St Peter & St Paul, Olney
St Peter and St Paul, Olney
St Peter and St Paul is the Grade I parish church of Olney, standing on Church Street beside the River Great Ouse in the Diocese of Oxford. Its late fourteenth-century broach spire dominates the southern approach to the town.
- Location
- Olney, Buckinghamshire
- Country
- England
- County
- Buckinghamshire
- City / town
- Olney
- Address
- Church Street, Olney, Buckinghamshire, MK46 4AD
- Postcode
- MK46 4AD
- Built
- Early C14; south aisle rebuilt 1831; restored by Sir Gilbert Scott c.1874-76
- Architect
- Sir Gilbert Scott (restoration c.1874-76)
- Denomination
- Church of England
- Dedication
- Peter and Paul
- Diocese
- Oxford
- Parish
- Olney
- Grade
- I
- Style
- Decorated Gothic; Northamptonshire broach spire
- Materials
- Ashlar with tiled roofs
- Grid reference
- SP 889 509
- Opening hours
- Sorry, there are no regular opening times for this church.
- Access
- Accessible toilets nearby. Level access to the main areas
- Website
- https://olneyparish.org/
Overview
Historic England describes an early fourteenth-century church with later additions, in ashlar with tiled roofs: nave with two aisles, chancel, and a tall three-stage west tower surmounted by a Northamptonshire-style broach spire with lucarnes. In 1807 the clerestory was removed, part of the north aisle rebuilt and the north porch added; the south aisle was rebuilt in 1831. Sir Gilbert Scott carried out an extensive restoration about 1874-76. The interior retains fine fourteenth-century five-bay arcades on quatrefoil columns. The chancel has a wide Easter Sepulchre, triple sedilia and a five-light east window restored by Scott.
From 1764 to 1780 John Newton, former slave-ship captain and author of Amazing Grace, was curate-in-charge. He collaborated here with the poet William Cowper on the Olney Hymns (1779). Newton's remains and those of his wife Mary were re-interred in the south-east churchyard in 1893 from St Mary Woolnoth. The parish records a spire of 185 feet and notes the annual Shrove Tuesday pancake race, which finishes at the church.