Description

CHARSFIELD
TM 25 NE
5/2 Church of St Peter
16/3/66
- I
Church. C12, C13 and early C16. Rubble flint with ashlar dressings and
English bond brick with a plain tile roof. Nave, chancel, south-western
porch and west tower. Tower: of English bond brick with blue brick
diapering. West face: projecting plinth with ashlar bands to the upper
plinth, originally set with flushwork but most of the flint having now
disappeared, the cavities blocked up with brick. Ashlar door surround at
centre with hollow-chamfered and birdbeek mouldings. Hood-mould above, and
floral motifs to the spandrels (weathered). Above is a 3-light window with
cinquefoil heads to the lights and hoodmould with figurehead label-stops.
Single lancet above that set in a rectangular chamfered surround and a 2-
light belfry opening with chamfered surround and hoodmould. Brick band
below belfry level and an ashlar string course below the level of the
parapet which is battlemented and has panels of flushwork arcading. South
face: similar belfry opening, partially masked by an open work wrought iron
clock face. Gargoyle to the centre of the belfry string course. Blank
walling to the lower body with a canted staircase turret at right. North
face similar, save for absence of turret. East face abuts the church to
its lower body and has to its upper body diapering in diamond patterns and
a similar belfry opening to those on the other fronts. Nave: North face:
lower walling of flint rubble and upper walling of brick in English bond.
To right is a Perpendicular doorway with a moulded surround. To left of
this is a single Romanesque lancet with arched head. Diagonal buttress to
far right corner. Nave: South face: projecting gabled porch near centre
with polygonal buttresses at either side and projecting plinth with panels
of flushwork to the upper body. Geometrical designs, some panels having
lost their flint infill. Central ashlar door surround with colonettes at
either side and hollow chamfer with square bosses and floral motifs to the
spandrels, now weathered. The polygonal buttresses terminate in domed,
crocketed caps. Trefoil-headed niche above the doorway and crow-stepped
gable with saddleback coping. The flanks have arcades of trefoil-headed
openings to the lower body. To left of the porch is a 2-light Y-tracery
window of c.1300 and below this are panels of flushwork, evenly spaced
across the rubble walling. To right of the porch is a portion of what
appears to be a Romanesque lancet window, which has been blocked and
partially overlayed by a Perpendicular window of 3 lights with cinquefoil
heads and hood mould. Chancel: slightly less wide with higher ridge but a
steeper pitch of roof so that the eaves level is lower. South face: at
left a Perpendicular window of 2 ogee-headed trefoil lights, slightly at
right of which is a Priest's door with chamfered ashlar surround.
Projecting buttress to right again and a window of 2 trefoil-headed lights
to far right, a C19 replacement of that seen at left. North face: some
herringbone rubble flintwork at right with a lancet at left and at left
again a buttress. East face: 2 diagonal buttresses dying back into the
corners. Central window of 3 lights with interlacing tracery of c.1300.
Interior: Porch: C19 outer doors. Roof, trusses with long wall posts.
Pendant beams connected to the collar and to the wall posts by angle
braces. Wave and cavetto mouldings to the door surround. Nave: roof of 6 1/2
bays with wallposts rising from corbels in the form of gremlins, connected
by arch braces to hammerbeams which support hammer posts connected to the
collar beams (which are not visible) by further arched braces. Further
arched braces run along the wall surface connecting the wall posts. Carved
purlins. Chancel roof: whitewashed wagon roof. Font: octagonal stem and
bowl, all now whitewashed. Figures against the stem (defaced). Angels
with interlacing wings below the bowl. Signs of Evangelists and angels
with scrolls to the bowl panels. Dividing nave and chancel, is the
northern half of the lower body of the rood screen having 6 panels divided
into pairs. Wall memorials to Leland family in chancel. John and
Theopilia Leland, c.1690. Black marble tablet with ashlar surround with
curtains at either side, scroll brackets, apron with cartouche and coat of
arms and palm leaves and broken pediment with urn to top. William Leland,
c.1730. White marble tablet, brackets at either side and pediment above
with central coat of arms to tympanum and apron with separate tablet to his
son Naunton Leland.

SOURCES: Nikolaus Pevsner, Buildings of England: Suffolk, 1979
H Munro Cautley, Suffolk Churches, 1982

Listing NGR: TM2542156574

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17526985

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

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