Dunchurch - St Peter
This church's tower is one of the most familiar anywhere to me, being a regularly passed landmark throughout my childhood, growing up in nearby Rugby. I even climbed to the top of it in 1992 via the scaffolding it was then shrouded in, whilst getting some pre-college stained glass experience cleaning the west window. I still see it regularly, to me it always seems to be saying 'welcome back to familiar territory'.
St Peter's at Dunchurch is an impressive red sandstone building dating largely from the 14th & 15th centuries, but rather restored in the 19th (the north chapel, now used as a vestry, dates from this time). It's impressive west tower changes colour in it's later topmost stage and has a richly detailed parapet, sadly the carvings are worn, as is it's otherwise fine cusped west doorway.
Other medieval features survived until quite recently; the east window's fine 14th century geometric tracery remained in place until the late Victorian restoration when it was replaced with the present design. The old tracery was preserved and is now in the entrance hall of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, where thousands of visitors walk past it each year, though likely very few ever notice it!
Other medieval features survived until quite recently; the east window's fine 14th century geometric tracery remained in place until the late Victorian restoration when it was replaced with the present design. The old tracery was preserved and is now in the entrance hall of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, where thousands of visitors walk past it each year, though likely very few ever notice it!
The interior of the building is somewhat dark, due both to the colour of the stonework, and the mostly Edwardian stained glass (it's east and west windows are by Herbert Bryans, and often mistaken for Kempe's work). The most dramatic part is the tall, narrow space under the west tower, which was given an attractive plaster vault in the late Georgian period.
It feels like it has been stripped of much of it's antiquity, and this is attested to by the few fragments of the once fine medieval woodwork, stalls and benches all lost by the end of the Georgian period, with only five architectural panels worked into the more recent furniture in the chancel. Otherwise the furnishings, such as pews, font and pulpit, are all Victorian. The reredos is adorned with copies of Italian Renaissance paintings by Perugino now in the National Gallery, London, a beautiful touch but rather difficult to see in the gloom of the chancel.
There are few monuments of any kind, just a couple of tablets from the early 1800s attached to the exterior, but there is an intriguing Baroque tablet in the north aisle with it's central inscription flanked by open marble doors, suggesting the entrance to a tomb.
It feels like it has been stripped of much of it's antiquity, and this is attested to by the few fragments of the once fine medieval woodwork, stalls and benches all lost by the end of the Georgian period, with only five architectural panels worked into the more recent furniture in the chancel. Otherwise the furnishings, such as pews, font and pulpit, are all Victorian. The reredos is adorned with copies of Italian Renaissance paintings by Perugino now in the National Gallery, London, a beautiful touch but rather difficult to see in the gloom of the chancel.
There are few monuments of any kind, just a couple of tablets from the early 1800s attached to the exterior, but there is an intriguing Baroque tablet in the north aisle with it's central inscription flanked by open marble doors, suggesting the entrance to a tomb.
The survivng fragments of medieval woodwork are all displayed at the west end of the chancel stalls, former bench-ends set in modern surrounds on the lectern and adjoining pews. They appear to date from the end of the 15th century, at which era the church was apparently famed for it's richly carved furnishings, including canopied stalls, bench ends and a rood screen. How much of this survived the Reformation and Civil War is unclear, but it does seem a great deal of it was tragically consigned to a bonfire in the late Georgian period to make way for 'fine new deal pews.....to gratify the growing taste for comfort and seclusion'. A tragedy to have lost so much so late, only five panels from the former bench ends were suffered to remain, and ironically the Georgian pews were themselves swept away less than a century later in favour of the present Victorian seating.
These ancient carved pew ends are all decorated purely with architectural ornament, except for one on the north side behind the lectern which has a prominent representation of the three-legged Isle of Man symbol (for reasons unknown).
These ancient carved pew ends are all decorated purely with architectural ornament, except for one on the north side behind the lectern which has a prominent representation of the three-legged Isle of Man symbol (for reasons unknown).
The stained glass windows fall mainly into three groups of three different studios work of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The first and perhaps finest is the work of Herbert Bryans (a protege of C.E.Kempe and every bit apparent!) of the 1890s in the main east and west windows. They are both somewhat formulaic but nicely done, the west window in particular has some fine figures of SS Anne, Mary & Elizabeth (I was able to photograph these in detail from a scaffold in the 1990s, but my images are still on slide and need scanning).
The second group is the work of Shrigley and Hunt of Lancaster, which is entirely concentrated on the south side, principally the two large three-light windows in the south aisle, and a small one of St Nicholas in the chancel (given in 1909 by Arthur & Jane Hunt of Lancaster in thanks for the education of their sons at Dunchurch Hall, presumably connected to the studio, which is otherwise less well represented in the Midlands).
The last group is the pair of two light windows in the north aisle, with allegorical figures in rich costume, representing 'War & Peace', and 'Victory & Valour', unsurprisingly memorials to the dead of World War I. They are the work of Percy Bacon of London, who reused parts of the designs elsewhere (two of the figures can also be seen in the west window of Holy Trinity, Leamington Spa).
The second group is the work of Shrigley and Hunt of Lancaster, which is entirely concentrated on the south side, principally the two large three-light windows in the south aisle, and a small one of St Nicholas in the chancel (given in 1909 by Arthur & Jane Hunt of Lancaster in thanks for the education of their sons at Dunchurch Hall, presumably connected to the studio, which is otherwise less well represented in the Midlands).
The last group is the pair of two light windows in the north aisle, with allegorical figures in rich costume, representing 'War & Peace', and 'Victory & Valour', unsurprisingly memorials to the dead of World War I. They are the work of Percy Bacon of London, who reused parts of the designs elsewhere (two of the figures can also be seen in the west window of Holy Trinity, Leamington Spa).
St Peter's is a beautiful building whose warm red sandstone and pleasant churchyard with commanding views over surrounding countryside will always reward a visit. I have usually found the church open, though not always, thus cannot say for sure what the normal arrangements are.
Near to the churchyard gates is a black and white timber framed building, now a private dwelling, that is reputed to be one of the locations where the Gunpowder Plotters met to plan their attack on Parliament (the other local meeting place they are known to have used is just over the Northamptonshire border at Ashby St Ledgers).
Aidan McRae Thomson 2012
Near to the churchyard gates is a black and white timber framed building, now a private dwelling, that is reputed to be one of the locations where the Gunpowder Plotters met to plan their attack on Parliament (the other local meeting place they are known to have used is just over the Northamptonshire border at Ashby St Ledgers).
Aidan McRae Thomson 2012