Church of St Nicholas and St Peter

Details

CURDWORTH CHURCH LANE SP19SE 4/57 Church of St. Nicholas and 08/09/61 St. Peter - II* Church. Late C12, partially refenestrated in the early C14; a major addition was made in the late C15; restored in 1800 and 1895. C12 coursed rubble and C15 ashlar; plain tile roof. West tower with diagonal buttresses, 3-bay nave formerly 2, and 2-bay chancel. West tower: C15. 4 stages: plinth with moulded coping, moulded fourth stage string and parapet string, crenellated parapet with corner finials and continuous coping to merlons and embrasures. 4-centred western doorway with 2 roll-moulded orders and heavily crocketed hood mould. 4-centred window above of 3 trefoil-headed lights, porch tracery and plain hood mould returned to the sides as a string. To each side of the window is a carved rosette. 2-light transomed windows to third and fourth stages with 4-centred heads and heavily crocketed hood moulds. Below the third stage is another pair of carved rosettes. Nave and chancel: C12. Pilaster buttresses at the bay divisions and corners. The nave was extended to the west when the tower was built and is partly constructed of re-used C12 masonry. The C12 north and south doorways can still be traced though both are blocked. The former retains its round arch and the latter its flanking shafts. To the right of the north doorway is a second blocked entrance, this one has a pointed head and is probably C14. It corresponds to the C14 doorway that was inserted immediately west of the C12 south entrance. The tracery of the nave windows has been replaced in the C19 but may reflect the C14 patterns. On the north side there are 2 pointed windows both with Decorated style tracery; the easternmost retains its C14 hood mould. To the right of this window is a C12 loop, the stonework of which has been renewed in the C19. There are 3 pointed windows to the south, the eastern one has Perpendicular style tracery and retains its C14 hood mould terminating in carved human heads. C15 south porch, the upper parts rebuilt in 1800. C12 loops survive in the chancel, two to the north and one to the south. Also on the south side is a C14 door with segmental pointed head, an early C14 two-light window with reticulated tracery and a hollow-chamfered hood mould terminating in carved heads, and an early C15 two-light window with Perpendicular tracery. Pointed east window of 4 lights with intersecting tracery, segment-moulded mullions and surround and a hollow chamfered hood mould with carved heads at the apex and as stops. Interior: high pointed tower arch of 2 orders, the inner ogee-moulded and interrupted by moulded imposts, the outer sunk chamfered and continuous. 2-stage high tower chamber with timber-framed ceiling supporting the floor of the third stage. Late C19 arch-braced collar roof over the nave with moulded braces and purlins. Chancel arch of circa l170-90 with inner keeled roll and outer chevron moulding springing from 2 pairs of shafts with waterleaf, palmette and scalloped capitals. To the right of the arch is an early C15 pointed opening or squint of 2 trefoil-headed lights surmounted by supermullions which contain a quatrefoil. To the left of the chancel arch is a C19 copy of the same. Over the arch is a C19 organ gallery. Fittings: composite font. C12 basin extravagantly carved with the lamb, a winged monster, 2 pairs of men holding books, probably the Evangelists, an atlas and other figures and foliage. The base is the inverted bowl of another C12 font, and the stem is late C19. Square panelled pulpit, C19 but incorporating some earlier material. Around all surviving C12 windows are the remains of C13 mural paintings. The south window of the chancel has leaves and tendrils on the rear arch and just below springing level bands of Lombardic letters, and below these, figures of saints. A siminlar arrangement was employed on each of the other 3 windows. On the ledge of the north-east nave window embrasure is a C15 image niche with trefoiled ogee head and tall traceried gable. On the same window ledge are 3 medieval tiles. One has an alphabet, another a King's head and the third a flower. On the ledge of the south-east nave window embrasure are 2 pieces of medieval sculpture, one a bracket supported by an angel, the other probably the Archangel Gabriel in the traditional attitude of annunciation. Over the south door is a cloth bearing the Tudor royal arms with lion and dragon as supporters and the initials E.R. Royal arms in the tower of 1822, painted on canvas. (Buildings of England: Warwickshire: pp284-5; VCH: Warwickshire: Vol IV, (1965), pp65-7)

Listing NGR: SP1779292811

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

309371

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Doubleday, AH, Page, W, The Victoria History of the County of Warwick, (1947), 65 66 67
Pevsner, N, Wedgwood, A, The Buildings of England: Warwickshire, (1966), 284 285

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.