Monument record 9052 - Church of St Peter, Saxon Period, Chester

<1> Alldridge N.J, 1981, Aspects of the topography of early medieval Chester, Alldridge N J 1981 /5-31 (Article in Journal). SCH5931.

In 907, when Aethelflaed established the burh and re-built what had then been the Church of St Peter and St Paul, re-dedicating it to St Werburgh and St Oswald, and transferred the old dedication of St Peter to what was then a new church (this monument), situated opposite the junction of the former via praetorian and via principalis. The late Saxon / medieval parish of St Peter covered much walled city. No archaeological investigations nor formal historic fabric survey’s carried out within this building, but it is thought that most of the current, visible structure dates to the fourteenth century and later. The church continues to be the active Anglican parish church of the diocese of Chester.

<2> Mason, D. J. P., 2007, Chester AD 400-1066: From Roman Fortress to English Town (Book). SCH6530.

The church is mentioned in the Domesday book.

<3> English Heritage, 2005, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, 1376247 (Digital Archive). SCH4666.

Grade I Listed, parish church, now church and Christian centre. Said to have been founded by Ethelfleda in 907, the present structure is C14, C15 and C16, altered and restored C17, C18 and C19. Red sandstone; roof not visible. PLAN: approximately square in plan. The north aisle contained beneath floor level the undercroft of a medieval town house, filled and paved over. Embraced west tower, formerly with spire; continuous nave and chancel of 4 aisles with floor at level of Watergate Row. EXTERIOR: south face: flight of 7 stone steps leads to south doors and to Watergate Row. Replaced diagonal-boarded double doors in restored archway; 3 rectangular windows, 1886-9, of 4 lights with 3 Decorated windows above, rebuilt in Perpendicular style 1886-9; stonework of south face partly removed by Thomas Harrison 1803, where the Pentice (Council Chamber) was removed. The tower rises one stage above roof, with clock, bell opening of 2 cusped lights, crenellation, crocketed pinnacles and a pyramid roof of slate in the manner of John Douglas, late C19, with its faces interrupted by a continuous, horizontal louvre; wind vane; there was formerly a spire, removed and rebuilt C16, taken down C17, then rebuilt and finally removed C18. The west end, partly behind the Victoria public house, Nos 2 & 4 Watergate Street and Row (qv), has a plain face to the tower. The north windows of the Perpendicular north aisle have panel tracery. The east end has 2 low-pitched gables, plainly expressed. The 2 central aisles of the nave have traceried windows larger than that of the south aisle, formerly the chapel of St George; the north aisle, now containing the organ, has an inserted rectangular window of 2 lights. INTERIOR: the 3-bay arcades do not match the window bays. The tower piers, rectangular in plan, support a ribbed vault of 8 panels over the baptistry, with a circular bell-hole. The north-east pier has a damaged medieval fresco around a niche which held a Virgin and Child. The 2 southern arcades with through mouldings are Decorated, the northern arcade Perpendicular, dated 1535-38. The outer north aisle has a lean-to roof of low pitch with arch-braced main beams which have carved foliar bosses, and carved spandrels of 3 trusses; the inner north aisle has a restored camber-beam roof; the inner south aisle has shallow king-post trusses; the roof to the outer south aisle is replaced. Galleries were first recorded in 1637, but were altered C18 and C19; they cover the outer north and south aisles and part of the west end. 2 carved corbel stones project from the south wall; a C15 bronze, said to commemorate a lawyer; pews probably mid to late C19; east window glass 1862 and 1963, one to Prince Albert; monument on north wall, c1750, to Henry Bennett; bells by Rudhall of Gloucester, 1709.

<4> Dean Paton, 2019, St. Peter's Church, Chester: Statement of Significance, R4402 (Client Report). SCH8833.

A statement of significance was produced in 2019 for St. Peter's Church, Chester. The report concludes that the Church of St Peter is important on several different fronts. It has high archaeological value as it was constructed on the site of the Roman Praetorium or headquarters building. The exterior was largely re-cased in the late 18th and during the 19th century restorations but some of the stones appear to have been re-used from the Roman building (Richards, 1947). The west face and a number of windows were replaced in the late 1880s. Below the floor of north aisle is the undercroft of a medieval town house which was filled in and paved over in the 16th century.

The church is also of high architectural value, although there have been substantial alterations in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Externally, the church retains a flight of seven stone steps leading to the south doors and to Watergate Row; the height of the entrance is believed to relate to the entrance to the Praetorium. The archway has been restored and three rectangular windows of four lights with three traceried windows above were all rebuilt in 1886-9. The stonework of the south face was partly replaced by Thomas Harrison 1803, where the Pentice (Council Chamber) was removed. The outline of the Pentice is still visible in the stonework.

The tower was re-faced by Harrison in 1811 and John Douglas also added a pyramidal roof of slate in 1886. It also retains traceried bell openings, crenellation and crocketed pinnacles. There was formerly a spire, removed and rebuilt in the 16th century but taken down less than a century later. It was then rebuilt and finally removed permanently in the 1800s.

The west end, partly behind the Victoria Inn, has a plain face to the tower; the windows appear to have been replaced by Douglas and the door has since been moved to the north-west corner. The windows of the Perpendicular north aisle retain sections of panel tracery. The east end has two low-pitched gables, plainly expressed. The two central aisles of the nave retain tracery windows larger than that of the south aisle, formerly the chapel of St George and now the vestry and Prayer Room. The north aisle, now containing the organ, has an inserted rectangular window of two lights.

Internally, the church retains its Medieval Decorated internal structure. In particular, the tower arches have multiple mouldings and support a later ribbed Perpendicular vault of eight panels over the baptistry, with a circular bell-hole. The north-east pier has a damaged medieval fresco around a niche which held a Virgin and Child. Although the fresco has deteriorated, it represents scenes at the birth of Christ including the angel appearing to the shepherds, the adoration of the Magi and the Hill of Calvary. The two moulded southern arcades are Decorated in style while the northern arcade has Tudor four-centred arches. The outer north aisle has a lean-to roof of low pitch with arch-braced main beams which have carved foliar bosses, and carved spandrels of three trusses. The inner north aisle has a restored camber beam roof, the inner south aisle has shallow king-post trusses.

The galleries with moulded timber balustrades are believed to date from the 18th and 19th centuries and cover the outer north and south aisles and part of the west end. The south gallery is recorded in the church register as having been replaced in 18491. The north gallery projects beyond the lines of the columns and is supported on timber brackets, possibly to allow for the insertion of the organ in the 1880s. The gallery fronts are both of the same design and may date from the same period.

Two carved corbel stones project from the south wall with a further corbel on the east wall.

Within the current Prayer Room are a rare 15th century brass, said to commemorate a lawyer, a painted memorial panel dated 1671 and a brass memorial plaque dated 1688. The east window glass is dated 1862 and 1963, one is dedicated to Prince Albert. There are a number of monuments on all the walls, including a further painted panel on the north wall.

The church has a high historical value, with an historical association with the nationally significant architect Thomas Harrison, who re-faced the south side in 1803, after the removal of the Pentice, and the tower in 1811. Harrison travelled to Italy and competed for architectural competitions in Rome in the 1770s. He retuned to England and moved to Chester in 1795, where he designed the Castle complex (1788-1822). He was appointed as County Surveyor in 1815. He also designed the Commercial Newsroom (1807-8), adjacent to St Peter to the north and now occupied by the Skipton Building Society. The church also has a historical association with the Chester architect John Douglas, who carried out restoration work in 1886 and probably replaced the spire with a distinctive pyramidal peak.