Church of St Peter

Summary

Church, of 1854, erected at its present location in 1866.

Reasons for Designation

The Church of St Peter, a prefabricated timber building of 1854 which was erected at its current location in 1866, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* as an early and increasingly uncommon building type not intended for longevity, its survival for over one hundred and fifty years is testament to the quality of the product and its fitness for purpose;
* it has a very good survival of historic fabric and internal fixtures and fittings, comparing favourably with other listed examples.

Historic interest:

* as an unusual example of a temporary church, having served two separate communities in two different locations.

History

During the second half of the C19 both the established church and the non-conformists embarked on a widespread church building programme brought about by a series of religious revivals. Although many older buildings were restored and modernised, many congregations erected prefabricated structures as a temporary measure while they attempted to raise funds for a permanent building.

One such building is the Church of St Peter, at one time known as St. Andrew's Mission Church, a small timber church in Stolford. It was initially situated in West Quantoxhead, some 16km to the west where, following the collapse and subsequent demolition of the village's medieval church, a timber building was provided by Sir Peregrine Fuller-Palmer-Acland of Fairfield House at Stogursey. It was erected in around 1854 as a temporary place of worship while a new stone church (dedicated to St Etheldreda, who was also known as St Audrey) was built. The timber church was then dismantled and in 1866 it was reassembled at its current location in Stolford. Sir Peregrine, who contributed greatly to the local community, was responsible for re-locating the timber church and also for building several village schools in the area and for restoring St Andrew’s Well in Stogursey. The Acland family continued to directly support the Church of St Peter until 1912. Due to a lack of support the church closed in about 1945, but it subsequently reopened in 1955. It is understood (see SOURCES) that the building was renovated in 1928 and again in the 1950s; on both occasions the work was carried out by local building firm, Pollard and Sons. The west porch was added in 1983. Although planned as a temporary structure, St Peter's remains open for worship.

Details

Church, of 1854, erected at its present location in 1866.

MATERIALS: the building has a timber frame with weather-boarded coverings under a gabled roof of double Roman tiles.

PLAN: the church is rectangular on plan, comprising a nave, chancel, a south-west bell tower and a late-C20 west porch. It is orientated approximately west-east.

EXTERIOR: the building is of four bays and stands on later brick pads. The timber cladding appears to have mostly been renewed. To the south-west corner is a slender, wooden tower with an open-sided belfry, surmounted by a pyramidal roof covered in felt sheeting and a cross finial. There are two three-light windows to both the north and south elevations; these are early-C20 metal-framed casements with leaded panes and set in wooden frames. A late-C20 porch has been added at the west end. It has half-glazed double doors with coloured, leaded glass in its south side. The west gable end of the church has a timber window with leaded panes on either side of the porch and blocked openings above. The windows in the east end have been covered over, but the cast-iron stay for the main, central window remains.

INTERIOR: there is a plank entrance door with wrought-iron handle, and to either side of the doorway is a narrow built-in cupboard with a plank door and strap hinges. The lower parts of the walls of the church have timber panelling and the upper sections are boarded with the timber frame exposed. The windows have chamfered timber mullions to the inside. The chancel is distinguished from the nave by a single step. The oak altar rail, which has carved trefoil heads, is understood to have been made from some of the timbers from the medieval church in West Quantoxhead, and the altar from an oak pulpit. The stone font is Perpendicular in style with a carved wooden cover and was formerly in St Andrew’s Church in Stogursey. It probably dates to the mid-C19. The roof has king post principals with angled struts.

Sources

Websites
Somerset HER 37382: Church of St Peter, Stolford, accessed 14 August 2017 from http://www.somersetheritage.org.uk/record/37382#
A History of the County of Somerset: Volume 6, Andersfield, Cannington, and North Petherton Hundreds, ed. R W Dunning and C R Elrington, 1992, British History Online, accessed 9 August 2017 from http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/som/vol6/pp154-156

Other
J. Ley, June 2005, History of Stolford Church – St Peter’s

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.

Print the official list entry