St Peter
Oundle, Northamptonshire
The adjectives used to describe this church are consistently beautiful and elegant, and so it is.
The Americans arrived here in April 1943 and carried out a large number of successful missions taking out factories and strategic defence installations. They supported the armies at the battle of Normandy and helped to stop the German counter attack at The Battle of the Bulge.
Fittingly the church became a memorial to their bravery. It’s a building which grew in topsy turvy fashion during the medieval period which may explain its unusual form with an unusually large nave, two deep transepts, and a long thin chancel. It is in the north transept where you find the American memorial with its book of remembrance.
This part of the church looks convincingly medieval but in fact the columns of the arcade arches were added or replaced sometime after 1720. In the opposite south transept, you will discover some good wall tombs, one with cherubs delicately holding open a book which is being kept in place by their unfurled wings.
This is a timeless building, its tower and spire towering high above the small village that has returned to a quiet life after the hustle and bustle of the mid 20th century.
