The Church building

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The Church of England parish church of St. Peter was built in the first half of the 12th century.  The nave survives from this period, with a Norman doorway, which is blocked up, and the two Norman windows in the north wall.  The tower and several windows in the south wall were added late in the 13th century and the chancel was rebuilt in about 1300.  One of the windows in the south wall of the chancel is a 14th-century addition.  The south porch, and the parapet and two of the bell-chamber windows of the tower, are 15th century additions. In the 16th or 17th century a buttress was added to shore up part of the north wall. A German bomb badly damaged the nave and porch in 1941 and the building was restored in 1947

Additions were made during the following three centuries and major repairs were carried out in 1767, the pulpit, communion rails and table also date from this time. Further major repairs were carried out in 1840 and again in 1947. This latest restoration followed  the dropping of a stick bomb by a German bomber.

In the churchyard are the base and shaft of a medieval cross, from which the top has been lost and replaced with a 17th or early 18th century sundial. A leaflet with more details is available in the church.

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St. Peter's is now part of a single benefice with the neighbouring parishes of Oxhill, Tysoe, Brailes and Sutton under Brailes.

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The Clergy

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The first mention of a priest in Whatcote is in the Doomsday Book in 1086 so it seems that there was already a church on the site  before the present building which was started in 1150. There is a list of all the clergy of Whatcote in the church.

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The Bells of Whatcote

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Earlier this year a survey was carried on the bells in the tower of St Peter’s Church. There are currently three bells:

The smallest, at just over 3cwt (152kg) and 25 inches (62cm) in diameter was initially cast by Henry Bagley in 1652 but was found cracked in 1870 and was recast in 1878 by William Blews & Sons, Birmingham. The following inscriptions were cast in the bell’s surface:

 

CANTATE DOMINO CANTICVM NOVVM/ H.B. 1652
AD DEI GLORIAM ET IN USUM/ECCLESIAE S:PEDRI APUD WHATCOTE/D:D THOYTS SACERDOS +/+ TE DEUM LAUDAMUS

 

The second bell is just over 4cst (203kg) and 27 inches (67cm) in diameter was cast by John Clark in 1711 and is inscribed:

 

JOHN + CLARK + MEDE ME 1711

 

The third bell at just over 5cst (254kg) and 31 inches (77cm) in diameter was first cast by M. Bagley and carries the following inscriptions:

M. BAGLEY MADE ME 1766 WILLIAM MARSHALL 
WILLIAM BLAKEMAN CHURCH WARDEN
RECAST QUEEN VICTORIAS DIAMOND JUBILEE YEAR 1897/ WILLIAM SANDERSON MILLER RECTOR/ H. BOND & SONS FOUNDERS BURFORD OXON.

 

The bells are hung in a wooden frame probably built originally around 1590-1610. It has been altered over the years and may have  possibly carried four bells as a manuscript around 1750 suggests. Unfortunately there are no records exciting to verify this
 

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