St Peter's Church, Streatham facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Peter's Church, Streatham
51°25′55″N 0°06′53″W / 51.4319°N 0.1148°W / 51.4319; -0.1148
Denomination	Church of England
Churchmanship	Anglo-Catholic
Website	https://stpeters-streatham.org/
Architecture
Architect(s)	Richard Drew & George Fellowes Prynne
Administration
Deanery	Lambeth South Deanery
Archdeaconry	Lambeth
Diocese	Diocese of Southwark
Province	Canterbury

St Peter's Church is a special Anglican church located in Streatham, a part of London. It is a very important building, recognized as a Grade II* listed building. This means it has great historical and architectural value. You can find it in a noticeable spot on Leigham Court Road.

The Church's History and Community

How the Parish Started

Before 1856, the area around St Peter's Church was mostly countryside. There were some large houses along Leigham Court Road. But when the Streatham Hill and West Norwood train stations opened in 1856, things changed. These stations connected the area to Victoria Station in central London. This led to many new homes being built, from big houses to smaller semi-detached and terraced ones.

The area became busier, so a new church community, called a parish, was needed. The parish of St Peter, Streatham, was created from parts of two other parishes: St Leonard's, Streatham, and St Luke's, West Norwood.

Building the Church

Around 1866, a temporary church made of iron, sometimes called a tin tabernacle, was put up. It was named St Peter and St Paul. This temporary church was on the west side of Leigham Court Road.

The parish of St Peter was officially formed in 1870. In the same year, the first part of the current church building was finished. It was designed by an architect named Richard Drew. Samuel Wilberforce, who was the Bishop of Winchester, officially opened it. Later, in 1886–87, the church was made bigger. This was possible because more money became available. The new plans for the expansion were made by George Fellowes Prynne.

Community Growth Over Time

In 1886, about 2,889 people lived in St Peter's parish. Three clergy members served the community. About 39.9% of the people attended church services. By 1901, the population of the parish had grown to 4,780. The number of clergy stayed at three. At that time, about 19.5% of the people attended services.

More recently, based on information from the UK census, the Diocese of Southwark estimates that the population of St Peter's parish was around 12,400 people in 2001. By 2011, it had grown to about 14,300 people.

The Church Building's Design

St Peter's Church is a Grade II* listed building. It stands out on the east side of Leigham Court Road, just south of Glennie Road. The building uses its location on a hill to its advantage, facing a curve in the road.

Outside the Church

The church uses a lot of different colored bricks, which is called polychrome brickwork. It also has clay tile roofs, small towers (turrets), and various window shapes. There is a stair-turret and a large round window, called a wheel-window, at the front. These features give the west side of the church a unique and interesting look, even though it's not perfectly balanced.

Because of the sloping ground, the lower part of the west end of the building has several rooms for the church community. The main worship area is on the upper floor. You can reach it by climbing steps or using a ramp that leads to an entrance on the higher ground towards the east side of the church.

Inside the Church

During wartime, the church was damaged. Some of its beautiful stained glass windows were broken. Also, an outside round turret was destroyed by a flying bomb.

In the late 1980s, the inside of the church was changed. The altar, which is a special table used for services, was moved to the west end of the building. This area was originally used for baptisms. The east end of the church is now used as a smaller chapel for daily services and has choir stalls.

Stained Glass Windows

Many of the original stained glass windows were lost because of the wartime bomb damage.

• On the north wall, only small pieces of stained glass remain at the very top of the window frames. One of these pieces is dedicated to Georgina Tarbutt, who was the wife of the first Vicar. These fragments were made by a company called Ward and Hughes.
• The window above St Paul's altar and the moved font also only has a small section of glass left at the top. This window might have been made by Clayton and Bell. It shows four angels holding ribbons with a verse from the Bible.
• The large round window in the west wall is above the new location of the altar. It shows the 12 disciples of Jesus (with Mathias instead of Judas). This window was put back together by Lawrence Lee after the war. It was fixed again in 1994.
• The area that used to be for baptisms is now the sanctuary for the moved altar. It has nine windows designed by Lawrence Lee. Three of these windows represent baptism, and the other six represent other traditional sacraments.
• On the south wall, one of the few remaining windows has pieces of the Queen Victoria memorial window. This window is special because it was put up very early, in March 1901, soon after Queen Victoria passed away. It was made by Chater & Son, based on a design by G V Ostrehan.
• In the Lady Chapel, one of the two windows survived the bombing, but we don't know who designed it. There are also eight more windows dedicated to the Virgin Mary above the altar.
• The east window, which is above where the main altar used to be, was put in place in 1955. It was also designed by Lawrence Lee.

The Organ and Music

The church has a large organ with four keyboards, made by William Hill & Sons. Even though the windows were damaged, the organ was not harmed during the war.

St Peter's Church has both a main choir and a youth choir. The church also offers a special scholarship each year for young people who want to sing in the choir.

War Memorial

The war memorial at St Peter's Church was officially revealed in 1922. It is also a separately listed building, recognized as Grade II. In 2018, it was restored and rededicated by Christopher Chessun, who is the Anglican Bishop of Southwark.

Church Leaders

The church has had many Vicars (the main priests) and Directors of Music over the years.

• The first Vicar was Arthur Charles Tarbutt, who served from 1870 to 1890.
• More recently, Dr John Hall was Vicar from 1984 to 1992. He later became the Dean of Westminster, a very important role, from 2006 to 2019.
• The current Vicar, Steffan Mathias, has been serving since 2020.

• The first Director of Music was Dr Benjamin Agutter, from 1866 to 1905.
• The current Director of Music is James Furniss-Roe, who started in 2021.