Description

SO 77 SW
4/326

ROCK CP
ROCK
Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul

25.02.58

GV
I
Parish church. Late C12, extended C14 and in 1510, restored in 1861 by F Preedy, and tower in 1881. West tower 1510, nave and chancel C12, vestry C14, south aisle and south chapel 1510.

West tower: three stages,diagonal buttresses, crenellated parapet, belfry stage: one window to each side of four trefoiled lights under a four-centred head; first stage: one window to each side has two cinquefoiled lights under two-centred head; ground stage: west window of four pointed lights under two-centred head with label; nave: north wall: divided into four bays by flat pilasters, eroded corbel table; entrance in bay to right of centre is in a gabled projection (of about 500mm) with an enriched arch of three orders with jamb shafts; windows in other bays are paired, the left-hand window of each pair blind; all with semi-circular heads and jamb shafts; also a low restored C14 window
in left-hand bay of two cinquefoiled lights under pointed head.

South aisle and chapel: crenellated parapet, four bays divided by stepped buttresses, 1 + 2 + 1 + 1 windows, mostly two trefoiled lights under two-centred head with hollow moulded responds; entrance to aisle in west bay has a triangular head, moulded surround and a C19 door; clerestory of nave has four windows: three are of two ogee lights under a square head, that to east is a single light with square head; chancel: three bays divided by flat pilasters, C14 vestry in bay to left (now heating chamber) blind in this elevation, central bay has a C12 window with semicircular head and jamb shafts, right-hand bay has a restored C14 window of two trefoiled lights under a two-centred arch, the semi-circular head of a C12 window visible above, east window: restored C14 with three trefoiled lights under two-centred head.

INTERIOR: nave: tall tower arch has a two-centred head and one hollow moulded order, chancel arch: highly decorative C12 arch of three orders with engaged jamb shafts and elaborately carved capitals, originally semicircular, but now flattened as a result of settlement; south arcade: four bays with hollow moulded octagonal columns, four-centred arches; chancel: two-bay arcade to south chapel as in south aisle; division between south aisle and south chapel treated in manner of a flying buttress.

Roofs: lean-to timber roofs of south aisle and chapel are C19; nave roof has common rafters with collars braced by straight braces and with ashlar pieces, date uncertain, but probably medieval; chancel perhaps C16, four-bay roof with arch-braced collars, two purlins and two tiers of curved wind braces, and with three inserted tie-beam trusses which have three struts to collar and V-struts in apex.

Fittings: mainly C19 with stone pulpit. Font C12 with low relief strapwork decoration to bowl on a C19 cluster of four engaged shafts. In south chapel a medieval altar slab with crudely cut consecration crosses set on a late C20 pedestal; set in south wall a memorial slab bearing incised figure of a priest: Richard Smith, died 1554; to northeast corner of south chapel a table tomb with three quatrefoils enclosing shields to each side bearing traces of colour, top has an incised canopy, the inscription (removed) recorded the date of the 1510 extensions. Stocks and whipping post are at the west end of the nave, with a heavily studded "dug-out" medieval chest.

Listing NGR: SO7315471158

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q17530524

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.

Recommended Books

• 
  This Old House: Restoring, Rehabilitating, and Renovating an Older House
• 
  Churches: An Architectural Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of History Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  Sussex: East with Brighton and Hove (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  ENGLAND GUIDE TO POST WAR LISTED: A Guide to Post-war Listed Buildings
• 
  Oxfordshire: North and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)