DEENE : CHURCH OF ST PETER
Church Post Code NN17 3EW
Open to visitors
Redundant : Cared For By The Churches Conservation Trust.
I am typing this on a cold Sunday afternoon in March 2025. My own church; a Salvation Army plant to the west of Peterborough is due to close on Easter Sunday, with an ageing congregation and subsequent reduction in numbers being a major reason; increasing costs not helping the situation. I attended an Anglican church service this morning and there was seven present including the vicar. It is almost impossible not to be concerned as to what the future holds for many of our churches.
England is not the secular country that some would wish you to believe; certain churches are thriving but there has been a definite move away from certain types of Christian worship; with the ‘old style’ services using the Old King James Bible seeming to suffer more each year that passes.
Five churches have closed within the catchment area of my websites since I started churchcrawling; and sadly more will follow. Where will we be in ten years’ time; five years even!
So how does that fit in with the church of St Peter at Deene? Well, on a day of thinking about the future of my own local churches, I also think back to the situation at Deene; a medieval church which had its own problems and was declared redundant as a result. Lots of money was spent on repair and restoration in the late 1860’s; and as recently ago as 1951, an extra bell was added; making for a ring of six; this would not have been cheap! Then circumstances changed; fewer people attended and I daresay the average age of the congregation increased with those present less able to do things as the years went by. Other churches were available locally; possibly vibrant and exciting and more what the younger people would prefer to attend. People being able to travel further and with more ease helped in that respect. I daresay that what was going through the minds of the remaining faithful as this church declined, was pretty much the same as what is going through our minds as our church went past the point of no return!
Faced with a heavy repair bill, they threw in the towel and the church of St Peter at Deene was finally declared redundant in 1980. A familiar pattern that sadly will be repeated nationally in the coming years!
Okay, on to business, let’s take a look at the church of St Peter, Deene, Northants. It was March 2025, and a day off of work, and a mini churchcrawl taking in three churches that I wanted to reshoot for the website. We had started off the day in Cambridgeshire, at St Ives, a church is normally closed to visitors out of service times, where they were holding a twice weekly open community space. After that we headed west towards Buckworth, which as usual was closed to visitors before crossing in to Northamptonshire, heading North West to Deene.
Deene itself is a very small village which can be found a little way off the A43, some six miles to the north east of Corby. Oundle is eight miles away to the south east and Peterborough is around 22 miles away to the east. Deene Park can be found alongside the church, which has been owned by the Brudenell family since 1514, with several of the family being Earls of Cardigan; including the 7th Earl who led the Charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava in 1854.
Those interested in ancient buildings will enjoy this area with Kirby Hall, a 17th century country house which is looked after by English Heritage being a short distance away to the west whilst Lyveden New Bield, an unfinished Elizabethan Summer House cared for by the National Trust is across the fields to the south east.
There was a priest mentioned here at the time of Domesday Survey in 1086, but no church was recorded. The church that we see today consists of west tower with spire, nave with north and south aisles and clerestories, south porch, south transept, north and south chapels and chancel.
The oldest surviving part of the church is the west tower; whose lower part may date from the late 12th century; with modifications added during the 13th century. The north aisle dates from the 14th century and the south aisle from the 15th century; with the rest of the church being rebuilt by Thomas Wyatt between 1868 and 1869; during which time he lengthened the nave, built the chancel, added an organ chamber, the south chapel and south porch. In 1890 the chancel was richly decorated by GF Bodley.
The visitor approaches the church from the west, with on this particular day a dark leaden sky to the east throwing the church in to shadow. The perpendicular three stage tower is heavily buttressed, with recessed broach spire with large gabled lucarne window facing out from the four sides; with small carvings of grotesques heads stretched out across the corbel string underneath the repaired parapet.
Two angels at prayer stand guard; flanking the doorway in the south porch, where visitors enter. Crossed keys over the doorway remind the visitor that this church is dedicated to St Peter. Both nave and chancel have steeply pitches time roofs; the clerestory is of four, small two light windows.
The south transept stands higher than the south aisle, with the south aisle extending windowless to the east of it. The east window is of five lights, with intricate tracery. This is a fine exterior in picturesque settings; a real rural feel here with the sounds of pheasants and Red Kites circling overhead being fond memories of previous visits.
When Thomas North had his study of church bells in Northamptonshire published in 1878 there were five bells in the ring here. The first was by a founder that I have not encountered before from memory, being cast in 1832 by W&J Taylor of Oxford and Bideford in Devon. The second was an alphabet bell (the letters of the alphabet arranged sequentially) which was cast by Newcombe of Leicester during the 16th century.
The third was cast by Taylor of Loughborough in 1862, and had the inscription ‘DEO ET ECCLESIA’ which translates as ‘God and the Church’ with the inscription going on to say that this bell was provided by the Earl of Cardiff in 1862.
The fourth of the ring in North’s time was cast by a 16th century Leicester founder and has the inscription ‘IHS NAZARENVS RED IVDEORUM’ ‘Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews’; with the fifth being cast by Tobias Norris of the Stamford bellfoundry in 1615. This one is inscribed ‘NON SON ANIMABVS MORTVORUM SED AURIBUS VIVENTUM’ ‘I sound not for the souls of the dead, but for the ears of the living’. The situation today is a little different in that there are six in the ring with a new first of the ring being added in 1951 with the old fourth of the ring being recast by Taylor of Loughborough in 1949.
