St John the Baptist Church is a Grade I listed

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ...

in the city of

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

, now

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Location

The present St John the Baptist Church is situated in Cathedral Square and is only a few minutes walk away from

Peterborough Cathedral Peterborough Cathedral, properly the Cathedral Church of St Peter, St Paul and St Andrew, and formerly known as Peterborough Abbey or St Peter's Abbey, is a cathedral in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, in the United Kingdom. The seat of the Church ...

. This seemingly strange state of affairs is due to the fact that the cathedral was for the monks and the church for the townspeople. It is officially designated as Peterborough's parish church and, as such, its vicar bears the title of the Vicar of Peterborough. There are several other Anglican churches throughout the city.

History

The original parish church, dating from the 11th century, was some distance to the east of the current location, on the site now occupied by Bishop Creighton Academy. When the centre of Peterborough moved west, the church was relocated stone by stone. Construction of the current church began in 1402 and it was dedicated to St John the Baptist on 26 June 1407. Two royal funerals took place at the nearby Cathedral during the 16th century, Katherine of Aragon (1536) and

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

(1587). They were both buried by the same sexton of St John's, Robert Scarlett and the bells of St John's Church rang for both funerals. Following the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

, in 1651 permission was granted by

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

to demolish the church and use it as building materials, though the plan did not go ahead. Restoration in 1819 'brutally swept away' old features and added clerestory and galleries. In 1882-3

John Loughborough Pearson John Loughborough Pearson (5 July 1817 – 11 December 1897) was a British Gothic Revival architect renowned for his work on churches and cathedrals. Pearson revived and practised largely the art of vaulting, and acquired in it a proficie ...

provided new roofs, new clerestory, aisle parapets, and tracery. The galleries were removed, the east window unblocked and raised, floors lowered and a new pulpit added. This restoration work was for Revd Henry Syers and designed in 1880. The builder was John Thompson and the cost was £11,000. The church was refurnished in High Anglican manner in 1938 and incorporated a new rood and elaborately painted and gilded timber reredos with carved figures under heavily traceried canopies. The figures were carved by Mahomet Thomas Phillips while working at Bowman & Sons of Stamford. In 1968 a new stained-glass window, designed by Brian Thomas, was installed. It depicts notable people connected to Peterborough: Symon Gunton, vicar of the parish during the plague, between 1665 and 1667 (d.1676), Nurse

Edith Cavell Edith Louisa Cavell ( ; 4 December 1865 – 12 October 1915) was a British nurse. She is celebrated for treating wounded soldiers from both sides without discrimination during the First World War and for helping some 200 Allied soldiers escape ...

(d. 1915), Captain Thomas Mellows (d. 1944, fighting in the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

), and

William Law William Law (16869 April 1761) was a Church of England priest who lost his position at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, when his conscience would not allow him to take the required oath of allegiance to the first Hanoverian monarch, George I of Grea ...

(d. 1761). The window is dedicated to James Ruddle (1830-1898) and to his wife Edith. James Ruddle was a prominent local architect who worked extensively in the Peterborough area and was the son of local carpenter Francis Ruddle. St John the Baptist received a Grade I heritage listing in 1952 as a prominent and "architecturally ambitious parish church... exemplifying Perpendicular town church design." Its "very fine" south porch, 15th century font, 20th century screens, interesting monuments and tombs were also noted.

References

External links

St John the Baptist Church website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint John the Baptist Church, Peterborough Anglican Diocese of Peterborough Peterborough, Saint John Grade I listed buildings in Peterborough Peterborough, Saint John Buildings and structures completed in 1407 Churches completed in the 1400s Churches in Peterborough Peterborough, St John the Baptist Church Peterborough, St John the Baptist Church