St Peter's Church, Dorchester facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Peter's Church
St Peter's Church
Religion
Affiliation	Church of England
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Active
Location
Location	Dorchester, Dorset, England
Architecture
Architectural type	Church

St Peter's Church is an old and important church located in Dorchester, Dorset, England. It belongs to the Church of England. Most of the church was built in the 1400s, which is over 600 years ago! Over time, parts of the church have been changed and added. Since 1950, it has been a "Grade I listed building." This means it's a very special historical building that needs to be protected.

A Look at St Peter's History

St Peter's Church is built from two types of stone: Portland and Ham stone. These are cut stones, called ashlar. The roofs are made of slate, tile, and lead.

The oldest part of the church is a doorway on the south side. This doorway was built in the 1100s. It shows that there was an even older church, from the Norman period, on this same spot.

Most of the church you see today was built around 1420. This includes the tall tower on the west side, the main area called the nave, and the side sections known as the north and south aisles. It also includes the chancel, which is the area around the altar, and the south porch, which is an entrance area. Two chapels, one to the north and one to the south, were added later in the same century.

Changes Over Time

The church has been updated many times. A big restoration happened between 1855 and 1856. During this time, the eastern end of the church was rebuilt. A new room, called the north vestry, was also added.

The gallery, which was a raised seating area at the west end, was taken down. The organ, which makes music, was moved to the north aisle. The old wooden benches, called pews, were replaced with new open seats. The reading pews, where people would sit to read, were changed into a reading desk and a lectern, which is a stand for books.

The person in charge of this work was John Hicks, an architect from Dorchester. A famous writer named Thomas Hardy was one of his students. The builder was John Wellspring. The work started in August 1855, and the church reopened for services on July 10, 1856. While the church was closed, services were held in Dorchester's town hall.

The church had more updates in the 1900s, including in 1905, 1934, and from 1961 to 1965. The chancel area was also refurnished between 1894 and 1897.

Interesting Features Inside

Inside the church, you can find some very old and special items:

• In the south chapel, there are two statues from the 1300s. They show knights lying down.
• In the chancel, there is a tomb chest from the 1300s.
• In the north chapel, there is a large stone coffin, called a sarcophagus, from the early 1600s. It belongs to Sir John and Lady Williams.
• In the north aisle, there is a monument from the late 1600s with a statue of Denzil Holles.
• The reredos, which is a decorated screen behind the altar in the chancel, was made by Charles Ponting between 1894 and 1897.

The Gordon Memorial Plaque

For a long time, from 1774 until 2023, St Peter's Church had a special plaque. This plaque was a memorial for a man named John Gordon. He was a plantation owner in the 1700s. Plantations were large farms where enslaved people were forced to work. John Gordon was involved in stopping a rebellion of enslaved people in Jamaica called Tacky's War.

Over time, people started to criticize the words on the plaque. They felt the wording was not right, especially when talking about the rebellion. In 2020, the church's local council, called the Parochial Church Council, decided to remove the plaque.

The plaque was taken down on May 19, 2023. It was then loaned to the Dorset Museum so people can still see it and learn about its history. The church plans to put up a new plaque in the future. This new plaque will not mention the rebellion.