Standing in St. Peter’s Street on the corner of St. Peter’s Lane, there’s no prize for guessing the name of this church.
As I was rushing I noticed St. Peter’s Church by chance, set back from the main walkway I was short of time as is often the case. The access to the churchyards (there are two rear areas containing gravestones) were padlocked so I stood on the pathway making a mental note to revisit. As I stood there, Rachel the churchwarden came out of the church and kindly offered me access. It was a bit of a rush (my fault not hers) but I’m grateful to her for disrupting her plans to close up.
St. Peter’s comes under the St. Dunstan, St. Peter and St. Mildred Benefice which was created in 2017. The site is thought to have been used for worship since Roman times and was rebuilt by St. Augustine and his monks. The tower has early Roman tiles and Anglo-Saxon cornerstones. The tower dates from 1100 and has four ancient bells cast between 1325 & 1599. Parish registers date back to September 1590 and by the middle of the 1600s St. Peter’s was home to Huguenot and Walloon refugees who were fleeing religious persecution. In 1926 the church started to lose many of its furnishings and organ after services were suspended. Sunday services returned in 1953 leading to it being restored fully six years later.
Some records show that the church was used by French refugees in the early 1900s. Unfortunately this church is known to have very little historical documentation prior to 1590. In the late 1800s and early 1900s it was used by the students and staff of St. Augustine’s Missionary College.
The original organ was removed in 1946 and given to Holy Cross Church.
Below is the rest for the Mayoral Mace and sword which has been here since 1660.
Beyond the wall we can see The Marlowe Theatre.
The church is made of flint and had some tombs and tombstones removed in 1905 to allow for a memorial window to be built.
Official website link.
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