Bell 1 of 1
1705
Dove Bell ID: 61348 Tower ID: 24250 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Cracked: No
Tunstall: St Peter and St Paul
Overview
Grid reference: TG 417 80
The body of the church is Decorated; the chancel was restored in 1705 and extended in 1853, when the north vestry was also added.
Visiting and facilities
Building is closed for worship
Building
Description of Archaeology and History
The body of the church is Decorated; the chancel was restored in 1705 and extended in 1853, when the north vestry was also added.
The church has been a ruin for at least three hundred years, and for all that time the tower and nave appear to have been roofless, since 1705 is the date given for the bricking up of the chancel arch to make a more convenient place of worship.
Exterior Description
It is possible to see that in the tower, there has been a west window in the lowest stage and that the next stage has been blind in each face (save, possibly, for small sound-holes now obscured). The third stage has a small arched aperture on the east face which would have opened into the upper part of the nave roof. The bell stage had apparently an opening in each face with, possibly, paired lights, although the central mullions aud tracery have in all cases disappeared. The south-east corner rises higher than the rest, and still almost reaches the level of the original parapet. There are buttresses to the western angles, but details of these are difficult to determine.
The nave was aisleless, of four bays but with buttresses only at the angles and mid-points of the walls. The tower arch is of brick and in the west nave wall there is a single light each side of the tower, each with a trefoiled head; the north and south walls each have three two-light windows. All the tracery has gone save for some small fragments round the edges at the heads of the windows which show it to have been Decorated work with refined mouldings. The spaces of the second windows from the west on the north and south are taken up by doorways, both with delicate mouldings incorporating under-stated shafts. Beside the south doorway is a rough recess from which a stoup has been removed. It is possible to see that much mediaeval brickwork survives, mixed with the flint and stone masonry and the walls are regularly pierced with square put-log holes.
Towards the west end of the south side there are two arches embedded in the wall, doubtless formerly having opened into a small chapel. The wall round them has been much rebuilt in a rather haphazard way, and the ground in front has recently been cleared. Otherwise, all the windows are of the 1853 work, single lights with trefoiled heads, of which there are three in the south wall and two in the north, the place of the third being masked by the vestry added at this time. The east window is of two lights with tracery above which may well have been copied from a nave window if one survived until 1854; the arrangement of forms in the the tracery seems almost to fit the remains of carving in the nave windows.
Interior
Interior Description
The interior of the roofless nave has over the years become filled with debris fallen from the walls, so that the path leading from the south doorway to the brick wall which now fills the chancel arch lies in a depression. Set in the chancel wall above the doorway is a small stone panel above a square patch of later brickwork which probably marks an early eighteenth-century window.
The Jenkenson family obviously blocked the chancel arch and made good the walls of the chancel so that it could serve as a church, and they probably also put a new roof on this part of the church since the present roof cuts across the chancel arch at a lower level than its predecessor would have done. The arch, as may be seen within, is carried on semi-octagonal responds with moulded bases and capitals, and consists of at least two simply chamfered orders. The doorway at the foot of the wall which blocks it is very plain, with a two centred head. Within, on the north side a small doorway opens into the vestry. There is a clear mark where the 1853 extension adjoins the older work, both in the change in plaster and in the more regular aspect of the roof structure east of this point. The design is a single-frame roof with braces and further scissor-braces above.
Fixtures and fittings
Altar
1853
The altar is in the gothic style, of oak, with cuspod trail along the front edge and sunk gothic panels on the legs.
Pulpit
1853
The pulpit is octagonal, built into the front pews, and with single traceried panels round the body.
Lectern
1853
The lectern is an oak pedestal.
Font (object)
1853
The font is octagonal, on an octagonal stem, with two alternating tracery designs in the panels of the bowl, one of three mouchettes and the other of a shield in a cusped quatrefoil.
Bells
Churchyard
Grid reference: TG 417 80
Burial and War Grave Information
It is unknown whether the building is consecrated.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has been used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard is used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has war graves.
National Heritage record for England designations
There are no records of National Heritage assets within the curtilage of this site.
Environment
Ancient, Veteran & Notable Trees
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
There are no records of Ancient, Veteran or Notable Trees within the curtilage of this site.
Renewables
| Renewable | Installed |
|---|---|
| Solar PV Panels | N/A |
| Solar Thermal Panels | N/A |
| Biomass | N/A |
| Wind Turbine | N/A |
| Air Source Heat Pump | N/A |
| Ground Source Heat Pump | N/A |
| Ev Charging | N/A |
Species summary
There are no records of species within the curtilage of this site.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
'Seek advice' Species
More information on species and action to be taken upon discovery.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
Further information
Submit a change
If you notice something incorrect or missing, please explain it in the form below and submit it to our team for review.