It is believed, based upon the writing of Matthew Paris, to have been founded in AD 948 by Abbot Ulsinus of St Albans. There is some uncertainty about the dates other details in the writings of Paris, but there is little doubt that the church, together with St Stephen's and St Michael's churches, was built at about that time to receive pilgrims and to prepare them for their visit to the shrine of St Alban within St Albans Abbey. The three churches, all of which still exist as active places of Christian worship, stand on the three main roads into St Albans.
Architecture
The original Anglo-Saxon structure would have been made of wood but nothing now remains of this. No records exist of St Peter's for nearly 200 years after its foundation. During the 13th century the church assumed the form which it retained until the early 19th century - a cruciform building with a central tower. Thomas Baskerfield's drawings of 1787 give an impression of what the church was like in its essentials for many centuries.
The nave arcades and the greater part of the aisle walls were rebuilt in the 15th century but the 13th century west and south doorways were preserved. In 1756 the tower arches were removed and loftier ones inserted, as it appears that the floor of the original belfry was so low as to obstruct the perspective view of the church, but these alterations weakened the whole structure and 30 years later the tower became dangerous. In 1785, after a protracted wrangle between the rector and members of the vestry, who were not prepared to embark on what they considered extravagant repairs, the tower was underpinned with timber. However, in 1799 the tower had become so dangerous that it was taken down to the level of the crossing arches and finally in 1801 the belfry floor fell in. The new tower, which was erected in brick, was essentially as is seen today in size and shape. At the same time the transepts were demolished and the chancel shortened almost out of existence.
In 1893, after he had completed his restoration of the Cathedral and Abbey Church, Lord Grimthorpe[1] took it upon himself to restore St Peter's at his own expense. Reportedly only an hour-and-a-half's examination of the church enabled him to decide "what is necessary and desirable to do in the way of restoring it to a safe and creditable condition as far as the modern alterations leave it possible".[citation needed] He lengthened the chancel and the nave by one bay each. He also widened the church by demolishing the north wall of the nave and building a new north wall outside the line of the old one. The west end is similar in design to that of the north transept in the abbey with a rose window flanked by turrets. Lord Grimthorpe also raised the roof with a steeper pitch and evidence of the previous flatter pitched nave roof can be seen on the western face of the chancel arch. The angel corbels which held the beams of that roof have been left in their original position.
Present
Each Sunday there is a traditional 8am service, a 10am Communion Service and a 6.30pm Evensong sung by a robed choir.[2] The three-manual organ, by Mander Organs, was installed in 2005–6.
In the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders, Ricky and Bianca's second wedding was filmed inside and outside the church.
Anne Hollinghurst served as St Peter's vicar (the first woman to so serve) from 2010 to 2015 when she became one of the first women to be a Church of England bishop, after being appointed the Bishop of Aston in the Diocese of Birmingham.[3]
The current vicar is Rev Canon Mark Dearnley, and Rev Liz Guest is Associate Priest with special responsibility for children and families.[4]
St Albans Cathedral, officially the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban but often referred to locally as "the Abbey", is a Church of England cathedral in St Albans, England. Much of its architecture dates from Norman times. It ceased to be an abbey following its dissolution in the 16th century and became a cathedral in 1877. Although legally a cathedral church, it differs in certain particulars from most other cathedrals in England, being also used as a parish church, of which the dean is rector with the same powers, responsibilities and duties as that of any other parish. At 85 metres long, it has the longest nave of any cathedral in England.
Bristol Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is the Church of England cathedral in the city of Bristol, England. Founded in 1140 and consecrated in 1148, it was originally St Augustine's Abbey but after the Dissolution of the Monasteries it became in 1542 the seat of the newly created Bishop of Bristol and the cathedral of the new Diocese of Bristol. It is a Grade I listed building.
Edmund Beckett, 1st Baron Grimthorpe, KC, known previously as Sir Edmund Beckett, 5th Baronet and Edmund Beckett Denison, was a "lawyer, mechanician and controversialist" as well as a noted horologist and architect.
Mainz Cathedral or St. Martin's Cathedral is located near the historical center and pedestrianized market square of the city of Mainz, Germany. This 1000-year-old Roman Catholic cathedral is the site of the episcopal see of the Bishop of Mainz.
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St Edmundsbury Cathedral is the cathedral for the Church of England's Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. It is the seat of the Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich and is in Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. Originating in the 11th century, it was rebuilt in the 12th and 16th centuries as a parish church and became a cathedral in 1914; it has been considerably enlarged in recent decades.
St Stephen's Church is a Church of England parish church in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. It is located to the south of the town centre, at the top of St Stephen's Hill. It is a Grade II* listed building.
St Michael's Church is a Church of England parish church in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. Much of the building is late 10th or early 11th century, making it the most significant surviving Anglo-Saxon building in the county. It is located near the centre of the site of Roman Verulamium to the west of the modern city.
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St Andrew's Church is an Anglican church in Leyland, Lancashire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the Diocese of Blackburn and the archdeaconry of Blackburn. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.
Colan Church also known as St Colan Church is a 13th-century church in Colan, mid-Cornwall, UK. Dedicated to St Colanus, it became a Grade I listed building in 1967. The vicars of St Columb Minor have served the church since the middle of the 20th century.
St Nicholas' Church is a Grade I listed parish church in the village of Berden, Essex, England.
The Church of St Nicholas in Norton in Hertfordshire is the parish church for what was originally the village of Norton but which today has become a suburb of Letchworth Garden City. The present building dates from about 1109 to 1119, with additions in the 15th century including the tower. Before the Reformation it was a stopping point on the pilgrim route to the Abbey of St Albans and the shrine there.
Anne Elizabeth Hollinghurst is a Church of England bishop and former youth worker. Since September 2015, she has been the Bishop of Aston, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Birmingham. From 2010 to 2015, she was Vicar of St Peter's Church, St Albans.
St Mary the Virgin is the Church of England parish church for East Barnet within the Diocese of St Albans. It is located on Church Hill.
Holy Trinity Church is the parish church for the village of Weston in Hertfordshire. The church building stands to the south-east of the village on high ground, and is built of flint and coursed ironstone rubble. It was Grade I listed in 1968. In the churchyard is the supposed grave of the giant Jack o'Legs.
The Church of Saint Mary the Virgin is the Church of England parish church of Bampton, West Oxfordshire. It is in the Archdeaconry of Dorchester in the Diocese of Oxford.
The Church of St Vincent in Newnham in Hertfordshire is a 12th-century Anglican parish church and a Grade II* listed building, having gained that status in 1968. The church is named for Saint Vincent and is under the Diocese of St Albans; it is noted for the Newnham Murals which were uncovered in 1963.
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