The Anglican Church of St Peter in

Rode Rode may refer to: People *Ajmer Rode, Canadian writer *Bernd Michael Rode (born 1946), Austrian chemistry professor *Bernhard Rode (1725–1797), German painter *Ebbe Rode (1910–1998), Danish stage and film actor *Franc Rode (born 1934), Slove ...

, within the English county of

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, dates from 1824. It is a

redundant church A redundant church, now referred to as a "closed church", is a church building that is no longer used for Christian worship. The term most frequently refers to former Anglican churches in the United Kingdom, but may also be used for disused churc ...

and a Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. The church was built by

Henry Goodridge Henry Edmund Goodridge (1797, Bath – 26 October 1864) was an English architect based in Bath. He worked from the early 1820s until the 1850s, using Classical, Italianate and Gothic styles. Life He was born in Bath in 1797 the son of James Goo ...

for

Charles Daubeny Charles Giles Bridle Daubeny (11 February 179512 December 1867) was an English chemist, botanist and geologist. Education Daubeny was born at Stratton near Cirencester in Gloucestershire, the son of the Rev. James Daubeny. He went to Winchester ...

, the

Archdeacon of Sarum The Archdeacon of Sarum is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Diocese of Salisbury, England. He or she is responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy within the five area deaneries of the Sarum archdeaconry, which cover th ...

. At that time Rode Hill was in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

while the adjacent village of Rode was in Somerset, and Daubeny wished to deter parishioners from attending Rode's church,

St Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence ( la, Laurentius, lit. " laurelled"; 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roman ...

, which was over the border and within the

Diocese of Bath and Wells The Diocese of Bath and Wells is a diocese in the Church of England Province of Canterbury in England. The diocese covers the county of Somerset and a small area of Dorset. The Episcopal seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells is located in the C ...

. Therefore he raised subscriptions for the building of the new church at Rode Hill. The design with a tall

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

was inspired by

King's College Chapel, Cambridge King's College Chapel is the chapel of King's College in the University of Cambridge. It is considered one of the finest examples of late Perpendicular Gothic English architecture and features the world's largest fan vault. The Chapel was bui ...

. The church was a

chapelry A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century. Status It had a similar status to a township but was so named as it had a chapel of ease (chapel) which was the communi ...

North Bradley North Bradley is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, between Trowbridge and Westbury. The village is about south of Trowbridge town centre. The parish includes most of the village of Yarnbrook, and the hamlets of Brokerswood, Cu ...

until 1933, when it was reassigned to the parish of Rode. A bell cast for the church by

Rudhall of Gloucester Rudhall of Gloucester was a family business of bell founders in the city of Gloucester, England, who between 1684 and 1835 cast more than 5,000 bells. History There had been a tradition of bell casting in Gloucester since before the 14th century. ...

in 1823 did not have enough room to swing and was used for static chiming. When the church was declared redundant in 1995 and sold into private hands, the bell was obtained by the Keltek Trust and is now in a church in

Menangle, New South Wales Menangle is a village in the Macarthur region of New South Wales, Australia. Location Menangle is part of the Wollondilly Shire. At the , Menangle had a population of 875 people. At the , Menangle's population had risen to 1,150. History The ...

. In the 1990s the fabric of the church was in need of repair and in 1993 a

corbel In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the s ...

fell into the church. Following this, insurance cover was withdrawn and insufficient funds could be found for the repair. After the church was made redundant, repairs were needed to the south steeple and roof which were supported by a grant from

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

. The church now serves as a house and shop for Andrew Hooker Violins. It is also used for music concerts.

References

{{Reflist, 30em Grade II* listed buildings in Mendip District Grade II* listed churches in Somerset 19th-century Church of England church buildings