secured the village pound where stray farm animals were impounded. This was at Church Farm, across the main road from St Peter's, where an estate of chalet bungalows is now built.