St Peter's Church is an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

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 are several later additions and restorations. St Peter's is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.

History

St Peter's lies close to the banks of the River Brun. There was a church on the site prior to 1122; this was largely rebuilt in the 1530s by Thomas Sellars and Nicholas Craven. The lower part of the tower is the oldest part of the current building and dates from the 15th or 16th century. There have been enough additions and alterations to the tower that Hartwell & Pevsner (2009) state that "little genuine C16 work survives". A gallery was added to the west in 1735 to accommodate the growing population of Burnley. The south aisle was rebuilt in 1789, and the north aisle in 1802. An upper part was added to the tower in 1803. Interior

restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

work took place in 1854 by Miles Thompson, who built nave arcades and

clerestory In architecture, a clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey) is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, ''clerestory'' denoted an upper l ...

. In 1872–1873, the chancel was enlarged.

Present day and assessment

St Peter's was designated a Grade II* listed building on 10 November 1951. The Grade II* designation—the second highest of the three grades—is for "particularly important buildings of more than special interest". 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 A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

of Burnley.

Architecture

Exterior

St Peter's is constructed of sandstone with

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

roofs, and is in the late Perpendicular style. Its plan consists of a nave with a west tower, aisles to the north and south, and a chancel to the east. The tower is of four stages and has four-stage square, angled buttresses that reach halfway up the tower. The fourth stage of the tower is set back and has a crenellated parapet with

pinnacle A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was mainly ...

s. There is a west doorway with a pointed arch and a hood mould.

Interior and fittings

Internally, the tower is square. It has a vice (spiral staircase) in the south-east corner that is accessed through an external door. The nave measures by . It has a

and arcades with arches over slender piers. There are two arches between the nave and the chancel.

Churchyard

The churchyard contains what Hartwell & Pevsner describe as a "good crop" of monuments, including some chest tombs from the 19th century. 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 from the church, is from the late 19th century. It is constructed of sandstone in the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style and has corner pinnacles. The Kay Monument is approximately from the church and probably dates form the mid-19th century. It is a chest tomb built of sandstone and solid granite. The Gothic-style Waddington monument, about from the church, is a free-standing spire of sandstone from the 19th century. The scientist and astronomer Richard Towneley was buried at St Peter's Church in 1707. The sandstone churchyard wall and gates date from about 1807. The wall is about high and has gateways in the centre and south end. 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. The churchyard walls, gates and retaining wall have all been given a Grade II listing by English Heritage.

Gallery

Image:The Parish Church of St Peter, Burnley, Graveyard - geograph.org.uk - 763768.jpg, Tombs in the churchyard. Image:Kay Monument, St Peter's Churchyard.jpg, Kay Monument. Image:Waddington Monument, St Peter's Churchyard.jpg, Waddington Monument. Image:Chaffer monument, St Peter's Churchyard.jpg, Chaffer Monument. Image:War Memorial Parish Church Grounds - geograph.org.uk - 1726524.jpg, War Memorial

References

Footnotes

Sources

* * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burnley, St Peter's Church Peter's, Burnley Church of England church buildings in Lancashire Diocese of Blackburn Grade II* listed churches in Lancashire