ST. PETER'S CHURCH

St Peter’s consists of a nave with a south porch, chancel and W tower.  The nave, porch and tower are of 1833 by G. R. Guthrie; the nave entirely of brick and the porch and tower of brick and knapped flint.  All of this is in a Georgian style; the nave broad  with a W gallery carried on slim shafts.  In 1877 a grey ashlar chancel was added by J. Colson, and the square-headed Perpendicular style windows in the nave and tower must be of that date.

This church replaced a medieval one that stood in the churchyard across the road to the E.  It was described as ruinous in a meeting held on 26th December 1831, and its demolition began on the same day.  Flint from the medieval building were used to construct the new church, which was completed with quite remarkable speed, and consecrated on 19 April 1833. The sloping path to the south gate was made to allow Miss Baring to access the church in her pony trap. The site and £500 towards the cost of the new church were provided by the Lord of the Manor, Charles Baring Wall.  A drawing of the old church, now in the vestry, shows it to have been a two-cell building with a W bell turret, apparently 13thc in style. 

This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.

ABOUT THE VICAR

Rev James Pitkin

Tel: 01794 340635      E-mail: [email protected]

Facebook group for the Benefice: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BeneficeofLockerley/

SERVICES

Communion (Book of Common Prayer): Every first Sunday at 8 a.m. (45m)

Communion (Book of Common Prayer): Every second Sunday at 9 a.m. (50m)

Eucharist (Modern Language): Every third Sunday at 9 a.m. (1hr)

Morning Prayer/Matins: Every fourth Sunday at 9 a.m. (1hr)

WORLD'S OLDEST BELL

The bells at St Peter's Church include one from 1290, believed to be one of the oldest church bells in the world.

The bell has been re-hung in its oak timber frame with the other two bells. The treble bell dates to 1399, and was probably cast at Salisbury. It is 23 1/4 inch diameter, and is inscribed with the words 'Sante Thome'. The third bell dates to 1723, and was also cast in Salisbury by William Tosier. The G, F and E flat bells could not be tuned during the work as it involved shaving metal off which could cause them to crack. It took 15 months of planning and £20,000 of fundraising by villagers for the bells to be refurbished.

It was thought that the sound of the bells would be a unifying force for the village and that they would be a reminder of the church being at the centre of the community.  Listen to the bells of St.Peters here https://www.revolvy.com/page/West-Tytherley?stype=videos&cmd=list&cr=1&sml=73qgpmlBzBI

PURBECK MARBLE FONT

The only Romanesque sculpture is the Purbeck marble font. On the N side of the nave, opposite the S doorway.  The bowl is low and box-shaped, supported on a thick central shaft and slender polished pink marble shafts at the angles, all 19thc.  The base, of the standard type, is apparently original and stands on a modern square plinth. The bowl is decorated in relief on all four faces, but the decoration is worn and is further obscured by mortar repairs at all four angles. The E, W, and S faces are divided into a row of four square panels, each carved with a saltire-shaped quatrefoil of fleshy acanthus leaves.  The N face is carved with a simpler design; apparently a row of scallops at the top with raised lines below representing the cones of a multi-scallop frieze capital.  The upper surface is decorated with trilobed leaves at the SE and SW spandrels and concentric grooves in the NE and NW spandrels.  The basin is lined with lead.  It was removed from the church, possibly during Oliver Cromwell's Commonwealth, and was recovered from a local farm where it was being used as a cattle trough, and restored.

MEMORIALS

Many memorials from the medieval church were rescued and installed in the new Victorian building. Most commemorate members of the local Thistlethwayte and Whitehead families.

Set into the nave floor are several memorial brasses to the Whitehead family, lords of the manor from the 15th-18th century. The best is to Anna Whittehede (Whitehead), who died in 1480. The epitaph (translated from Latin) reads: 'Here lies Anna formerly wife of Maurice Whittehede Knight, daughter and one of the heirs of Thomas Hampton gentleman, who died on the 20th August AD 1480, on whose soul may God have mercy Amen.'

Look for the brass to Lucy Whitehead, who died in 1652, and another to Christian, fifth wife of Richard Whitehead, who died in childbirth in 1655. On the wall is a plaque to Alexander Thistlethwayte, a major in the 2nd Regiment of Foot. Alexander was the only son of Revd. Alexander Thistlethwayte. He died of yellow fever at Berbice, Guyana in 1820.

OTHER FEATURES

The clock was made by Thwaites and Reed of London around 1851.

At the west end is a musicians gallery, accessed from the bell tower. Hung from the gallery is a royal coat of arms to William IV, probably made when the church was built. The organ was made about 1860, but the stops appear to have been made a century earlier.

Under the gallery is a board commemorating the contribution to the church of the Incorporated Society (Incorporated Society for Promoting the Enlargement, Building and Repairing of Churches and Chapels). The Society gave money for 120 seats, on condition that they remain rent-free. This is a reminder that many churches raised money by renting pews to parishioners.

CE PRIMARY SCHOOL, WEST TYTHERLEY 

Throughout the year, the children take part in special services at St. Peter’s Church for Harvest, Christmas, and Easter celebrations.

Rev James Pitkin, visits the school once a week and the children enjoy listening to his stories during our collective worship sessions.

James not only plays a key strategic role as a Foundation Governor, but the school benefits from his pastoral care for the children, staff and community.