St Peter's Church is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chri ...

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained thr ...

, South East

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. 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 Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin ( ; 1 March 181214 September 1852) was an English architect, designer, artist and critic with French and, ultimately, Swiss origins. He is principally remembered for his pioneering role in the Gothic Revival st ...

in 1841–42 in the style of the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

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 A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

of St Peter the Apostle serves the Catholic community of central Woolwich and surrounding areas, and is part of the

Archdiocese of Southwark The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Southvarcensis'') is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in England. It is headed by the Archbishop of Southwark. The archdiocese is part of the Metropolitan P ...

which is in the

Province of Southwark The Catholic dioceses in Great Britain are organised by two separate hierarchies: the Catholic Church in England and Wales, and the Catholic Church in Scotland. Within Great Britain, the Catholic Church of England and Wales has five provinc ...

History

Catholics in Woolwich

In the late 18th and early 19th century,

Catholic emancipation Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland, and later the combined United Kingdom in the late 18th century and early 19th century, that involved reducing and removing many of the restricti ...

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 The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich is an establishment on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England, that was used for the manufacture of armaments and ammunition, proofing, and explosives research for the Britis ...

. 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 Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the 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 Woolwich Arsenal station is a National Rail and Docklands Light Railway (DLR) paired interchange station in the heart of Woolwich in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It has two parts; its raised, south-western part of the station is on the semi ...

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.

Construction of the church

Woolwich, St Peter's, original design Pugin

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 The Board of Ordnance was a British government body. Established in the Tudor period, it had its headquarters in the Tower of London. Its primary responsibilities were 'to act as custodian of the lands, depots and forts required for the defence o ...

. 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 Bermondsey () is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckham ...

, 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. 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 The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

. 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 London stock brick is the type of handmade brick which was used for the majority of building work in London and South East England until the growth in the use of Flettons and other machine-made bricks in the early 20th century. Its distinctive ...

with

Bath stone Bath Stone is an oolitic limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate. Originally obtained from the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England. Its honey colouring gives the World Heritage City of ...

dressings and

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

roofs. Because of the limited budget, the church was built in phases and the architectural design had to remain sober - no

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building with ...

, no

clerestory In architecture, a clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey) is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, ''clerestory'' denoted an upper l ...

, 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 A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually locate ...

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.Fincham (2013), A talk in the church.

Recent history

In May 2019 the church became part of a

conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

. 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.

The buildings

Church exterior

The most striking feature of the exterior is perhaps the absence of the planned south-west tower, which gives the church an unbalanced appearance. Pugin believed Gothic architecture celebrated asymmetry, and for that reason he planned the tower at a corner rather than in the centre of the western façade. The aisles are supported by stepped

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (s ...

es. At the east end angled buttresses were used. The south aisle portal features the more elaborate decorations with

crocket A crocket (or croquet) is a small, independent decorative element common in Gothic architecture. The name derives from the diminutive of the French ''croc'', meaning "hook", due to the resemblance of crockets to a bishop's crosier. Description ...

s and ball flowers. The west portal, which is now the main entrance, is smaller and more sparsely decorated. The east and west end both have large traceried windows. All other windows are smaller. File:2016 Woolwich, St Peter's RC Church - 01.jpg, Abutted tower from the south-west File:London-Woolwich, St Peter's RC Church02.jpg, Detail west façade, Woolwich New Road File:2016 Woolwich, St Peter's RC Church - 02.jpg, South portal File:2016 Woolwich, St Peter's RC Church - 7.jpg, Chancel & south chapel from Brookhill Road

Church interior

The 6-bay interior uses a revival of the decorated Gothic style of around 1300, or, as Pugin preferred to call it, the style of

Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vas ...

. Like other Pugin churches of the period, the roof ridges rise at a sharp angle; there are no galleries and no clerestory windows, which makes the church rather dark. In an attempt to counterbalance this, the interior has been painted white and mint green, described in Volume 44 of the '' Survey of London'' as "gaudy" and "alien to Pugin's aesthetic". The westernmost bay of the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-typ ...

was separated off from the rest of the church by a timber-and-glass partitioning wall, creating a porch with two side rooms serving as a side chapel and a church shop. Between the nave and

side aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parli ...

s, pointed arches rest on

quatrefoil A quatrefoil (anciently caterfoil) is a decorative element consisting of a symmetrical shape which forms the overall outline of four partially overlapping circles of the same diameter. It is found in art, architecture, heraldry and traditional ...

piers. The plainness of the nave contrasts with the richness of the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. ...

, the original 1840s

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in pagan ...

and traceried stone

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular architecture, for e ...

, which may be partly original. The choir screen intended by Pugin was never built. The 1850 Lady Chapel is smaller than Pugin had planned, but it has an original ensemble of altar, reredos, tiles by Mintons and a

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

window by Hardman & Co. The chancel itself was not built until 1887–90. The east window however was designed by Pugin and initially placed in a temporary wall closing off the nave. Its stained glass was produced by

Lavers, Barraud and Westlake Lavers, Barraud and Westlake were an English firm that produced stained glass windows from 1855 until 1921. They were part of the 19th-century Gothic Revival movement that had a significant influence on English civic, ecclesiastical and domestic ar ...

in 1909. After the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...

(1962–65), the

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, acces ...

and

altar rails The altar rail (also known as a communion rail or chancel rail) is a low barrier, sometimes ornate and usually made of stone, wood or metal in some combination, delimiting the chancel or the sanctuary and altar in a church, from the nave and ot ...

were removed and a forward altar added. File:2016 Woolwich, St Peter's RC Church, interior, east.jpg, View towards the east File:2016 Woolwich, St Peter's RC Church, chancel 1.jpg, Chancel and main altar File:2016 Woolwich, St Peter's RC Church, Lady Chapel 1.jpg, Chapel of Our Lady File:2016 Woolwich, St Peter's RC Church, entrance hall 1.jpg, Porch area and shop

Presbytery and school

The original presbytery is a small building designed by Pugin around 1842 and built by Myers in 1846. The ''Survey of London'' describes it as "one of Pugin's best small brick secular buildings, plain but fetchingly proportioned". In 1870, a much larger building designed by John Crawley was added to its north, coarser than the older house and rather overshadowing it. At the back of the new presbytery was a music room which was later connected to the sacristy built by Pugin. The school building to the south of the church was designed by E. W. Pugin in 1858, although both the front and the back have been severely altered. A separate infant school at the back was built in 1871 but was altered as well. The former building is now the parish hall: St Peter's Centre; the latter building stands empty.Saint & Guillery (2012), pp. 404-406. File:2016 Woolwich, St Peter's RC Church - 4.jpg, Presbytery designed by Pugin File:2016 Woolwich, St Peter's RC Church, sacristy & rectory.jpg, New presbytery and 'music room' from Brookhill Road File:St Peter's Centre, Woolwich - geograph.org.uk - 971995.jpg, Former school from Woolwich New Road File:2016 Woolwich, Brookhill Rd, RC school.jpg, Former infant school from Brookhill Road

Notes and references

* , ''Augustus Pugin and the building of St Peter's, Woolwich''. A talk in the church, 13 June 2013
text online available
* , ''Woolwich – Survey of London, Volume 48'', Yale Books, London, 2012.
online text chapter 9
please note page numbers online do not correspond with the book)

External links

Parish website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woolwich, Saint Peter Roman Catholic churches in the Royal Borough of Greenwich Churches in the Diocese of Southwark 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom Roman Catholic churches completed in 1843 Augustus Pugin buildings Grade II listed churches in London Grade II listed buildings in the Royal Borough of Greenwich

Saint Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupat ...