St Peter's Church, Preston, Lancashire facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Peter's Church, Preston
St Peter's Church, Preston, from the southeast
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Location	St Peter's Square, Preston, Lancashire
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
History
Status	Parish church
Architecture
Functional status	Redundant
Heritage designation	Grade II*
Designated	12 June 1950
Architect(s)	Thomas Rickman and Henry Hutchinson Joseph Mitchell
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic Revival
Groundbreaking	1822
Completed	1852
Closed	1973
Specifications
Materials	Sandstone

St Peter's Church is an old church building in Preston, Lancashire, England. It used to be a church for the local area, but it's not used as a church anymore. It's a very important building, listed as Grade II* on the National Heritage List for England. This means it's a special historic building that needs to be protected. The church was built with help from a group called the Church Building Commission. Later, in 1973, it became part of Preston Polytechnic, which is now the University of Central Lancashire. It's now used as an arts centre.

History of St Peter's Church

St Peter's Church was built between 1822 and 1825. It was designed by two architects, Thomas Rickman and Henry Hutchinson. The Church Building Commission gave a large amount of money, about £6,765, to help build it.

Later, a tall tower with a pointed top, called a steeple, was added to the church. This happened in 1851 and 1852. Joseph Mitchell was the person who designed this part. A man named Thomas German, who was a local leader and mayor, left £1,000 in his will to help pay for the steeple.

In 1973, the church building was taken over by Preston Polytechnic. This school later became the University of Central Lancashire. Since then, the building has been known as St Peter's Arts Centre.

Architecture and Design

St Peter's Church is built from sandstone, which is a type of rock. Its style is called Decorated Gothic, which means it has lots of fancy carvings and detailed windows.

Outside the Church

The church has a main hall called a nave. On each side of the nave are smaller areas called aisles. There's also a special area at the east end called the chancel, where the altar would have been. A room for the organ is on one side, and a vestry (a room for clergy) is on the other.

At the front, on the southeast corner, there's a tall steeple. At the west end of each aisle, there's a tall entrance porch. These porches have two-light windows and battlements, which look like the tops of castles. The south porch has an arched doorway. The north porch is connected to a modern glass extension.

At the west end of the nave, there's a small window and tall, decorated towers at the corners. A large, fancy bellcote (a small structure holding bells) sits on top of the roof. The upper part of the nave, called the clerestory, has square windows and a battlemented top. The windows along the sides of the aisles are arched and have three sections, with different patterns of stone work.

The chancel has a large five-light window at the east end. The steeple has three main parts. It has strong supports called buttresses and a stair tower. The bottom part has a three-light window. The middle part has decorative blind arches. The bell openings have three slatted windows. The top of the tower has castle-like battlements and pointed decorations called pinnacles.

Curved supports, called flying buttresses, connect the top of the tower to the spire. The spire is also decorated with carvings and has small windows called lucarnes. At the very top of the spire is a weathervane.

Inside the Church

Inside, the main hall has five arched sections called arcades. These arches are supported by columns that have eight sides. There are balconies, called galleries, on three sides of the church. These balconies are held up by thin cast iron columns.

In the south aisle, there is a special wall monument dedicated to Thomas German, who passed away in 1847. The floor of the tower area has decorative tiles. These tiles have an inscription that mentions Thomas German's generous gift for the steeple. The baptismal font (a basin used for baptisms) in the church dates back to 1884.

Outside Features

The gate posts, gates, and wall around the old churchyard are also considered important historic structures. They are listed as Grade II buildings.

See also

• Grade II* listed buildings in Lancashire
• Listed buildings in Preston, Lancashire
• List of Commissioners' churches in Northeast and Northwest England