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St Peter's Church, Monkwearmouth is the parish church of Monkwearmouth in
Early in the 19th century the arcade of the north aisle and most of the chancel arch were removed, and galleries were inserted.
In 1875–76 St Peter's was restored under the direction of the architects Hubert Austin and RJ Johnson, who had the north aisle rebuilt and the east window of the chancel replaced. There is also an organ loft built onto the north side of the chancel.
The present stained glass in the windows was made in 1969 by LC Evetts. In 1973 an octagonal extension was added east of the organ loft as an interpretation centre. In 1984 the church was damaged by fire, and about 1985 the interior and roof were rebuilt.
Parish of Monkwearmouth
St. Peter's Wearmouth–Jarrow
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monkwearmouth, St Peter's Church 7th-century church buildings in England Churches in the City of Sunderland Grade I listed churches in Tyne and Wear Church of England church buildings in Tyne and Wear Sunderland
Sunderland, Tyne and Wear
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the historic county of Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on the River Wear's mouth to the North Sea. The ri ...
, England. It is one of three churches in the Parish of Monkwearmouth {{coord, 54.915, -1.383, display=title, region:GB_scale:20000
The Parish of Monkwearmouth is a Church of England parish in Monkwearmouth, England, served by the churches of St Peter's, All Saints' and St Andrew's.
History
The parish was originall ...
. The others are the Victorian All Saints' Church, Monkwearmouth and the Edwardian St Andrew's Church, Roker
St Andrew's, Roker (1905-7) is a Church of England parish church in Sunderland, England. It is recognised as one of the finest churches of the first half of the twentieth century and the masterpiece of Edward Schroeder Prior. The design of St ...
.
St Peter's was founded in AD 674–5 as one of the two churches of the Benedictine double monastery of Monkwearmouth–Jarrow Abbey. The other church is St Paul's Church, Jarrow. St Peter's is a Grade I listed building and part of a scheduled monument.
Architecture
Anglo-Saxon
The original church on the site was built at the behest of Benedict Biscop in AD 674–75, when the area was part of theAnglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
Kingdom of Northumbria. Bede
Bede ( ; ang, Bǣda , ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, The Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable ( la, Beda Venerabilis), was an English monk at the monastery of St Peter and its companion monastery of St Paul in the Kingdom o ...
(''circa'' 673–735) wrote that Benedict brought stonemasons and glassworkers from Gaul to build the church, as these crafts were not yet established in Anglo-Saxon England
Anglo-Saxon England or Early Medieval England, existing from the 5th to the 11th centuries from the end of Roman Britain until the Norman conquest in 1066, consisted of various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms until 927, when it was united as the Kingdom o ...
.
Of Benedict's building only the west wall and porch survive. The ground floor of the porch is barrel vault
A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault, wagon vault or wagonhead vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance. The curves are ...
ed. Its outer arch, at the west end of the porch, is of elaborate design and decorated with stone reliefs.
By about AD 700 the porch had been enlarged by the addition of a second storey and north and south porticus, forming a westwork. By the end of the 10th century further storeys had been added to the porch, raising its height to form the present west tower.
Gothic and Gothic Revival
The rest of the church is much later. The north aisle was first built in the 13th century. A five-light east window was inserted in the chancel in the 14th century.
Early in the 19th century the arcade of the north aisle and most of the chancel arch were removed, and galleries were inserted.
In 1875–76 St Peter's was restored under the direction of the architects Hubert Austin and RJ Johnson, who had the north aisle rebuilt and the east window of the chancel replaced. There is also an organ loft built onto the north side of the chancel.
The present stained glass in the windows was made in 1969 by LC Evetts. In 1973 an octagonal extension was added east of the organ loft as an interpretation centre. In 1984 the church was damaged by fire, and about 1985 the interior and roof were rebuilt.
References
Bibliography
* * * *External links
Parish of Monkwearmouth
St. Peter's Wearmouth–Jarrow
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monkwearmouth, St Peter's Church 7th-century church buildings in England Churches in the City of Sunderland Grade I listed churches in Tyne and Wear Church of England church buildings in Tyne and Wear Sunderland