Church of St Peter and St Paul

Details

LONG COMPTON MAIN STREET SP23SE (West side) 5/96 Church of SS. Peter and Paul 13/10/66 (Formerly listed as Parish Church of SS. Peter and Paul) GV I

Church. Early C13, with late C13 or early C14, late C14 and C15 alterations and additions. The church was restored 1862-3 by Woodyer, and again early C20. Coursed, some also squared, limestone rubble with ashlar chantry chapel and parapets. Stone-slate chancel roof. Lead nave roof. Chancel, nave with north aisle and west tower. Chancel rebuilt late C13 or early C14, with much C19 restoration, 3 bays, with chamfered plinth, quoins and coped gable to east with cross at apex. To east a C19 window in C14 style of 3 lights and geometric tracery. Hood mould with labels. To north and south two restored late C13 or early C14 windows, each of 2 lights with cusped geometric tracery. Chamfered surround, and hood mould with labels. Also to north a C19 doorway, now blocked, to a planned vestry. To left a C19 brick and ashlar stack. To south, between windows, a C15 chantry chapel, now vestry, of 2 small bays with stone flag lean-to roof. Moulded plinth with offset buttresses and coped embattled parapet. Coped half-gables to east and west. To east a pointed window of 2 lights with central mullion rising to apex, and cusped tracery. Hollow-chamfered surround. To south, divided by a buttress, 2 square-headed 2-light windows with central mullion and cusped tracery. Hollow-chamfered surround. Window to left is restored. Early C13 nave, with early C14 north aisle and clerestory of early C15. 4 bays, with quoins, an offset buttress, double weather-course to south, and hollow-moulded eaves cornice. Embattled parapet. To apex of east gable a bell-cote with ogee-headed openings to east and west. Crocketed pinnacles. Bell-cote is surmounted by a pyramid-shaped pinnacle with crocketed finial. To south, late C14 gabled porch with stone-slate roof and coped gable. Double-chamfered doorway with C17 double plank doors with muntins and rail forming panels. On western leaf a date in lead bas-relief: 1620. To north and south a blocked window. Stone benches with very worn C14 or C15 tomb to east. Part-restored early C13 doorway of 2 orders. The outer order has chamfered jambs, with stops below a moulded abacus, continuing into a hollow-chamfered and edge-rolled semi-circular head. The inner order has chamfered jambs continuing into a trefoiled head. On east abacus a scratched sundial. C19 plank door. Porch has C19 queen-post roof. To west of porch, and to 2 openings east of porch an early C14 window of 2 cusped lights and quatrefoil within chamfered surround. Hood mould and labels. To early C14 north aisle 3 similar windows, but without hood moulds and labels. To east a C19 window of 2 lights with Y-tracery. Hood mould with labels. To north, towards west, a C13 segmental-headed doorway with edge-roll surround. Plank door. To north and south of C15 clerestory 5 square-headed windows, each of 2 lights with cusped tracery. Hollow-chamfered surround. Hood mould with diamond-shaped labels. West tower of 3 stages, the first 2 stages of late C13 and now rendered, the top stage C15. Moulded plinth, offset diagonal buttresses rising to C15 stage and a string course to each stage. To east angle a C13 flat buttress. Below parapet a moulded eaves cornice with gargoyles to north and south. Pierced, embattled parapet with crocketed pinnacles to corners. To south-west a C20 simple plank door, with a single chamfered lancet above, and hood mould. Also to west, above first string course, a single round-headed light. To south a pointed, chamfered doorway with loop above to left. Single round-headed light above first string course. Towards top of each face of second stage a C13 window of 2 lancets with central polygonal shaft with moulded capital and unpierced spandrel. Hood mould. All windows are now fully blocked except that to east which has one glazed light. C15 square-headed bell-chamber openings, each of 2 lights. Stone-slate louvres. Hood mould with labels. Interior: C19 cusped piscina beneath the easternmost window of south wall of chancel, with stone seat to immediate right. Also to north a restored doorway leading into chantry chapel, with late C13 or early C14 window directly above, now hidden externally by chapel, but identical to those to either side and in north wall. Chantry noted as having moulded corbel supporting chamfered rib of roof. To west of westernmost window in south wall a late C13 trefoiled recess. Restored late C13 chancel arch, double-chamfered, with polygonal responds and moulded capitals. All windows to north and south walls of nave have chamfered rere-arches. North arcade of 4 bays with slender octagonal piers with responds to east and west, with moulded bases and capitals. Double-chamfered arches continuing into single splays above capitals. Below clerestory windows to north and south a moulded string course. Clerestory windows have chamfered rere-arches. Triple-chamfered west tower arch with imposts to outer chamfers. Inner chamfered order is supported on polygonal stiff-leaf corbels. Hood mould above arch with carved head labels. West window of tower has 2 rere-arches. C19 crown-post chancel roof. Reconstructed C15 low-pitched nave roof with moulded tie-beams, braces and purlins. Hammer-beams supported on polygonal moulded capitals with carving, including foliage, angels, a woman's head and a mitred bishop. Also a priest with a chalice and a book set into the wall on either side. C19 north aisle roof is supported on plain corbels. C19 stained glass in chancel and tower windows. C19 font. C19 stone pulpit incorporating some C15 panels (perhaps from former font) of ogee-headed tracery with crocketed pinnacles. Wall tablet on north aisle wall to John Rawlings and Elizabeth his wife, who died in 1778 and 1775. C19 wall tablet in north wall. In south nave wall a tablet to the Reverend Thomas Clarke, M.A., of "Brazennose College, Oxon" who died in 1837. (V.C.H.: Warwickshire, Vol.5, pp.55-57; Buildings of England: Warwickshire, p.342).

Listing NGR: SP2874233032

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

306030

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Doubleday, AH, Page, W, The Victoria History of the County of Warwick, (1949), 55-57
Pevsner, N, Wedgwood, A, The Buildings of England: Warwickshire, (1966), 342

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.