- St Peter's Church, Burnley
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St Peter's, Burnley 
St Peter's Church from the southLocation in Lancashire
Coordinates: 53°47′34″N 2°14′24″W / 53.7927°N 2.2399°W OS grid reference SD 84296 32957 Location Burnley, Lancashire Country England Denomination Anglican Architecture Status Parish church Functional status Active Heritage designation Grade II* Administration Deanery Burnley Archdeaconry Blackburn Diocese Blackburn Province York St Peter's Church is an Anglican church in the town of Burnley, Lancashire, England. It is an active parish church in the Diocese of Blackburn and the archdeaconry of Blackburn. The oldest part of the church—the lower tower—dates from the 15th century, and there have been several later additions and restorations. St Peter's has been designated a Grade II* listed building by English Heritage.
Contents
History
St Peter's lies close to the banks of the River Brun.[1] There was a church on the site prior to 1122;[2] this was largely rebuilt in the 1530s by Thomas Sellars and Nicholas Craven.[1] The lower part of the tower is the oldest part of the current building and dates from the 15th of 16th century.[2][3] There have been enough additions and alterations to the tower that Hartwll & Pevsner (2009) state that "little genuine C16 work survives".[2] A gallery was added to the west in 1735 to accommodate the growing population of Burnley.[1] The south aisle was rebuilt in 1789, and the north aisle in 1802.[2][3] An upper part was added to the tower in 1803.[2] Interior restoration work took place in 1854 by Miles Thompson, who built nave arcades and clerestory.[2] In 1872—1873, the chancel was enlarged.[2]
Present day and assessment
St Peter's was designated a Grade II* listed building by English Heritage on 10 November 1951.[3] The Grade II* designation—the second highest of the three grades—is for "particularly important buildings of more than special interest".[4] An active church in the Church of England, St Peter's is part of the diocese of Blackburn, which is in the Province of York. It is in the archdeaconry of Blackburn and the Deanery of Burnley.[5]
Architecture
Exterior
St Peter's is constructed of sandstone with slate roofs, and is in the late Perpendicular style.[2][3] Its plan consists of a nave with a west tower, aisles to the north and south, and a chancel to the east.[1] The tower is of four stages and has four-stage square, angled buttresses that reach half way up the tower.[1][3] The fourth stage of the tower is set back and has a crenellated parapet with pinnacles.[3] There is a west doorway with a pointed arch and a hood mould.[1]
Interior and fittings
Internally, the tower is 13 feet (4.0 m) square.[1] It has a vice (spiral staircase) in the south-east corner that is accessed through an external door.[1] The nave measures 70 feet (21 m) by 20 feet 6 inches (6.25 m).[1] It has a clerestory and arcades with arches over slender piers.[2] There are two arches between the nave and the chancel.[1]
Churchyard
Tombs in the churchyard of St Peter's
The churchyard contains what Hartwell & Pevsner describe as a "good crop" of monuments, including some chest tombs from the 19th century.[2] South of the church there is a group of monuments including one dedicated to the Chaffer family, one dedicated to the Kay family and one dedicated to the Waddington family; all of these have been given a Grade II designation by English Heritage. The Chaffer monument, approximately 39 feet (12 m) from the church, is from the late 19th century. It is constructed of sandstone in the Gothic style and has corner pinnacles.[6] The Kay Monument is approximately 98 feet (30 m) from the church and probably dates form the mid-19th century. It is a chest tomb built of sandstone and solid granite.[7] The Gothic-style Waddington monument, about 33 feet (10 m) from the church, is a free-standing spire of sandstone from the 19th century.[8]
The sandstone churchyard wall and gates date from about 1807. the wall is about 3 feet 3 inches (0.99 m) high and has gateways in the centre and south end.[9] Additionally, there is a retaining wall on the north and west sides of the churchyard that also dates from about 1807, but includes some parts from 1736. This wall is built of coursed sandstone rubble.[10] The churchyard walls, gates and retaining wall have all been given a Grade II listing by English Heritage.
See also
- Listed buildings in Lancashire
References
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Farrer & Brownbill (1911), pp. 441–454
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Hartwell & Pevsner, pp. 176–178
- ^ a b c d e f "Church of St Peter", National Heritage List for England (English Heritage), http://list.english-heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1022640, retrieved 10 June 2011
- ^ "Listed Buildings", National Heritage List for England (English Heritage), http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/caring/listing/listed-buildings/, retrieved 10 June 2011
- ^ "Church Details: Burnley St Peter", blackburn.anglican.org (Diocese of Blackburn), http://www.blackburn.anglican.org/parish.asp?theid=94303, retrieved 10 June 2011
- ^ "Chaffer Monument Approximately 12 Metres South of Church of St Peter", National Heritage List for England (English Heritage), http://list.english-heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1022643, retrieved 10 June 2011
- ^ "Kay Monument Approximately 30 Metres South of Church of St Peter", National Heritage List for England (English Heritage), http://list.english-heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1365760, retrieved 10 June 2011
- ^ "Waddington Monument Approximately 10 Metres South of Church of St Peter", National Heritage List for England (English Heritage), http://list.english-heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1365761, retrieved 10 June 2011
- ^ "Wall and Gates to St Peters Churchyard", National Heritage List for England (English Heritage), http://list.english-heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1365763, retrieved 10 June 2011
- ^ "Retaining Wall Along North and West Sides of St Peters Churchyard", National Heritage List for England (English Heritage), http://list.english-heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1365762, retrieved 10 June 2011
Sources
- Farrer, William; Brownbill, J., eds. (1911), "Townships — Burnley", A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 6 (Constable), OCLC 59626695, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=53152
- Hartwell, Clare; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2009) [1969], Lancashire: North, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, ISBN 0300126670
- Wilkinson, Thomas Turner (1856), History of the Parochial Church of Burnley, Burnley: T. Sutcliffe, OCLC 25024224
External links
- Official website
Media related to St Peter's Church, Burnley at Wikimedia Commons
Categories:- Buildings and structures in Burnley
- Church of England churches in Lancashire
- Diocese of Blackburn
- Grade II* listed buildings in Lancashire
- Grade II* listed churches
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