I had been unlucky on my visits here in the past, but the door was open and it was great to be able to see inside. As you would expect, the hand of the Victorian restorer is very much to the fore here.
Moving inside, there are four bay arcades to north and south, with circular piers and capitals; with these being repaired during the restoration of 1868. The organ chamber can be found at the east end of the north aisle, with the south chapel, the Brudenell Chapel at the east of the south aisle. This is railed off as is the two bay arcade at the south side of the chancel. Fixtures and fitting for the most part date from the Victorian restoration.
A large number of stern looking’ long bearded men look on in a disapproving manner at those looking at the interior; along with the Agnus Dei, the Lamb of God, angels at prayer and a further angel playing the cymbals, with the letters ISH stencilled on to the wall alongside, this being an abbreviation of the name Jesus in Greek.
The chancel was richly decorated by GF Bodley in 1890; who was a pupil of George Gilbert Scott and worked with prolific stained glass manufacturer Charles Eamer Kempe. The wall stencilling and other decorations are the work of Bodley; with the triple sedilia and piscina decorated with human heads flanked by angels. Each of the three seats are to be found under a trefoil arch; with comfort to the fore with each seat cushioned with a curtain running across the back of the three seats.
This is very much a product of the fashion of the day, and not to everyone’s taste these days, with gilding throughout, including the beard on one of the heads!
The east window is of five lights and is the work of Lavers Barraud and Westlake; dating from the time of the restoration and rebuilding of 1868. High up in the tracery we see the Risen Christ in majesty; throned and crowned, holding a globe with one hand raised in blessing, surrounded by angels.
The window itself has ten panels featuring Jesus on two levels. The lower level features scenes from pre-Easter week with the higher level concerning itself with events from Easter week itself.
Starting with the lower level and reading from left to right we have the annunciation, with the Angel Gabriel appearing to the Virgin Mary, the nativity and the Baptism of Jesus. This is followed by Jesus in the presence of children and finally Jesus healing the infirm. With regards the scenes from Holy Week we have Jesus at prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, shortly before his arrest, with disciples asleep in the foreground. We then have Jesus carrying his cross followed by the crucifixion itself, with the latter being a very formal depiction! The final two are from Easter morning itself, with Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene and an Angel of the Lord appearing to the three Mary’s ‘He is not here he is risen’.
Other glass here includes two, two light windows, which show the four Latin Doctors of the Catholic Church; whilst elsewhere there is an interesting three light window with three scenes concerning Peter, after whom this church is dedicated. The central image is a scene that I have not seen set in to glass before. Peter is warming himself by a fire after Jesus’ arrest; with the ‘trial’ shown off in the background. A servant girl asks Peter is he known Jesus’ Peter is ready to say no and the cockerel nearby is about to crow! This is flanked by two scenes from the miraculous catch of fish; which was after the crucifixion and which led to Peter being reinstated; Jesus forgiving him for denying him three times on the night of his arrest.
The south chapel, the Brudenell Chapel, was built by Wyatt, as a memorial to the Seventh Earl; as mentioned earlier of Charge of the Light Brigade fame, and was locked on my visit, with a couple of shots between the bars of the railing all that I could get. This was financed by his widow Adeline De Horsey, who he married after leaving his first wife. At the time of his death, he was 71 years old and she was 34. The CCT website describes a little of the lifestyle of Adeline; and what a fascinating character she was; being known as the scandalous countess, with Queen Victoria refusing to have her at court as Cardigan had left his first wife. This beautiful monument shows the Seventh Earl, very formal with hands on his chest and impressive facial hair, with Adeline beside him and very much less formal; facing him, with sadly her back to me!
In the background there are three recumbent figures at prayer, this being Robert Brudenell, who acquired Deene Park in 1514. He passed away in 1531 and is shown with his two wives Margaret Entwissel and Philippa Power.
The church grounds are of great interest and there are several gravestones and tombs here which have their own Grade II Listing. One stone in slate caught my attention though; due to it being rich in symbolism. Central is a human skull, the deaths head, which reminds the onlooker that Man is mortal and will die. Therefore, live a good Christian life, trust in God and do not be caught lacking when your own time comes; as in times of low life expectancy, it could be later than you think.
There is a mixture of symbols here; with some such as the skull itself, a scythe and a shovel, one of the gravedigger’s tools all symbolising death. A serpent wraps itself around the skull; another symbol of death. ‘Memento Mori’ reads the script below the skull.
To counter this though there are symbols of eternal life such as two flaming upturned torches (if the torch had been extinguished or was facing downwards it would have symbolised death and mourning) with the Christian cross alongside.
This stone speaks to us still; with the same message as on the day it was carved; Man is mortal and will die but those who believe in God and live out their life accordingly will gain their reward of eternal life in Heaven’.
Interestingly, close by there is another serpent symbol but this one a little different. This one has its tail in its mouth, forming a circle. This is an Ouroboros, which was an often used symbol for eternity. I have used exterior photographs of gravestones from a previous visit where the light conditions were a little more favourable.
This is a delightful church, full of history and interest for anyone visiting. As a place of worship, the church of St Peter at Deene has run its course; but as a structure it is still cared for and visited and is in the safe hands of the Churches Conservation Trust where its future will be secured. Those visiting this area will find that there are generally quite a few open churches in the vicinity and mention should be made of the church of Holy Trinity at Blatherwycke, around three miles to the north east, which is another redundant church looked after by the CCT.