History

Welcome to St Peter’s Church building! Whilst a “church” is, first and foremost, a group of people seeking to explore faith and fulfil the Vision they believe God is calling them to pursue, the building in which this happens forms a major part of the story of worship of St Peter’s.

The site has been a place of Christian worship since the 8th century, starting with a small Saxon church, which is thought to have burnt down about 750. The earliest record of the church appears in the Domesday Book (1080 AD), which mentions a chapel belonging to the church of Crondall, a village about 10 miles away. Only the north wall was left, and when the Normans extended the church in about 1100 AD, it was raised and extended to its present length as far as the tower arch. By 1220 AD the east end (which is now the Chapel) was completed, and in the 14th century an aisle was added on the south side. In 1878 a major restoration was carried out when a vestry was added behind the present altar and the arch was built by Sir Arthur Blomfield, a well-known Victorian architect. A choir vestry was added in 1900 and in 1967 a clergy vestry was built on the foundations of an anchorite’s cell, which is now used as a Prayer Cell. The church has steadily evolved from small beginnings to a large scale re-building in Victorian times. There was another substantial re-building in 1979 due to a disastrous fire which destroyed most of the structure.