St Peter's Church is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

Marlow, Buckinghamshire Marlow ( ), historically Great Marlow or Chipping Marlow, is a town and civil parish within the Unitary Authority of Buckinghamshire, England. It is located on the River Thames, south-southwest of High Wycombe, west-northwest of Maidenhead and ...

. It started from a mission church founded in 1844 and was completed in 1846. It was designed by

Augustus Pugin Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin ( ; 1 March 1812 – 14 September 1852) was an English architect, designer, artist and critic with French and Swiss origins. He is principally remembered for his pioneering role in the Gothic Revival architecture ...

in the

Gothic Revival style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

and founded by

Charles Scott-Murray Charles Robert Scott-Murray (28 December 1818 – 27 August 1882) was a British Conservative politician. Life He was the son of Charles Scott Murray of Danesfield House, and his wife Augusta Eliza Nixon, widow of John Buller M.P., and was edu ...

. It was the first new Catholic church built in Buckinghamshire since the Reformation, one of the last designed by Pugin and contains the relic of St James the Apostle's left hand. It is located between St Peter Street and Mill Road near the centre of Marlow. In 1970, an extension was built connected to the church on its northeast side. It was designed by

Francis Pollen Francis Anthony Baring Pollen, FRIBA (7 December 1926 – 4 November 1987) was an English architect who designed, amongst other significant buildings, Worth Abbey in West Sussex. He was born in London on 7 December 1926 and educated at Do ...

. It 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 ...

building.

History

Foundation

After the

English Reformation The English Reformation began in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away first from the authority of the pope and bishops Oath_of_Supremacy, over the King and then from some doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church ...

, during the time of

recusancy Recusancy (from ) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation. The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign of Elizabeth I, and temporarily repea ...

, there were no new Catholic churches built in Buckinghamshire. The first to be built was St Peter's Church. In 1844, a

mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...

was started in Marlow. A convert to Catholicism, the local member of Parliament for Buckinghamshire,

subsidised the mission. From his time in

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

he was influenced by

John Henry Newman John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English Catholic theologian, academic, philosopher, historian, writer, and poet. He was previously an Anglican priest and after his conversion became a cardinal. He was an ...

and joined the Catholic Church while visiting Rome. He endowed the mission with £2,000 for a priest of his choosing to visit Marlow and minister to the Catholics there. Masses were celebrated in the premises that stood where church currently is and were only attended by three people.

Construction

Scott-Murray wanted a church built in the town. He donated the piece of land that the current church is on. He spoke with the

Vicar Apostolic of the Midland District The Vicariate Apostolic of the Midland District (later of the Central District) was an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales. It was led by a vicar apostolic) who was a titular bishop. The Apostolic Vicar ...

and later

Archbishop of Westminster The archbishop of Westminster heads the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster, in England. The incumbent is the metropolitan of the Province of Westminster, chief metropolitan of England and Wales and, as a matter of custom, is elected presid ...

Nicholas Wiseman Nicholas Patrick Stephen Wiseman (3 August 1802 – 15 February 1865) was an English Roman Catholic prelate who served as the first Archbishop of Westminster upon the re-establishment of the Roman Catholic hierarchy in England and Wales in 1 ...

about a suitable architect. Wiseman recommended

, and he went on to design the entire church, exterior and interior. The windows were made by Hardman & Co. Scott-Murray funded the construction of the church, and the

Earl of Shrewsbury Earl of Shrewsbury () is a hereditary title of nobility created twice in the Peerage of England. The second earldom dates to 1442. The holder of the Earldom of Shrewsbury also holds the title of Earl of Waterford (1446) in the Peerage of Ireland ...

, Charles Chetwynd-Talbot also participated in its creation. In 1846, seventeen years after the

Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 The Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 ( 10 Geo. 4. c. 7), also known as the Catholic Emancipation Act 1829, was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that removed the sacramental tests that barred Roman Catholics in the United Kingdom f ...

, and four years before the Restoration of the dioceses, the church was opened.

Extension

In 1970, with the Catholic congregation of the church growing, an extension was needed. As the church had been listed since 1949, the extensions had to be built keeping in mind the original character of the church. So an extension was built, which included its own

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

and

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

to the northeast of the church so that it cannot be seen from the street. It was designed by

and did not disturb the original fittings and interior of the Pugin-designed church, and can be accessed through the

lady chapel A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British English, British term for a chapel dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church (building), church. The chapels are also known as a Mary chape ...

.St Peter's Marlow
from Catholic Historic Churches, retrieved 24 February 2025

Parish

The church has its own parish. Within the parish is St Peter's Catholic Primary School, situated on Prospect Road in Marlow. The church has three Sunday Masses: 9:00 am, 11:00 am and 5:30 pm.

Exterior

Marlow, St. Peter's - geograph.org.uk - 5933780.jpg, Churchyard and cemetery Church of St Peter - geograph.org.uk - 5283844.jpg, Doorway

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Peter's Church Marlow Roman Catholic churches in Buckinghamshire Marlow, Buckinghamshire Roman Catholic churches completed in 1846 Gothic Revival church buildings in England Gothic Revival architecture in Buckinghamshire 1844 establishments in England Grade II listed churches in Buckinghamshire Grade II listed Roman Catholic churches in England 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom Augustus Pugin buildings