St Peter's Church, Leicester, is a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

in the Highfields area of

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

History

The foundation stone was laid on 14 November 1872 by the Bishop of Peterborough. The church was built as a memorial to

Richard Curzon-Howe, 1st Earl Howe Richard William Penn Curzon-Howe, 1st Earl Howe, (11 December 1796 – 12 May 1870), was a British peer and courtier. Background He was the third but eldest surviving son of the Hon. Penn Assheton Curzon (the eldest son of Assheton Curzon, 1 ...

, and was originally known as the Howe Memorial Church. It was built to the designs of the architect

George Edmund Street George Edmund Street (20 June 1824 – 18 December 1881), also known as G. E. Street, was an English architect, born at Woodford in Essex. Stylistically, Street was a leading practitioner of the Victorian Gothic Revival. Though mainly an eccl ...

. The church was consecrated on 18 April 1874 by the Bishop of Peterborough. The spire was dismantled in 1968 and the building continued to deteriorate such that by 2014 the tower masonry and roof coverings were in very poor condition, and the building was added to the Heritage at Risk register. Between 2018 and 2021, repairs funded by the Heritage Lottery, Leicester City Council, the Diocese of Leicester and the church's own funds, led to the tower, tower roof, stonework and the main roof being repaired.

Incumbents

*F.W. Robinson 1874 - 1893 (afterwards vicar of Paston) *W. Perowne Holmes 1893.- 1906 *A.I. Grieves 1906 - 1911 (afterwards vicar of Finedon) *

Ambrose Lethbridge Ambrose Lethbridge (20 January 1875''1939 England and Wales Register'' – 13 March 1962)''England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, 1973-1995'' was a British Anglican priest who served as Provo ...

1911 - 1917 (afterwards rector then provost of

St Mary's Cathedral, Glasgow The Cathedral Church of St Mary the Virgin, commonly called St Mary's Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Scottish Episcopal Church. It is located on the Great Western Road, in the west end of Glasgow, Scotland. The current building was opened on 9 ...

) *William Thompson Elliott 1917 - 1926 (formerly vicar of All Saints’ Church, Bradford, afterwards Vicar of Leeds) *G.E. Powell 1926 - 1933 *Robert L. Leatherdale 1934 - 1945 (afterwards residentiary canon of

Ripon Cathedral The Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Wilfrid, commonly known as Ripon Cathedral, and until 1836 known as Ripon Minster, is a cathedral in Ripon, North Yorkshire, England. Founded as a monastery by monks of the Irish tradition in the 660s, ...

) *Albert William Eaton 1945 - 1960 (formerly rector of Christ Church, Johannesburg) *Edward Wilson Carlile from 1960

Parish status

The church is in a benefice with St Philip's on Evington Road, Leicester.

Organ

The pipe organ was built by Joshua Porritt in 1875. It was extensively modified by Stephen Taylor and Son in 1910. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.

Organists

*William Henry Wale 1874 - 1882 *Philip Angrave 1882 - 1891 *Cardinal Taylor 1891 - 1894 (afterwards organist of St Mary's Church, Humberston) *Walter Joseph Bunney FRCO 1905 - 1936 (formerly organist of Holy Trinity Church, Leicester) *Harold Barnes 1937 - 1946 (afterwards organist of St Mary's Church, Melton Mowbray)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leicester Leicester, St Peter Grade II listed churches in Leicestershire Churches completed in 1874 19th-century Church of England church buildings