St Peter's Church, Nottingham facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Church of St Peter with St James |
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St Peter's Church Nottingham
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| 52°57′8″N 1°8′55″W / 52.95222°N 1.14861°W | |
| Location | Nottingham |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Churchmanship | Broad church |
| Website | nottinghamchurches.org |
| History | |
| Dedication | St Peter |
| Architecture | |
| Heritage designation | Grade I listed |
| Specifications | |
| Capacity | 350 |
| Height | 150 feet (46 m) |
| Administration | |
| Parish | All Saints, St Mary and St Peter |
| Deanery | Nottingham South |
| Archdeaconry | Nottingham |
| Diocese | Southwell and Nottingham |
| Province | Province of York |
St Peter's Church, officially called The Church of St Peter with St James, is an old and important Anglican church in the city centre of Nottingham, England. It is part of a group of churches in Nottingham that includes All Saints' and St Mary's.
This church building is very special because of its history and beautiful design. It has a "Grade I listed" status, which means the government sees it as a building of outstanding architectural or historic importance.
Contents
A Look Back in Time: St Peter's History
St Peter's is one of the three oldest churches in Nottingham, built a very long time ago in the Middle Ages. The other two are St Mary's and St Nicholas.
In 1933, St Peter's joined with another church called St. James' Church, Standard Hill. St James's Church was built in 1807 but was later taken down. Because of this joining, St Peter's official name became "St Peter with St James." Some of the memorials from St James's Church are now kept safe inside St Peter's.
The church building shows signs of being built and changed many times since about 1180. The very first church on this spot, built around 1100, was destroyed by a fire.
Music at St Peter's
St Peter's Church is a lively place for music! It has a special organ, a choir, and even hosts concerts on Saturday mornings. The person in charge of the music and organ since 2007 is Peter Siepmann.
The Church Choir
The choir at St Peter's has a long and proud history. It was made strong by people like Vincent Trivett and Kendrick Partington, who were organists for many years.
The choir sings during church services every Sunday. They also perform in concerts often. The choir travels to sing in other churches and cathedrals across the UK and even in other countries. Their first trip was to Lichfield Cathedral in 1969. In 2008, the choir had the special chance to sing for several days at Westminster Abbey.
Concerts for Everyone
St Peter's hosts regular "coffee break" concerts on Saturday mornings. These concerts started in 1988 and are a nice way for people to enjoy music. The church also sometimes holds bigger, more formal concerts in the evenings.
The Church Organ
The first organ in St Peter's after a period called the Commonwealth of England was put in place in 1812. Over the years, this organ was made bigger and fixed many times by different builders. In 1952, parts of an organ from another church, St Columba, Mansfield Road, were added to St Peter's organ.
A brand new organ was installed in 2010. This new organ uses some old and new pipes, but it also uses digital sounds for most of its notes. It is located in the North-East part of the church and still uses a beautiful old case from the 1700s. This organ was designed to be great for concerts and to help the church's choir and the people singing during services.
The Church Clock
The church has had a clock for a very long time! In 1552, records show there was a clock in the church's tower, probably since the 1400s. The earliest church records from 1577 mention paying someone to look after the clock.
In 1723–24, records show that the church paid the sexton (a church worker) to ring a bell at 4 o'clock in the morning.
In 1846, a new church clock was being considered. On October 15, 1846, a man helping to take down the old clock face had an accident when it fell, pulling him with it. Luckily, he was not seriously hurt.
The new clock was installed in 1847. It was made by Reuben Bosworth and cost £125. At the time, it was the biggest clock in Nottingham! It had a pendulum that was 10 feet 4 inches (about 3.15 meters) long and a weight of 60 pounds (about 27 kg). It was an "eight-day clock," meaning it only needed to be wound once a week. It had four clock faces, each 7 feet (about 2.1 meters) wide. The clock was tested for several weeks before its hands were connected on April 7, 1847. On Christmas Eve in 1852, a strong storm broke one of the clock's minute hands.
In 1872, new cast iron clock faces, also 7 feet wide, were given to the church by Henry Smith. They cost £66.
Another new clock was put in by G. & F. Cope in 1881. This clock had special features for accuracy. The hourly chime was made by a hammer hitting the hour bell. This clock was later replaced in 1965 by an electrically powered clock from Smiths of Derby.
See also
- Grade I listed buildings in Nottinghamshire
- Listed buildings in Nottingham (Bridge ward)
