The History of St Peter and St Paul's, Kimpton

Since the 12th century, a church has stood on the present site with any alterations and additions overlaying and extending the original structure. Inside, the pillars and arches of the nave date from around 1200 AD in the Early English style, and the remains of the two lancet windows, either side of the present chancel east window, also date from this period. The left-hand lancet contains a faint image of an angel indicating that the church at some time was decorated with wall paintings. The external features of the Church date from the 14th or 15th century perpendicular style. Major interior changes were made by the Victorians, replacing the box pews with the present bench pews, removing the minstrels’ gallery at the west end and rebuilding the chancel arch and relocating the wooden rood screen across the Dacre Chapel arch.

Changes in the 20th century have included moving the organ from the left-hand chancel transept to its present position and inserting a raised ringing floor in the tower with a glazed screen to the nave. In the 1970s the altar and reredos (an ornamental screen) were moved from the east end of the chancel with a movable altar and rails brought closer to the congregation; the reredos is currently sited in the north transept. In 1982 the old 6 bell oak frame was replaced by a cast iron frame from a redundant London church, allowing the number of bells to be increased from 6 to 8 with the two new bells cast at the Loughborough bell foundry.

To celebrate the millennium an etched glass screen was placed across the arcade in the north-west corner of the nave to form a small multi-purpose area funded by an anonymous donation.