St Peter and St Paul's Church, Preston Deanery
Encyclopedia
St Peter and St Paul's Church, Preston Deanery, is a redundant
Anglican
church in the hamlet of Preston Deanery
, Northamptonshire
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade II* listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
.
walls, and the west wall of the chancel
remaining from that time. The chancel was extended in the 13th century, and at the same time a parapet
and new windows were added to the tower. After the Reformation
, the church became unused. In the 16th century it became a ruin, the bells and lead were sold, and it was partly demolished. During this time the chancel was used as a dog kennel
, and the tower as a pigeon house. The church was extensively repaired in about 1622, the south door and windows in the nave and chancel date from this period. Further repairs and alterations to the chancel were undertaken in 1808, and again in 1854, the latter by E. F. Law. There were more restorations in 1901 and 1976. The church was declared redundant on 1 March 1972, and was vested
in the Churches Conservation Trust on 12 April 1976.
limestone
rubble
, the dressings are in ironstone
and the roof is slate
. Its plan consists of a nave, chancel and west tower. The nave measures 29 in 3 in (8.92 m) by 19 in 3 in (5.87 m), the chancel 24 feet (7.3 m) by 13 in 6 in (4.11 m), and the tower is internally 13 in 6 in (4.11 m) square. The tower is about 50 feet (15.2 m) high and is in three stages. In the centre of each side is a pilaster
buttress
. On the north side in the bottom stage is a blocked round-arched doorway, and an external piscina
. The middle stage has small round-headed windows. In the upper stage there are two single-light bell openings on the east face, and a two-light bell opening on each of the other sides. The parapet is battlement
ed. The east window has three lights and contains Perpendicular style tracery
inserted in the 19th century. Over the window is a date stone inscribed with the date 1808, and flanking it are buttresses. In the north wall of the chancel is a blocked doorway with a Tudor
arch, and a two-light mullion
ed window at a high level. In the south wall is a three-light window, two blocked windows, and a blocked priest's doorway with a round arch. In the nave is a four-light window on the north side, and in the south wall a Tudor-arched door flanked by two-light windows.
in style. It is completely rendered
, other than the string courses between the tops of the piers
and the bases of the arches. When the rendering was removed from the string courses by the Upper Nene Archaeological Society, it was discovered that they were decorated with carvings. The carvings include sawtooth patterns, lozenge motifs, and depictions of a snake and birds. It has been suggested that they are in Viking
style, and were possibly re-used from a former churchyard cross. However this has been refuted by Kathryn Morrison who expresses the opinion that the carvings date from the late 11th or early 12 century, and that an earlier date is "impossible". She also states that "the suggestion that the carvings are from a churchyard cross is difficult to substantiate". Elsewhere in the church, the chancel contains a sedilia
, a piscina and an aumbry
. The font
is inserted into the north pier of the tower arch, and consists of a bowl on a polygonal stem. Also in the church are two hatchment
s, and memorials. There is one bell, cast by Henry Penn of Peterborough
in 1710. The church plate includes a cup and paten
dated 1860.
Redundant church
A redundant church is a church building that is no longer required for regular public worship. The phrase is particularly used to refer to former Anglican buildings in the United Kingdom, but may refer to any disused church building around the world...
Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
church in the hamlet of Preston Deanery
Preston Deanery
Preston Deanery is a hamlet in the civil parish of Hackleton in South Northamptonshire, England. It is south of Northampton town centre and by road to the M1 London to Yorkshire motorway junction 15...
, Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
, England. It has been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a Grade II* listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
Churches Conservation Trust
The Churches Conservation Trust, which was initially known as the Redundant Churches Fund, is a charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk, those that have been made redundant by the Church of England. The Trust was established by the Pastoral Measure of 1968...
.
History
The church originated in the 12th century, its tower, naveNave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
walls, and the west wall of the chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
remaining from that time. The chancel was extended in the 13th century, and at the same time a parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
and new windows were added to the tower. After the Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
, the church became unused. In the 16th century it became a ruin, the bells and lead were sold, and it was partly demolished. During this time the chancel was used as a dog kennel
Kennel
A kennel is the name given to any structure or shelter for dogs. A kennel is a doghouse, run, or other small structure in which a dog is kept...
, and the tower as a pigeon house. The church was extensively repaired in about 1622, the south door and windows in the nave and chancel date from this period. Further repairs and alterations to the chancel were undertaken in 1808, and again in 1854, the latter by E. F. Law. There were more restorations in 1901 and 1976. The church was declared redundant on 1 March 1972, and was vested
Vesting
In law, vesting is to give an immediately secured right of present or future enjoyment. One has a vested right to an asset that cannot be taken away by any third party, even though one may not yet possess the asset. When the right, interest or title to the present or future possession of a legal...
in the Churches Conservation Trust on 12 April 1976.
