Our History & Heritage

St Peter and St Paul is a beautiful, large Grade I listed medieval parish church occupying the highest land in the ancient Warwickshire market town of Coleshill. The church’s prominent 14th-century tower and spire, which rise to 170ft (52m), make it a well-known local landmark both for people living in the surrounding area and those just passing through on the nearby M42 and M6. Yet many of the church’s greatest treasures lie within its walls. We hope this short introduction to the history and heritage of Coleshill’s parish church will encourage you to pay a visit.  

We don’t know precisely when the first church was built on the present site. There is thought to have been a Romano-British settlement at Coleshill making it possible that a pre-Christian temple may have existed here. In the Domesday Survey, of 1086, Coleshill was described as a royal manor with a priest, which would certainly imply the presence of a church by this time. In all likelihood, there was already an Anglo-Saxon minster here at the time of the Norman Conquest.

Coleshill was a thriving town in the medieval period which was granted its market charter by King John in 1207. He also gave the town the right to hold an annual fair on the Eve of the Feast of St Peter and St Paul (29th June), the two saints to whom the parish church is dedicated. It was probably the growing wealth of the town which prompted the decision to rebuild the parish church on the fairly grand scale seen today.

The present church began to be constructed from the early 14th century and was complete by the time of the English Reformation in the early 16th century. The last part to be constructed, towards the end of this period, was the chancel at the east end. If you view the church from outside a change in its architectural style between the nave aisles and the chancel is very apparent. Whereas the nave aisles have smaller pointed windows in a classic ‘decorated’ gothic style of the 14th century, by comparison the chancel windows are huge and much less pointed, in the style known as ‘perpendicular’ gothic we associate with the end of the Middle Ages.

St Peter and St Paul’s greatest treasure is in fact considerably older than the building itself. This is a rare and intricately carved baptismal font that dates from the mid to late 12th century. Presumably, it was salvaged from the previous church when the new church was built. The font survives as one the very finest examples of its type in the country. Its preservation is explained by it being plastered over at the time of the Reformation, or possibly during the period of puritan ascendency after the English Civil War when decoration in churches was forbidden. The wonderful carvings on the font were rediscovered in Victorian times when the church underwent a major restoration.

During the medieval period, the local lords of the manor were consecutively members of the de Clinton, de Montfort and finally the Digby families. These families took a keen interest in the life of the church and quite likely paid for much of the building work. The chancel in particular has something of the appearance of a private burial chapel for the local gentry, rather like the more famous Beauchamp Chapel at St Mary’s, Warwick.

The presence of two of these families is still very much evident because of the church’s second great treasure, its spectacular set of medieval and renaissance period tombs and monuments. The two oldest tombs found in the nave aisles commemorate members of the de Clinton family, both named John, who are shown in effigy dressed as knights with chain mail, shield and sword. They are quite early examples of knights’ effigies and have survived reasonably intact, even preserving a few traces of original 14th-century paintwork. The older John de Clinton had quite an exciting life. He was a supporter of Simon de Montfort in his rebellion against the king and was one of the rebels besieged within Kenilworth Castle by Prince Edward (the future King Edward I). The two men seem to have patched things up, however, as John de Clinton later accompanied Edward I on crusade and participated in his capture of Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth.

Set into the tiled floor of the chancel are a number of memorial brasses, including two which give an insight into the religious changes that took place as a result of the Reformation. Near the north wall is the figure of a priest shown in mass vestments and holding the Host. The Latin inscription below tells us that this is William Abell, the vicar here for 45 years until his death on 18th May 1500. Meanwhile, in the middle of the chancel is another very different looking figure of a priest shown wearing a Protestant style gown and holding a Bible inscribed Verbu(m) Dei, a Latin phrase meaning ‘the Word of God’. His right hand is shown with six fingers. Given the times, this may be a theological statement with the large index finger pointing to the scriptures meant to represent the finger of God. This gentleman is ‘Sir’ John Fenton who was the first post-Reformation vicar.

Dominating the chancel of the church are a series of large monuments to members of the Digby family dating from the 16th and 17th centuries. This family came to prominence by backing the winning side in the Wars of the Roses. Henry VII, the first Tudor monarch, granted Simon Digby possession of the lordship of Coleshill in 1495 after the de Montfort family, who had previously held the lordship, rebelled against the king. The family later relocated to Sherborne Castle in Dorset and changed their name to Wingfield Digby, but their connection with the church has been maintained for over 500 years with the head of the family still the official patron of the church.

The Digby family monuments form a very fine and artistically important ensemble. They also give visitors a wonderful sense of the evolution of fashions in both dress and architectural style from the beginning to the end of the Tudor period. Recent work carried out by Cliveden Conservation has revealed many previously hidden details of the monuments including extensive patches of original paint and some evidence of past gilding.

Like most old churches, St Peter and St Paul has seen its ups and downs. In the early 1700s the building had become nearly derelict and in urgent need of repair, as evidenced in a surviving memorandum on the work of “beautifying the church which had been long neglected, and so was squalid and ruinous.” There was a great renewal of investment in the 19th century, much of it paid for by the Wingfield Digby family. Some of the well-intentioned ‘improvements’ made during a major renovation programme in 1859-60 would not be approved by conservation experts today. However, these did lead to the uncovering of the font’s carvings, and it is also the Victorians we must thank for many of the church’s newer treasures, including its fine set of stained-glass windows and spectacular brass lectern, as well as for some lovely carved woodwork and other decorative features to be found in the church.

The work of caring for and adapting the church building for modern usage never ceases. In the 1980s an upper room was created in the tower, which now provides a wonderful vantage point for viewing the church. More recently, in 2018-20, new works have seen the creation of proper kitchen and toilet facilities, improvements to heating and the creation of more flexible spaces for a mixture of community uses. Throughout all these changes great effort has been placed on preserving and better understanding the most important heritage features of this precious, ancient building.