Church of St Peter, Great Berkhamsted
| Church of St Peter, Great Berkhamsted | |
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Church of St Peter, Great Berkhamstead
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| Coordinates: 51°45′35″N 0°33′42″W / 51.759673°N 0.561751°W | |
| Location | St Peter's Church, High Street, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, HP4 2AX |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Website | stpetersberkhamsted.org.uk |
| History | |
| Founded | c.1222 |
| Founder(s) | Abbot of Grestein |
| Dedication | St Peter |
| Events |
1222: church founded 1230: nave extended 1320: St Catherine's Chapel built 1381: Richard II is royal patron 1350: St John's Chantry built 1546: tower raised 1820: Wyattville's restoration 1871: Butterfield's restoration; Earl Brownlow becomes patron 1960: Church re-ordered 1986: Present organ installed |
| Associated people | John de Waltham, William Cowper, John Incent, George Dorrien, Horace Smith-Dorrien |
| Architecture | |
| Heritage designation | Listed II* |
| Style |
Early English, Decorated; much Victorian restoration work |
| Years built | c.1200 |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 168 feet (51 m) |
| Width | 90 feet (27 m) |
| Height | 85 feet (26 m) |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Great Berkhamsted |
| Deanery | Berkhamsted |
| Archdeaconry | St Albans |
| Diocese | St Albans |
| Province | Canterbury |
| Clergy | |
| Vicar(s) | The Revd Dr Michael Bowie |
The Parish Church of St Peter, Great Berkhamsted, is a Church of England, Grade II* listed church in the town of Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, in the United Kingdom. It stands on the main High Street of the town and is recognisable by its 85-foot (26 m) clock tower.
The building is medieval in origin, the earliest part dating from c.1200, and the architecture spans at least five architectural periods, mostly 14th and 15th centuries. The church was altered greatly during the Victorian era, most notably undergoing a restoration by William Butterfield. It is one of the largest churches in Hertfordshire.
Because of its proximity to Berkhamsted Castle, St Peter's has had a long association with Royalty, with the reigning monarch acting as patron to Berkhamsted rectors for several centuries. Many members of the congregation also worked in important positions for the Royal household. The church has counted among its worshippers such notable figures as the poet William Cowper and John Incent, who went on to become Dean of St Paul's Cathedral 1540–1545.
The church today has lost it direct royal ties and functions as the main parish church of the town of Berkhamsted. The feast of St Peter is celebrated annually with the Petertide fair.
It is not known exactly when the first church was built on the site of St Peter's, but it is not the oldest church in the area; the church of St Mary in Northchurch, about 1.4 miles (2.3 km) north-west of St Peter's, is estimated to be Saxon in origin and was mentioned in the Domesday Book (1086). The advowson of a church of Berkhamsted – probably that of St Mary's – along with the advowson of the chapel of the castle, was granted to the monastery of Grestein Abbey in Normandy sometime between 1087 and 1104 by William, Count of Mortain. It was about this time that the Parish of Great Berkhampstead was created. St Mary's church was originally known as Berkhampstead St Mary and it is thought that it was the original main church in the area until it was superseded by the larger St Peter's after the Norman Conquest, when the focus of political and ecclesiastical power moved south to the area around Berkhamsted Castle. By the Fourteenth Century, the town had acquired the name of le Northcherche or Northchurch to distinguish it from St Peter's.
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