"The church of ST. PETER AND ST. PAUL consists of chancel 31 ft. 6 in. by 14 ft. 8 in. with vestry on the north side, nave of three bays 39 ft. 2 in. by 14 ft., north and south aisles respectively 6 ft. 8 in. and 7 ft. 8 in. wide, south porch, and west tower 9 ft. 3 in. square, all these measurements being internal. The tower is surmounted by a lofty spire, and there are clearstories to both chancel and nave. The aisles are 52 ft. 3 in. long and cover the chancel for about a third of its length, forming north and south chapels; the north chapel is now used as an organ chamber. The width across nave and aisles is 33 ft. The vestry is modern and extends the full length of the chancel.
The church is built of coursed dressed local ironstone and has low-pitched leaded roofs, except to the porch, which is covered with stone slates. There are continuous plain parapets to the chancel and nave, and also to the south aisle, but the roofs of the north aisle and porch are eaved. Internally the walls have been stripped of plaster.
The earliest church on the site was probably an aisleless building, but was enlarged c. 1150 by the addition of a north aisle, the arcade of which, of three bays, still remains. The piers and responds are cylindrical and the semicircular arches are of two orders, with chamfered hood-moulds, but both arches and pillars differ in design. From the east, on the side towards the nave, the first arch has both orders plainly chamfered; in the second arch the inner order only is chamfered, the outer having an edge-roll and cheveron ornament on the soffit plane; the inner order of the westernmost arch has an edge-roll on both sides, and towards the nave the outer order is enriched on both wall and soffit planes with cheveron. Towards the aisle the inner order of the first arch is chamfered, while that of the second and the outer order of all three arches is square. The east respond has a half-octagonal scalloped capital and circular moulded base on a chamfered plinth; the capital of the first pillar has a plain circular bell with octagonal abacus and circular moulded base on an octagonal plinth, while the second pillar and west respond have scalloped capitals with square abaci and circular moulded bases with claw corners, or 'spurs,' on square chamfered plinths. The arcade appears to have been begun at the west end, the west respond and pier being earlier in character and of greater diameter than the others, but the whole is probably of one build, though perhaps spread over a number of years.
Early in the 13th century, c. 1200–10, a south aisle was added to the nave and the chancel rebuilt on its present plan, the aisles being extended eastward so as to form chapels open to the chancel at its west end by rounded arches. The south arcade is of uniform character throughout, with semicircular arches of two chamfered orders springing from cylindrical pillars and half-round responds with circular moulded capitals and bases. The arches have hood-moulds on the nave side only.
The chancel arch is sharply pointed and of two orders, with hood-mould on both sides, the inner order springing from coupled detached shafts on the soffit plane of the wall, with very early leaf capitals and elongated square abaci, the top mouldings of which are of unusual character; the outer order is carried on single angle shafts of similar character, all the shafts having circular moulded bases. The arch is much restored, but with what degree of fidelity is uncertain. The chancel was so much altered in the succeeding period that not very much work of 13th-century date remains. The arches opening to the former chapels are of two chamfered orders with hood-moulds, springing on the west side from moulded corbels and on the east from half-octagonal responds with moulded capitals and bases, the capitals being enriched with nail-head. The east wall is in the main original with an external stringcourse chamfered on both edges at sill level and returning for about 4 ft. along the south wall, but the insertion of a later window has disturbed the masonry in the upper part, the original walling remaining only for about 3 ft. at each end. Internally, however, the outer jambs of the 13th-century window, which apparently consisted of three lancets, remain in position with the springing of their respective rear arches, and in the north wall is a rectangular aumbry. The line of the former roof remains on the east side of the chancel arch.
In the 14th century, the whole of the fabric was remodelled, the south aisle being entirely rebuilt and the north aisle in part, new windows inserted in the chancel, the porch and tower erected, and a clearstory added to the nave. The tower and clearstory are late in the century, but the remodelling of the chancel probably began before 1320, a new high altar having been dedicated in the time of Bishop Dalderby, whose episcopate ended in that year. Extensive restoration and alterations have obliterated a good deal of the old work, but the east window is said to be a copy of the old one and is of four cinquefoiled lights with Decorated tracery: externally the sill and the lower part of the jambs are old, and internally the jambs to the spring of the arch. Two squareheaded traceried windows of two trefoiled lights were inserted in the south wall, their sills being lowered to form seats, and in the wall between was set a beautiful canopied seat with trefoiled ogee arch on shafted jambs with foliated capitals and moulded bases; the arch is under a straight-sided crocketed gable enriched with ball-flower and is flanked by crocketed pinnacles. The windows have segmental rear arches, the mouldings of which are taken down the jambs, the whole composition having apparently formed triple sedilia, but at some later period a doorway was made near the west end of the wall and the window considerably shortened. There is no piscina. The doorway to the vestry in the north wall is of the 16th century, with moulded fourcentred arch with a square frame, probably brought here from elsewhere, inserted within a former blocked opening, or window recess. The addition of the chancel clearstory by the heightening of the walls appears to have been early in the 15th century, the two windows on the south side being later in character than those to the nave; they are square-headed and of two cinquefoiled lights, but those on the north are trefoiled. In the nave the clearstory windows, three on each side, are all of two trefoiled lights. A partly blocked rood-loft doorway south of the chancel arch, at the east end of the nave wall, is probably contemporary with the clearstory.
