The church of St Peter in the eponymously named Gloucestershire Cotswold village of Ampney St Peter is a very picturesque structure set to one side of a small road amidst mature trees. Its outline when viewed from the South clearly says Saxon church, and so it proves to be.
The high walled narrow structure of the nave speaks of late Saxon architecture as does the round headed tower arch. The chancel arch is Transitional and it is likely that it and the chancel date from the late 12'th or 13'th century. Both the Nave and the Chancel are pierced with Perpendicular windows. The lower stage of the tower maintains its Saxon appearance, though the upper stage is most likely 15'th century and contemporary with the Nave windows.
The North Aisle is much more modern, and along with the Vestry and entrance porch is the work Sir George Gilbert Scott who restored the church in 1879. Whilst the restoration greatly increased the capacity of the church, the width of the North Aisle gives an unbalanced appearance to the interior.
At the West end of the nave is a defaced Sheela na Gig. The origins of these figures is obscure, though the customary placement on exterior walls amongst the monsters and grotesques might suggest the original intention was a warning. Others of course can argue that the first miracle of Christianity was the birth of divinity from the mortal body of a women, either way they represent a portrayal of the female form in a way now restricted to the closed covers of top shelf publications.
Photographed in April 2012 for theChurchPhotographer by Nick Temple-Fry. This church is usually open.