Exterior
The church is constructed in coursedCourse (architecture)
A course is a continuous horizontal layer of similarly-sized building material one unit high, usually in a wall. The term is almost always used in conjunction with unit masonry such as brick, cut stone, or concrete masonry units .-Styles:...
limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
rubble
Rubble
Rubble is broken stone, of irregular size, shape and texture. This word is closely connected in derivation with "rubbish", which was formerly also applied to what we now call "rubble". Rubble naturally found in the soil is known also as brash...
, the dressings are in ironstone
Ironstone
Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical repacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron compound from which iron either can be or once was smelted commercially. This term is customarily restricted to hard coarsely...
and the roof is slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
. Its plan consists of a nave, chancel and west tower. The nave measures 29 in 3 in (8.92 m) by 19 in 3 in (5.87 m), the chancel 24 feet (7.3 m) by 13 in 6 in (4.11 m), and the tower is internally 13 in 6 in (4.11 m) square. The tower is about 50 feet (15.2 m) high and is in three stages. In the centre of each side is a pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
. On the north side in the bottom stage is a blocked round-arched doorway, and an external piscina
Piscina
A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a piscina. Roman Catholics usually refer to the drain, and by extension, the basin, as the sacrarium...
. The middle stage has small round-headed windows. In the upper stage there are two single-light bell openings on the east face, and a two-light bell opening on each of the other sides. The parapet is battlement
Battlement
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet , in which portions have been cut out at intervals to allow the discharge of arrows or other missiles. These cut-out portions form crenels...
ed. The east window has three lights and contains Perpendicular style tracery
Tracery
In architecture, Tracery is the stonework elements that support the glass in a Gothic window. The term probably derives from the 'tracing floors' on which the complex patterns of late Gothic windows were laid out.-Plate tracery:...
inserted in the 19th century. Over the window is a date stone inscribed with the date 1808, and flanking it are buttresses. In the north wall of the chancel is a blocked doorway with a Tudor
Tudor architecture
The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...
arch, and a two-light mullion
Mullion
A mullion is a vertical structural element which divides adjacent window units. The primary purpose of the mullion is as a structural support to an arch or lintel above the window opening. Its secondary purpose may be as a rigid support to the glazing of the window...
ed window at a high level. In the south wall is a three-light window, two blocked windows, and a blocked priest's doorway with a round arch. In the nave is a four-light window on the north side, and in the south wall a Tudor-arched door flanked by two-light windows.
Interior
The chancel arch is NormanNorman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
in style. It is completely rendered
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
, other than the string courses between the tops of the piers
Pier (architecture)
In architecture, a pier is an upright support for a superstructure, such as an arch or bridge. Sections of wall between openings function as piers. The simplest cross section of the pier is square, or rectangular, although other shapes are also common, such as the richly articulated piers of Donato...
and the bases of the arches. When the rendering was removed from the string courses by the Upper Nene Archaeological Society, it was discovered that they were decorated with carvings. The carvings include sawtooth patterns, lozenge motifs, and depictions of a snake and birds. It has been suggested that they are in Viking
Norse art
Norse art is a blanket term for the artistic styles in Scandinavia during the Germanic Iron Age, the Viking Age , and sometimes even used when describing objects from the Nordic Bronze Age...
style, and were possibly re-used from a former churchyard cross. However this has been refuted by Kathryn Morrison who expresses the opinion that the carvings date from the late 11th or early 12 century, and that an earlier date is "impossible". She also states that "the suggestion that the carvings are from a churchyard cross is difficult to substantiate". Elsewhere in the church, the chancel contains a sedilia
Sedilia
Sedilia , in ecclesiastical architecture, is the term used to describe stone seats, usually to be found on the south side of an altar, often in the chancel, for the use of the officiating priests...
, a piscina and an aumbry
Aumbry
In the Middle Ages an aumbry was a cabinet in the wall of a Christian church or in the sacristy which was used to store chalices and other vessels, as well as for the reserved sacrament, the consecrated elements from the Eucharist. This latter use was infrequent in pre-Reformation churches,...
. The font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
is inserted into the north pier of the tower arch, and consists of a bowl on a polygonal stem. Also in the church are two hatchment
Hatchment
A hatchment is a funeral demonstration of the lifetime "achievement" of the arms and any other honours displayed on a black lozenge-shaped frame which used to be suspended against the wall of a deceased person's house...
s, and memorials. There is one bell, cast by Henry Penn of Peterborough
Peterborough
Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...
in 1710. The church plate includes a cup and paten
Paten
A paten, or diskos, is a small plate, usually made of silver or gold, used to hold Eucharistic bread which is to be consecrated. It is generally used during the service itself, while the reserved hosts are stored in the Tabernacle in a ciborium....
dated 1860.