The south aisle has a moulded plinth and three windows east of the porch, two of which are 15thcentury insertions, with four-centred heads and respectively of two and three lights. The squareheaded easternmost window is of the 14th century and of three trefoiled lights, and at the west end is a pointed 14th-century window of two lights. The east wall is blank, but internally has a slightly ogee arched recess forming the reredos of the chapel altar; a string with chamfered upper and lower edge forms the sill. The trefoil-headed piscina, with fluted bowl, remains in the south wall. The sharply pointed south doorway is in the western bay of the aisle, and has a continuous chamfer without hoodmould.
In the north aisle are three square-headed 14thcentury windows of two trefoiled lights, with a modern pointed window at the west end, copied from that in the south aisle, and in the western bay a plain chamfered segment-headed doorway, now blocked. At sill level there is a keel-shaped string, which is taken round the buttresses. A pointed window of two cinquefoiled lights in the north wall of the vestry is an old one re-used.
The porch is of the same build as the south aisle. It is very low, without buttresses or bench tables, and its pointed doorway is of two hollow chamfered orders. The side windows are modern. An ogee-shaped stone in the north-east angle may be the head of a former stoup recess.
The tower is of four stages with moulded plinth, diagonal angle buttresses to the top of the third stage, and battlemented parapet. There is a vice in the south-west angle. The pointed west window is of two trefoiled lights with quatrefoil in the head, and is common to the two lower stages, breaking the string. There are small openings in the third stage on the west and south, and loops to the vice. The pointed bellchamber windows are also of two trefoiled lights with quatrefoil in the head, but have transoms at half height. There are grotesque gargoyles at the angles, but no pinnacles. The spire has short broaches and plain angles, with two tiers of crocketed gabled lights, above the upper one of which it is banded. Internally the tower opens into the nave by a lofty pointed arch of two chamfered orders, the inner springing from half-round responds with octagonal moulded capitals and bases.
The roof of the south aisle, though much restored, is in the main old, with arched struts and wall pieces on carved stone brackets. The chancel roof is of four bays with moulded principals, apparently of 17thcentury date, with carved bosses.
The 13th-century font has a plain square bowl with bevelled angles, on a circular stem and four cylindrical legs.
The pulpit and all the fittings are modern. In 1605 the pulpit was said to be 'very undecent.' There is no chancel screen. A Caen stone reredos, extending across the east wall, was erected in 1880.
There are wall memorials to John Hill, rector (d. 1690), who by his will gave 'one silver plate to the churchwardens of the parish of Preston for collecting the offertory at the communion table,'Henry Sheild (d. 1792), Jeremiah Belgrave, rector (d. 1802), and Henry Sheild, rector (d. 1811). In the churchyard is a War Memorial Cross. There was formerly a churchyard cross which in 1640 was said to be 'ruinous.'
Inserted in the floor at the east end of the nave are several fragments of marble which formed part of the mosaic pavement of the ruined church of St. John the Baptist, in the stadion, at Constantinople, removed in 1923 and placed here in 1924, and in the chancel step a fragment of the pavement of the church of St. Sophia, Nicæa. There is also a wooden alms box from one of the churches of Smyrna, probably of late 17th-century date, with ikons of the Virgin and Child, St. George of Cappadocia, and St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra.
There are five bells, two new trebles by Taylor of Loughborough having been added in 1909 to a former ring of three. Of the old bells the first is inscribed '+ Gabriel,' the second dated 1717, and the tenor inscribed 'God save our Queene Elizabeth.'
The plate consists of a pre-Reformation silver-gilt paten, c. 1500, without marks but with the Manus Dei in the centre; a cup of 1610, an almsdish of 1680, a cup and paten of 1863, and a flagon of 1864.
The registers before 1812 are as follows: (i) all entries 1560–1734; (ii) baptisms and burials 1735–1812; marriages 1735–54; (iii) marriages 1754–1812. There are churchwardens' accounts 1598–1789 and overseers' accounts 1647–1796.
Mounted in a book kept in the safe in the parish church are two sets of documents: (1) Historical papers found in the parish chest illustrative of the taxation of the parish, 1635–1660; (2) twelve Indemnity Bonds, 1630–1702."
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