Church_of_St_Peter,_Wickham_Bishops

St Peter's Church, Wickham Bishops

St Peter's Church, Wickham Bishops

Church in Essex, Essex

St Peter's Church is a redundant church in the village of Wickham Bishops, Essex, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building,[1] and is cared for by the Friends of Friendless Churches.[2]

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History

The church originated in the 11th century.[1] In the Domesday Book of 1086, the manor of Wickham Bishops was recorded as belonging to the Bishops of London and it has been suggested that the church was built as a private chapel for the bishops. The church was restored in about 1850, but a new church dedicated to St Bartholomew was then built on a different site. The font, holy water stoup and parish chest were moved to the new church. St Peter's continued to be a chapel of ease to the new church but it became derelict and was threatened with demolition. In 1970 it became redundant.[2] The church was taken into the care of the charity the Friends of Friendless Churches in 1975. The charity holds a 999-year lease with effect from 1 January 1975.[3] Some restoration work has been carried out since then, but this has been disturbed by vandalism.[2]

Since 1994 the church has been used as a studio by the stained glass artist Benjamin Finn. The windows of the church have been reglazed with oak tracery designed by Julian Limentani.[4] The church now contains a new altar which was sculpted by Rory Young, and a statue of Saint Peter by Nicholas Hague. The original font has been returned from the new church. Benjamin Finn has been commissioned to create a new east window, to be financed by a grant from the Cottam Will Trust. In 2007 areas of 13th-century geometrical patterns were discovered on the walls; conservation work has been carried out in these.[5]

Architecture

St Peter's is constructed in a mixture of flint rubble, puddingstone, septaria, Roman tile, and brick. It has red tiled roofs. The plan of the church consists of a nave, a chancel, and a gabled south porch. At the west end is a belfry with weatherboarding.[1]

References

  1. [1]
    Historic England, "Church of St Peter, Wickham Bishops (1111019)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 21 September 2011
  2. [2]
    Wickham Bishops Old St Peter, Friends of Friendless Churches, archived from the original on 1 July 2011, retrieved 16 July 2010
  3. [3]
    Churches and chapels owned by the Friends of Friendless Churches: Details for Visitors, London: Friends of Friendless Churches, June 2010
  4. [4]
    Ben Finn's Stained Glass Workshop, Friends of Friendless Churches, retrieved 16 July 2010
  5. [5]
    Saunders, Matthew (2010), Saving Churches, London: Frances Lincoln, pp. 109–112, ISBN 978-0-7112-3154-2
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