St Peter's Church, Wolfhampcote facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Peter's Church, Wolfhampcote |
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St Peter's Church, Wolfhampcote, from the northwest
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| OS grid reference | SP 529 653 |
| Location | Wolfhampcote, Warwickshire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | Churches Conservation Trust |
| History | |
| Dedication | Saint Peter |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Redundant |
| Heritage designation | Grade II* |
| Designated | 6 October 1960 |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Gothic |
| Groundbreaking | 13th century |
| Completed | 1848 |
| Closed | 1940s |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Limestone and sandstone |
St Peter's Church is an old Anglican church located in a quiet, lonely spot in Wolfhampcote, Warwickshire, England. It's no longer used for regular church services, which is why it's called a redundant church.
Since 1960, this church and a special burial building next to it, called a mausoleum, have been protected as a Grade II* listed building. This means they are very important historical structures. Today, the Churches Conservation Trust takes care of the church.
The church stands in a field with many small hills. These hills are partly the remains of a medieval village that used to be here. This village has been empty for hundreds of years. Some of the mounds are also from old canal workings and a railway line that is no longer used.
Contents
History of St Peter's Church
A church was first mentioned in Wolfhampcote in the Domesday Book. This was a big survey of England made in 1086. The oldest parts of the church you see today were built in the 1200s. These parts are in the north aisle (a side part of the church) and a small chapel on the north side.
In the 1300s, most of the church was rebuilt. Later, in the 1400s, the roof was changed, and a clerestory was added. A clerestory is a row of windows high up on the church walls. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries (when many monasteries were closed in the 1500s), the church tower was built. In 1690, the top of the tower was changed and given a new roof. We know this because the date and the initials of the churchwardens (people who looked after the church) were found on the tower's top edge.
The church stayed mostly the same until 1848. Then, it had a big "restoration" (a major repair and update). At this time, the mausoleum was added to the east end of the church. After this, fewer people lived in the area. More repairs were done in 1903.
The church closed in 1910 but reopened two years later because local people wanted it to. However, it was only used sometimes for services. It closed again shortly after World War II ended. Sadly, the church was damaged by vandals. In the late 1950s, the local diocese (a church area managed by a bishop) decided to pull it down, leaving only the walls.
But a charity called the Friends of Friendless Churches got permission to fix it. More vandalism happened, so the doors and lower windows were blocked to keep people out. In 1972, the church was officially given to the Redundant Churches Fund. This group is now known as the Churches Conservation Trust. They have done more work to make sure the building is safe and protected from bad weather and vandalism.
Church Architecture
Outside the Church
The chancel (the part of the church around the altar) is made of limestone. The rest of the church is built from sandstone. The church has a main area called the nave with three sections. It also has north and south aisles, a chancel with two sections, and a chapel to the north. There is a porch on the south side and a tower on the northwest.
The tower has two levels. The lower level has a narrow window on the west side and blocked narrow openings on the west and north. The upper level has two bell openings side by side. The top edge of the tower looks like a castle wall, with square shapes called battlements. The chancel has a large window on the east side with five sections. Other windows have two or three sections with fancy stone patterns called tracery. There's a doorway on the south side of the chancel, and a cross decoration on its roof peak.
The south aisle has windows on its south and east sides. The porch has blocked narrow windows on its sides. The clerestory (the high windows) has two sections with two-light windows on each side. On the north side of the church, the aisle and chapel are joined together, forming four sections. These have three-light windows on the north, a three-light window on the east, and a four-light window on the west.
Inside the Church
The inside walls of the church are covered in plaster. Between the chancel and the chapel, there is an arcade (a row of arches) with two sections. This arcade is held up by an eight-sided pier (a strong column). There is a similar arcade between the nave and the north aisle. The south arcade has three sections.
In the south aisle, there is a simple piscina (a small basin used for washing sacred vessels). There is also a piscina with a special curved arch in the north chapel. The font (where baptisms happen) is a plain, round shape and might be from the 1200s. The wooden screen in the chapel is from the 1300s and has beautiful stone patterns.
The altar rails, from the late 1600s, have twisted supports called balusters. The pulpit (where sermons are given) has six sides and is dated 1790. Some of the wooden benches are from the 1300s. Above the arch leading to the chancel, you can see the painted Royal arms from 1702. There are also some painted panels in the north chapel. The wall monuments (memorials on the walls) are from the late 1700s and early 1800s.
The tower holds two bells. The larger bell was made in London in the mid-1400s. The other bell was made in 1780. Both bells were fixed in the 1970s and were rung again in 1976, after more than 30 years of silence.
Churchyard Features
Around the church, in the churchyard, there are six items that are also protected as Grade II listed buildings. One group includes 50 memorials (gravestones and tombs) south of the church. These date from the 1600s, 1700s, and 1800s.
- A row of three headstones is from the 1600s.
- Another headstone is dated 1709.
- A chest tomb (a type of grave monument) is dated 1687.
- Elsewhere, there is a pair of headstones from 1695 and 1697.
- The last item is another pair of headstones from the late 1600s or early 1700s.
See also
