Church of St Peter

Details

POOLE

SZ0391 PARR STREET, Parkstone 958-1/14/246 (West side) 14/06/54 Church of St Peter

GV II*

Church. Late C19, with early C20 additions. Chancel, crossing and transepts 1876-77 by Frederick Rogers of London. Vestries, organ chamber and other alterations made 1881 by John Loughborough Pearson. Nave 1891-2 by JL Pearson, completed by his son Frank Loughborough Pearson 1900-01. S porch 1933 by FL Pearson. MATERIALS: coursed, squared Purbeck stone, with Bath stone dressings and plain tile roofs with tile ridges, timber-framed temporary tower with hipped slate roof and attached porch with roof of wood shingles; Bath stone ashlar inside. PLAN: chancel with ambulatory, vestries and organ chamber to N side, chapel to S, N & S transepts, temporary N tower, aisled nave and N & S porches. Early Gothic style. EXTERIOR: high 3-bay chancel has triple-stepped lancet E window under single pointed hoodmould stepped down and continued as string course. Lancet window to gable flanked by blank panels with twin-arched heads. Paired lancet windows to clerestorey. Triforium passage with ridged stone roof between buttresses. Ambulatory below with hipped roof interrupted by stone slopes of internal flying buttresses with gablets over outer piers. S chapel in angle between ambulatory and transept with hipped roof. Small lancet windows to chapel and ambulatory. Vestry to N side of chancel has double-chamfered E door with hoodmould and paired lancet windows. Tall organ chamber beside N transept with small lancet window to N and hipped roof. Transepts have group of 4 stepped lancets to gable ends and paired lancets to top of gable. 5-bay nave has 2-light clerestorey windows with plate tracery and hoodmould continued as string course between prominent gabled buttresses. Aisles have lancet windows with hoodmoulds continued as string course between offset buttresses with stone gablets. Temporary tower in angle between N aisle and transept covers first stage only, with weatherboarded sides, hipped slate roof, and attached timber-framed porch to N with openwork tracery to front and cusped barge-boards meeting in ogee arch. N porch has doorway with 3 orders of shafts quatrefoil frieze at eaves level and 3 small stepped lancet windows to gable within stepped arcade with blank roundels to spandrels; lancet windows to sides, quadripartite stone vault inside with nailhead ornament and shafted S door with keel-moulded and hollow-chamfered head and hoodmould. Large S porch has 3 orders of shafts to doorway, many-moulded head and hoodmould. Arcade above with 6 seated statues of saints and wheel window to gable with 7 lobes round central circle and moulded surround. Lancet windows to sides framed by arcades. Quadripartite stone vault within and shafted S door with many-moulded head, hoodmould and double-leaf doors with ornamental hinges. W end has pair of tall 3-light windows to nave with plate tracery and hoodmoulds either side of central offset buttress with niche between windows for statue of St Peter. Pairs of lancets to gable which is flanked by octagonal pinnacles to offset angle buttresses. 4-light windows to ends of aisles with Geometrical tracery. Nave and chancel have continuous roof. Chamfered plinth, moulded cill bands and string courses, corbel tables and stone-coped gables with kneelers and foliated stone gable crosses. INTERIOR: aisles and ambulatory have stone quadripartite vaulting, the scale and articulation making a spatially impressive interior characteristic of Pearson's work. Timber quadripartite vault over nave and chancel with ridge rib and stone springers on vaulting shafts. Ribbed timber tunnel vaults to transepts. Chancel triforium has square piers with shafts to angles and roll-moulded arches. It is doubled behind with alternating arcade ie shafts occur at centre of front arches. Blind arcaded triforium to nave. Clustered piers to arcades with attached shafts, mid rings and richly carved foliage capitals. Tiled floors, black and white marble floor to chancel approached by 3 semicircular steps in crossing. 3 further steps up to the sanctuary and 5 more up to the High Altar. FITTINGS: marble High Altar of 1883-4 on carved and gilded timber-frame with Twelve Apostles in niches to front either side of the Lamb, by Zwincke of Oberammergau. Wrought-iron chancel screens designed by JL Pearson. Lavish Bath stone pulpit of 1909 with Purbeck marble shafts by FL Pearson with oak canopy. Font of alabaster and marble with tall carved oak cover; 1907 by FL Pearson. Carved and gilded timber reredos to altar of Holy Name Chapel by Zwincke of Oberammergau. STAINED GLASS: stained-glass windows to chancel and S transept and stained glass in Holy Name Chapel 1904 by Kempe. First church built 1833-34 by Tullock has been entirely replaced by the present building. The projected N tower and 212 foot spire remains unbuilt. (Buildings of England: Pevsner N & Newman J: Dorset: London: 1972-: 333; Church Guide: Bournemouth: 1976-; Clarke, Canon B: Mss notes: 1957-1959).

Listing NGR: SZ0340491675

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

412577

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Church of St Peter Poole Church Guide, (1976)
Pevsner, N, Newman, J, The Buildings of England: Dorset, (1972), 333

End of official list entry

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