Peakirk, St Pega’s

The Church

The Grade 1 listed church bears the unique dedication to St Pega, who gave her name to Peakirk [‘Pega’s church’]. Documentary sources tell us that she was of noble birth, the sister of Guthlac, who was the hermit of Crowland, and that she founded her own cell nearby. Like her brother, Pega was a miracle worker, restoring the sight of a blind man with salt and holy water that Guthlac had blessed. She reputedly died on a pilgrimage to Rome in 719.

The present church was built around 1014, but was remodelled by the Normans, when the elaborate Romanesque doorway was inserted in the south wall. The doorway was re-sited when the Early English south aisle was added in the 13^th century. The chancel was reconstructed in the 15^th century, and has an impressive east window. The stained glass was installed by C E Kempe & Co Ltd in 1915. Two of its lights portray St Pega standing shoulder-to-shoulder with The Virgin Mary.

During the fourteenth century, the church interior was covered with bright murals. They were limewashed over during the Reformation on the orders of Edward VI (1547-53), who outlawed religious imagery. In the 1950s, they were revealed by Edward Clive Rouse, who coated them with wax as a preservative.

A larger-than-life St Christopher stands opposite the south door, flanked by faint images of the painting’s sponsor and a mermaid. The saint is surrounded by scenes from Christ’s Passion. Above the north, or Devil’s, door is a rare depiction of the morality tale, A Warning to Gossips. It shows two whispering women in wimples, encouraged by a demon. On the north wall there is also a representation of the Quick and the Dead. Here, three richly attired kings of various ages encounter three skeletons, who inform them, ‘As you are, so were we; as we are, so shall ye be’.

Unfortunately, Rouse’s preservation methods caused these important paintings to deteriorate and they are in urgent need of conservation.