Church of St Peter and St Paul

Details

ST7128 WINCANTON CP CHURCH STREET (South side)

8/132 Church of St Peter and St Paul

24.3.61

GV II*

Parish church. Almost totally rebuilt 1887-91 by J D Sedding, parts of tower may be earlier. Local stone finely cut and squared with ashlar dressings; nearly flat lead roofs behind openwork parapet and gables. In a C15 style mostly. Chancel, nave, North aisle and double South aisle, North East organ Chamber/vestry and South East Lady Chapel. Chancel has plinth, offset corner buttresses, coped gable with cross final, and a 5-light C19 traceried East window with low transome and carved sub-panels. Lady Chapel given more prominent treatment with pierced traceried parapet, coping and finial, with 4-light window under ogee arch label leading into statue niche in coping - similar treatment to East organ chamber window. Nave and aisles generally have plinths, offset corner buttresses, parapets, buttresses tween bays; 3-light C19 traceried windows. The south side of 6 bays, of which the second from East has a C18 doorway, probably by Nathaniel Ireson; plain ashlar surround, semi-circular arch with keystone, segmental pediment enclosing sculptures panel of which only 3 angel heads survive; studded doors. West window to nave fine 6-light C15 tracery pattern. North porch, dated 1891 on stackhead, has elaborately traceried North gable with a Calvary scene overlaid, over a deeply moulded pointed open arch, and inside on East wall a stone about 600mm square, found in a wall during the 1735 rebuilding depicting blacksmiths forge and a bishop with a horse, all rather worn, said to be St Eligius. Tower of 3 stages with diagonal offset buttresses to the lower half of stage 1; string courses, crenellated parapet, corner pinnacles; small moulded arch West door and 2-light window over; single light window to North and South stage 1, with stair turret on South East corner under pitched roof to height of most of stage 1: in the two stages above, on all faces, are 2-light windows with flat heads, cusped arched lights, no labels, filled with pierced stone baffles. Interior not accessible during week: reported are the arcade between the South aisles, which could be C15 with its 4-hollow piers, and the glazing to East window, by Clayton and Bell, 1889. First clear mention of church l344, although in 1871 the tower and font were considered to be Cl3; in 1735 the church was regarded as too small and was rebuilt (? by Ireson); Ireson certainly added the chancel and clerestory in 1748; the tower was raised by nearby 4 metres in 1793; structural report of 1885 called for rebuilding & designs by C E Ponting and J D Sedding considered before latter selected. (Pevsner N, Buildings of England, South and West Somerset, 1958; Sweetman,G. History of Wincanton, c1904).

Listing NGR: ST7110728484

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

415960

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England: South and West Somerset, (1958)
Sweetman, G, History of Wincanton, (1903)

End of official list entry

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