Church of St Peter-le-Bailey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Peter-le-Bailey
Church of St Peter-le-Bailey
St Peter-le-Bailey, now St Peter's College chapel
Location	New Inn Hall, Oxford
Country	United Kingdom
Denomination	Church of England
Website	St Peter's College: chapel
Architecture
Style	Victorian Gothic Revival
Years built	1874
Administration
Parish	St Ebbe with Holy Trinity and St Peter-le-Bailey
Diocese	Oxford

The Church of St Peter-le-Bailey is a church in central Oxford, England. You can find it on New Inn Hall Street. It used to be right next to Bonn Square, which was once its churchyard. Now, the church is located a bit further north on New Inn Hall Street.

Many churches have stood on or near this spot over hundreds of years. Today, the building serves as the chapel for St Peter's College, Oxford, a part of the famous University of Oxford.

History of the Church

The First Church (1100s)

The very first church here was known as "St Peter at the Castle." It was later called "St Peter-in-the-West" or "St Peter-le-Bailey." In 1122, this church was given to St Frideswide's Priory. The name "le-Bailey" was added because it was close to Oxford Castle. This also helped people tell it apart from another church, St Peter-in-the-East, which was near the city's old east gate.

This first church was built in the 12th century. It had a simple main room with a pointed roof. There was also a small tower at its southwest corner.

The Second Church (1740)

A second church was built on the same spot, opening in 1740. This building was rectangular with a flat roof. It had a tower at its northwest corner. The churchyard stayed in its original place because there wasn't room to make it bigger.

This church was used until the mid-1800s. In 1855, new burials were stopped at all city churches. This was because new cemeteries like Holywell Cemetery had opened. The second church building was taken down in 1873 to make way for wider roads.

The Third Church (1874)

The third and current church was built north of the old one. It stands about halfway along New Inn Hall Street. The famous architect Basil Champneys designed it. This new church opened in 1874. The photographer Henry Taunt even took pictures of it.

When St Peter's Hall (which later became St Peter's College) was started in 1928, this church became both the local parish church and the college chapel. In 1961, St Peter's Hall became a full college of Oxford University. At the same time, fewer people lived in the church's local area. So, its parish joined with St Ebbe's. From then on, the building was used only as the college chapel.

The original churchyard was kept as a special memorial garden when the church moved in 1874. Many of the old gravestones were moved at that time.

Discoveries at Bonn Square

In 2008, Bonn Square was redeveloped. This project allowed experts to look at and record many gravestones. These stones had been buried since the old church on the site was taken down in 1873. During the work, a group called Oxford Archaeology carried out special investigations. They did this for the Oxford City Council.

See also

• St Peter-in-the-East at St Edmund Hall, Oxford
• Tirah Memorial, a war memorial built in 1900