St Peter's Church, Leicester

St Peter's Church, Leicester, is a Grade II listed[1] parish church in the Church of England in the Highfields area of Leicester, Leicestershire.[2]

St Peter's Church, Leicester
St Peter's Church, Leicester
52°37′48″N 1°06′59.9″W
LocationLeicester
CountryEngland
DenominationChurch of England
Websitestpetershighfields.co.uk
History
DedicationSt Peter
Consecrated16 April 1874
Architecture
Heritage designationGrade II listed[1]
Architect(s)George Edmund Street
Groundbreaking1872
Completed1879
Specifications
Bells1
Administration
DioceseDiocese of Leicester
ArchdeaconryLeicester
DeaneryCity of Leicester
BeneficeBenefice of St Peter Highfields and St Philip's Leicester
ParishParish of St Peter Highfields, Leicester
Clergy
RectorThe Rev Jonathan Surridge, 2016
Deacon(s)The Rev Caroline Brown, 2021
Laity
Organist(s)Chris Gray

History

The foundation stone was laid on 14 November 1872 by the Bishop of Peterborough. The church was built as a memorial to Richard Curzon-Howe, 1st Earl Howe, and was originally known as the Howe Memorial Church.[3] It was built to the designs of the architect George Edmund Street.

The church was consecrated on 18 April 1874 by the Bishop of Peterborough.[4]

The spire was dismantled in 1968 and the building continued to deteriorate such that by 2014 the tower masonry and roof coverings were in very poor condition, and the building was on the National Buildings at risk register.[5]

Between 2018 and 2021, repairs funded by Heritage Lottery, the Leicester City Council, the Diocese of Leicester and the church's own funds, led to the tower, tower roof, stonework and the main roof being repaired.[6]

Parish status

The church is in a benefice with St Philip's on Evington Road, Leicester.

Organ

The pipe organ was built by Joshua Porritt in 1875. It was extensively modified by Stephen Taylor and Son in 1910. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.[7]

Organists
  • William Henry Wale 1874 - 1882[8]
  • Philip Angrave 1882 - 1891[9]
  • Cardinal Taylor 1891 - 1894 (afterwards organist of St Mary's Church, Humberston)
  • Walter Joseph Bunney FRCO 1905 - 1936 (formerly organist of Holy Trinity Church, Leicester)
  • Harold Barnes 1937 - 1946[10] (afterwards organist of St Mary's Church, Melton Mowbray)

References
  1. Historic England. "Church of St Peter (Grade II) (1361047)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  2. The Buildings of England. Leicestershire and Rutland. Nikolaus Pevsner. Yale University Press. ISBN 0300096186
  3. "Howe Memorial Church". Leicester Chronicle. Leicester. 16 November 1872. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  4. "Consecration of St Peter's Church". Leicester Chronicle. Leicester. 18 April 1874. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  5. "Church of St Peter".
  6. "Church of St Peter".
  7. "NPOR [N04512]". National Pipe Organ Register. British Institute of Organ Studies. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  8. Humphreys, Maggie; Evans, Robert (1 January 1997). Dictionary of Composers for the Church in Great Britain and Ireland. A&C Black. p. 349. ISBN 9780720123302.
  9. "Suicide of a Leicester Organist". Nottingham Evening Post. England. 8 May 1891. Retrieved 1 February 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. "John Lester looks around". Leicester Chronicle. England. 16 November 1946. Retrieved 12 December 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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