St Peter's church - Witherley, Leicestershire - Anglican and Episcopal Churches on Waymarking.com

A beautiful grade one listed Church standing in a picturesque part of the village next to the river Anker at the heart of the Witherley conservation area.

The Church is open to visitors most weekdays - look out for the Church open notice on the small door.

"Parish Church. Early C14, with a C15 west tower and a chancel of 1858 by Robert Jennings of Atherstone. Coursed and squared freestone, ashlar north aisle and tower and random rubble chancel; plain tile roofs with stone coped verges. West tower, 4-bay nave with north aisle and south porch, 3-bay chancel. The 3 stage west tower has a moulded plinth, offset belfry stage and a crenellated parapet with moulded coping stones to merlons and crenels, and external panelling of trefoiled arches with sunken spandrels; immediately below the parapet there are two gargoyles on each side. Diagonal corner buttresses diminish with height in a successful attempt to emphasise the verticality of the building; the buttresses are capped by panelled and crocketed pinnacles. A recessed spire of octagonal section has crocketed angles and 3 tiers of lucarnes with crocketed hood moulds. 4-centred west door with 2 orders of roll-mouldings and a returned hood mould. Immediately above is a tall 3-light window with panel tracery beneath a 2-centred arch. Over this window a trefoil-headed loop is flanked by 2 groups of 3 blank shields. The belfry openings each has 2 trefoil-headed lights with Perpendicular tracery beneath a 2-centred arch, with returned hood mould; that in the west side is flanked by a pair of niches. In the south wall of the nave there are 3 three-light windows with 2-centred arches; from west to east they contain: Cusped intersecting tracery, reticulated tracery, and flowing tracery. Each has a hood mould with head-stops. The C14 gabled south porch has a large wave-moulded entrance arch carried on corbels carved as heads; and in the east wall is an original quatrefoil-shaped loop. Inside, the south entrance has 2 orders of convex quarter-round mouldings and a hood mould with head stops, and retains a medieval door with strap hinges. C15/C16 clerestorey, each window having 2 lancet lights and sunken spandrels beneath a square head. Plain parapet with moulded coping. The north aisle retains a pointed 3-light east window with cusped flowing tracery and a north window with reticulated tracery and a scroll-moulded hood terminating in head-stops. Also in the north wall is a blocked pointed doorway with an outer order of filleted shafts and moulded capitals, continued around the arch as a roll and fillet, and an inner concave quarter-round moulded order. Chancel: 4-light east window with intersecting tracery incorporating geometric shapes, and Decorated windows to the north and south with hood moulds and block stops. On the south side, in the angle with the nave, is a C19 polygonal turret which serves as a small vestry. Interior: 3-bay north arcade of double chamfered pointed arches on octagonal columns with moulded capitals. The chancel arch has a continuous outer chamfer and an inner chamfer springing from engaged half columns; the tower arch is segmental pointed with a continuous roll-moulding. C15/C16 nave roof of low pitch on cambered tie beams supported by brackets which spring from wooden corbels. On the soffit of each tie beam is a carved boss (c.f. Church of St. Margaret, Stoke Golding C.P.; Church of St. Mary, Barwell C.P.); purlins and ridge piece are all moulded. Similar roof over north aisle. C19 arch-braced collar roof over chancel.

Fixtures and fittings: C15 octagonal stone font with trefoil-headed arcading to the sides of the basin of the same type as that on the parapet of the tower. C19/C20 octagonal wooden pulpit entered from a door in the south-east corner of the nave which communicates with the vestry to the rear. In the east bay of the north aisle are a piscina and a recess, probably for an image; both have ogee heads and their presence suggests that this part of the church was occupied by a chapel. C14 sedilia with cusping above and below the ogee arches. Monuments: In the nave, a pedimented tablet to Richard and Theodisia Farmer, died 1764 and 1768; scrolls to the sides. Oval plaque on a tablet surmounted by a fluted urn to Isaac Whyley and other members of his family; after 1821. In the chancel, tablets to the Reverend James Roberts, died 1842, and Edward James Chamberlayne, died 1887, the latter of red veined marble with the sacred monogram at the base, set in gold mosaic. Stained glass: medieval remnants in the south windows of the nave; a madonna and child, a piper within a roundel, and a heraldic shield. B.O.E. p.428."

SOURCE - (visit link)

Active Church: Yes School on property: No Service Times: https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/5481/service-and-events/events-regular/ Website: [Web Link] Date Built: Not listed

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