Oundle. church : st peter
I made my way here from Glapthorn on a gorgeous Easter Bank Holiday Monday. This was the fourth and final day of a cycling tour of the area which had promised much, but in truth delivered little due to three days of dull and miserable weather. Made up for lost time though on the Monday and got more achieved in one day that the previous three put together.
Those who are regular visitors to this site might know that I have a poor sense of direction, and regularly get lost on my travels. There was no chance of getting lost heading for St Peter at Oundle though. This is the highest church spire in Northamptonshire, standing an impressive 210 feet high. A full 58 feet higher than St Benedict at Glinton!
Oundle is one of the bigger places to be covered in this site. This site was due to be about village churches when I was planning it, but the boundaries have been stretched to accomodate places such as Oundle, which had an estimated population of getting on for 5,500 in 2006.
The church was open, and there were a fair number of people looking inside or in the church grounds enjoying the Bank Holiday sunshine. I have no head for heights at all and felt dizzy just standing at the bottom looking towards the top of the tower. This made me think of the working conditions of the medieval stonemason. Working very high up, and several hundred years from any Health and Safety laws. I wonder how many workmen died during the construction of this glorious perpundicular tower. Perhaps next time we look upwards we might spare a second and remember those who perished making what we enjoy today.
The present church of St Peter dates mainly from the 13th century, but parts are older than that. It was recently discovered that the pillars of this church stand on the site of an earlier building. Evidence has shown that there was once an important Saxon church in Oundle. Perhaps this is the site of more than 1,000 years of continous worship.
Construction of the tower started in the late 14th Century, and was completed in the 15th century. The spire is dated 1634, which is the date in which it was re-built. The porch was built in 1455 at the expense of Robert Wyatt, a meracant of the day. The room above the porch may have been used as a schoolroom at some point.
There are eight bells at St Peter with four of these being cast in 1868 by Mears & Stainbank, also known as the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. Three bells are from the mid 18th century and were cast by Eayre Bellfounders of Kettering, who were also clockmakers strangely. The other bell is dated 1801 and was made by Thomas Osborn.
Some very fine carved gravestones can be seen here, including a deaths head stone, with human skull and bones at the side of a grieving widow. Flame of life is set in between the two. Similar can be seen at nearby Warmington. This is pictured at the bottom right of this page. There is something perched on top of the skull, and I am finding it difficult to figure out what it is...any suggestions anyone?
As mentioned earlier, St Peter was open and there was a pleasing number of people looking around. With this being the Easter weekend the church was decorated with flowers and my eye was caught by a flower arrangement in the shape of a cross, pictured below.
The 15th century lectern, in the shape of an eagle, was said to be originally from Fotheringhay church. This was thrown in to the river by Roundhead troops during the English Civil War, but fortunately later found and returned.
Before some modern re-plastering work was carried out, the stonework in the nave was looked at and it was found that some of this was pre 13th Century. A large amount of Victorian restoration was carried out in the 1860's and in more modern times some more was done in the early 1990's.
Some work carried out then proved to be controversial. The former Bishop of Peterborough, the Right Rev Bill Westwood, and St Peter's former vicar, Canon Lloyd Caddick, were depicted in 6 inch high limestone carvings. This proved to be unpopular with a small number of the congregation who believed that carvings such as these should only be made of the dea. This went to court and the carvings were made, see image of Bill Westwood half wa down on the left of this page.
One of the most striking buildings covered in this site, the church of St Peter was a delight to look around. Took a nourishing lunch of chocolate and crisps before heading off to nearby Cotterstock.
