Church of St Peter

Details

STOW BARDOLPH

379/0/10007 STOWBRIDGE 14-FEB-06 St Peter's Church

II Mission church. 1908 to designs of E. Douglas Hoyland of 2 Walbrook, London. Built of terracotta blocks supplied by the Bristol Fireclay Company, with a red pantile roof supported on a timber-frame exposed within the building. The ground plan is traditional and relatively modest in size, measuring approximately 16.6 by 11.5m. It comprises a small battlemented west tower with diagonal buttresses at the exposed corners, nave of 4 bays, a narrower, lower chancel, north transept, small projecting stove chamber with a tall chimney and catslide roof off the north side of the nave, a vestry with catslide roof off the south side and a south porch of openwork timber resembling a lychgate. The porch, chancel and north transept all have pitched roofs with large overhangs at the gables and external trusses. Barge boards to all gables and verges. Four sizes of windows are used, either single-light or two-light, all with trefoil heads. There is a single quatrefoil in the gables of both the nave and chancel. Rectangular bell-openings in the tower are blocked by perforated screens protected by fixed louvers.

Interior: The interior is unusual in that the timber-frame, around which the terracotta walls were built, is exposed in its entirety. There are 4 bays divided by arch-braced principal trusses supporting tie-beams, each with central arch between 6 vertical struts. The westernmost truss rises just in front of the gable end of the nave and is highlighted against the terracotta. The small chancel has a wagon roof which is carried on the terracotta walls, though the east truss sits in front of the gable end. Angle irons fixed in concrete are bolted to the bottom of each wall post. Along the length of the nave, there are upward braces to each bay. The windows are filled with cathedral glass. The church contains a Norman font removed from Stow Bardolph church in the C19 and found in use as a flowerpot. The communion table was used by the Rev J Adams in the second Afghan War (1878-80), the first chaplain to be awarded the Victoria Cross. The simple oak chancel rail is original.

History: St Peter's in Stowbridge was erected in 1908 for the Revd. J Percy de Putron as a 'New Mission Church' in the western part of Stow Bardolph parish, probably to serve a growing rural population. It is thought that the Church Army was involved in raising the interest in the 'New Mission' though much remains uncertain about the origins of the church. Evaluation of Importance: St Peter's is unique among ecclesiastical buildings Norfolk in being largely constructed of terracotta blocks, manufactured by the relatively obscure Bristol Fire Clay Company Limited. The architectural interest of the building lies in the unusual use and source of this material. The design of the church is simple, but well composed. It survives largely unaltered and in good condition, in regular use by the local community.

Sources: Allen, J R L, 'St Peter's Chapel, Stow Bardolph: Bristol terracotta in southwest Norfolk', unpublished report.

Hoyland E D, 'Specification of Work and Materials', January 1908, unpublished document held by Stow Bardolph parish

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

494022

Legacy System:

LBS

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.