St Peter's Roman Catholic Church, Woolwich
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| St Peter's Church | |
|---|---|
| RC Church of St Peter the Apostle | |
 View from Woolwich New Road of the church and the presbytery | |
  St Peter's Church Location within the Royal Borough of Greenwich | |
| 51°29′18″N 0°04′00″E / 51.4882°N 0.0666°E | |
| OS grid reference | TQ4358178612 |
| Location | Woolwich, London |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Website | stpeterswoolwich.church |
| History | |
| Status | Church |
| Founded | 26 October 1842 |
| Founder | Rev. Cornelius Coles |
| Dedication | Saint Peter the Apostle |
| Dedicated | 26 October 1843 |
| Consecrated | 1944[1] |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade II[2] |
| Designated | 8 June 1973 |
| Architect | Augustus Pugin (enlarged by Frederick Walters) |
| Style | Gothic Revival |
| Completed | 1843 (enlarged 1889) |
| Administration | |
| Province | Southwark |
| Archdiocese | Southwark |
| Deanery | Greenwich |
| Clergy | |
| Archbishop | Most Rev. John Wilson |
| Priest in charge | Rev. Michael Branch |
| Assistant priest | Rev. Henry Tiku Wenna |
| Honorary priest | Rev. Graziano de Palma |
St Peter's Church is a Catholic church in Woolwich, South East London. It is situated between Woolwich New Road and Brookhill Road, the main entrance being on Woolwich New Road. The church was designed by Augustus Pugin in 1841–42 in the style of the Gothic Revival and is one of only three Pugin churches in London. Pugin's design remained unfinished as the projected tower and spire were never built. The parish of St Peter the Apostle serves the Catholic community of central Woolwich and surrounding areas, and is part of the Archdiocese of Southwark which is in the Province of Southwark.
Catholics in Woolwich
In the late 18th and early 19th century, Catholic emancipation gave Catholics in Britain and Ireland more freedom to worship and establish schools and churches. Early on, the Catholic mission in Woolwich mainly served the needs of Catholic prisoners held on prison hulks moored in the Thames near the Royal Arsenal. In 1793 the mission consisted largely of poor families, some of them employed at the Arsenal, as well as Irish soldiers stationed at the Royal Artillery Barracks and other Woolwich barracks. At first, the mission used a small chapel in Greenwich; from 1816 an unauthorized chapel in Sun Alley (now Sunbury Street) in Woolwich. By then, the Woolwich congregation had its own priest: Father James Delaney. In 1818 a former Methodist chapel opposite the current Woolwich Arsenal station was rededicated. It had a capacity of 400. Ten years later a Catholic school was established. In 1838 a young priest named Cornelius Coles, London-born but probably of Irish or Belgian origin, was stationed in Woolwich. His principle tasks became establishing a new church for the growing congregation (estimated at 3,000 in 1841) and a school for its children which even in 1855, according to Coles, suffered persecution in the barrack schools.[3]
Construction of the church
In February 1841 a plot of land on Woolwich New Road, next to The Gun public house, was made available free of charge to the Woolwich Catholics by the Board of Ordnance. In September of that year the commission for the design of the new church was given to the young architect Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin (1812-1852). It is possible that Coles knew Pugin from his previous post at Holy Trinity in Bermondsey, where the architect had built a monastery in 1838. Few of Pugin's letters mention St Peter's (he was working simultaneously on St George's Cathedral, Southwark, a much more prestigious commission). However, his published correspondence includes extracts from letters of Father Cole, indicating Pugin's keen interest in the furnishings.[4]
The foundation stone of the Catholic church was laid on 26 October 1842, the first time in London that such a ceremony was performed openly since the Reformation. Only a year before, the foundation stone for St George's Cathedral in Southwark had been laid in secrecy at 7 in the morning, since a Protestant backlash was feared. Perhaps the knowledge that there would be a large number of Irish soldiers attending the ceremony in Woolwich gave the priest and the congregation confidence. The church was built in 1842-43 by local builder George Myers. Myers used yellow London stock brick with Bath stone dressings and slate roofs. Because of the limited budget, the church was built in phases and the architectural design had to remain sober - no transept, no clerestory, with limited dressings. The initial cost for building the nave and aisles was £4,000, of which Thomas Griffiths, Vicar Apostolic of London, paid £1,000.
Pugin also designed the sacristy and presbytery in 1845–6. The Lady Chapel, smaller than in Pugin's original design, was added in 1850. In 1858 Pugin's son Edward Welby Pugin (1834-1875) built the school. The chancel and south chapel, in keeping with Pugin's plans and manner, were added in 1887-89 by the Scottish architect Frederick Walters (1849-1931), who also did further work on St George's Cathedral, Southwark.[5][6]
Recent history
In May 2019 the church became part of a conservation area. The Woolwich Conservation Area comprises parts of Woolwich New Road (including St Peter's), the Bathway Quarter, General Gordon Square, Greens End, Beresford Square, Powis Street, Hare Street, Mortgramit Square, parts of Woolwich High Street (south) and St Mary's Church and Gardens.[7]
