St Peter and St Paul's Church, Wisbech

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Church of St Peter and St Paul
Sv. Petro baznycia Visbicas (Wisbech).JPG
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Church of St Peter and St Paul
Location in Cambridgeshire
52°39′50″N0°09′43″E / 52.6640°N 0.1619°E / 52.6640; 0.1619
Location Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
CountryEngland
Denomination Anglican
Churchmanship Anglo-Catholic
Website www.stpeterschurch-wisbech.org.uk
History
Status Parish church
Founded1187
Dedication Saint Peter, Saint Paul
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Heritage designationGrade I
Specifications
Bells10
Administration
Province Canterbury
Diocese Ely
Archdeaconry Huntingdon and Wisbech
Deanery Wisbech-Lynn-Marshland
Parish Wisbech
Clergy
Priest(s) Fr. Paul John Francis West
Honorary priest(s) Fr. David Addington

The Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul or St Peter's Church is an Anglican church in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, England. It is an active parish church in the Diocese of Ely. The church was founded in the 12th century. [1]

Contents

On 17 July 1951 the church became the first Grade I listed building in Wisbech. [2]

Description

In his Collins Pocket Guide to English Parish Churches, Sir John Betjeman described St Peter and St Paul's church as "a typical town church with four-aisled nave, rather dark and dusty". Features of interest include the free-standing bell tower, a wall monument by Joseph Nollekens, and the reredos of 1885 which was designed by William Bassett-Smith and executed by Salviati. [3]

The interior is the work of many periods of building; the Norman nave is to the north of a second nave and each have both aisles and chancels. The Norman chancel was demolished and replaced by a larger one which is Decorated in style and has a fine east window. [4]

The Perpendicular tower was built detached from the rest of the church due to the instability of the soil here; so a collapse of the tower would not be disastrous for the rest of the church. An earlier tower of which the base remains had fallen onto the nave of an earlier church building. The tower is much more ornate in its higher stages and many of its patrons are commemorated in stone carvings. It is surmounted by a modern flèche.

The tower contains a peal of ten bells. An existing peal of eight bells in the key of F were recast by William Dobson of Downham Market in 1823, when the incumbent the Rev. Abraham Jobson gave two additional bells at his expense. The old bells had borne dates of 1566, 1608 and another 1640. [5] The new bells, in the key of E flat, are claimed to be the fourth oldest 'peal of ten bells'. A 'Workmens' bell was rung at 5:45 am and a Curfew bell at 8:45 pm until well into the 20th century. [6] The bells were restored and rehung in 1994. [7]

When the church graveyard was full, Tillery Field was purchased in 1828 for use as a cemetery. Many of the victims of the 1832 cholera epidemic are buried here. [8] It is now Tillery Park owned by the C of E and maintained by Fenland District Council.

Vicars

The royal arms St Peter and St Paul's church Wisbech Cambridgeshire (3978881090).jpg
The royal arms

Pre-Reformation Roman Catholic

Post-Reformation Anglican

On Fardell's decease in March 1854, the Living of Wisbech St Peter, which exceeded £2,000 in value at that time, was divided by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners into two parts, viz., Wisbech St Mary, made into a separate parish of the value of £900, to which the Rev. Henry Jackson, M.A. (at that time Curate of Leverington) was presented, and Wisbech St Peter, then valued at £1,200, but now considerably diminished given to the Rev. William Bonner Hopkins, B.D.

Rose Fair

The Rose Fair began in 1963 when local rose growers sold rose buds in the Parish Church in aid of its restoration fund. The church still uses this occasion to raise funds for the upkeep of its ancient building, but over the years, the Rose Fair has grown into a town festival. The gardens outside the church are transformed into a market place where other local churches and organisations provide stalls and activities to raise funds for their causes. On the Saturday the Wisbech Round Table organise a parade of floats through the town in the morning and afternoon. [26]

Further reading

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References

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  2. Historic England. "PARISH CHURCH OF ST PETER AND PAUL (1229992)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  3. Betjeman, J., ed. (1968) Collins Pocket Guide to English Parish Churches; the South. London: Collins; p. 142
  4. Simon Jenkins (1999) England's Thousand Best Churches. Allen Lane, ISBN   0-7139-9281-6; pp. 53-54
  5. William Watson (1827). An historic account of the ancient town and port of Wisbech, in the isle. H. And J.Leach.
  6. "A Veteran Bell Ringer". Yorkshire Evening Post. 5 September 1910. p. 4.
  7. Wim Zwalf (1997). The Parish Church of St Peter & St Paul, Wisbech. Wisbech Society & Preservation Trust. ISBN   0-9519220-4-1.
  8. "Cholera". Cambridge Chronicle and Journal. 13 July 1832. p. 3.
  9. George Anisss (1977). A History of Wisbech Castle. EARO.
  10. Wright APM. The Victoria History of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely. Vol. VIII. OUP. p. 79.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "Wisbech St Peter". www.theclergydatabase.org.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  12. 1 2 3 4 F. J. Gardiner (1898). History of Wisbech and Neighbourhood 1848-1898. Gardiner & Co.
  13. "Council Chamber" (PDF). Wisbech Town Council. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  14. William Watts (1834). The History of Wisbech.
  15. Norwich Mercury. 14 March 1866. p. 2.{{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. "Died". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. 19 June 1886.
  17. "Wisbech". Stamford Mercury. 17 January 1908. p. 6.
  18. "Induction". Cambridge Independent Press. 14 July 1905. p. 7.
  19. "Wisbech". Lynn Advertiser. 9 July 1915. p. 5.
  20. "Tragedy of panel doctor's death". Reynolds's Newspaper. 2 November 1913. p. 3.
  21. "Canon Crookham". Boston Guardian. 9 July 1932. p. 4.
  22. "Vicar of Wisbech injured". Lynn Advertiser. 10 November 1939. p. 6.
  23. "Vicar of Wisbech". Peterborough Standard. 3 May 1946. p. 4.
  24. "New Vicar". Peterborough Standard. 12 July 194. p. 5.
  25. Wim Zwalf (1997). The Parish Church of St Peter & St Paul, Wisbech. Wisbech Society & Preservation Trust. ISBN   0-9519220-4-1.
  26. "Rose Fair" . Retrieved 5 January 2019.