St Peter's Church is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

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 ...

Scarborough, North Yorkshire Scarborough () is a seaside town and civil parish in North Yorkshire District, the district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. With a population of 61,749, Scarborough is the largest town on the Yorkshire Coast and the No ...

, England. It was built from 1856 to 1858 and designed by George Goldie 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 ...

. It is located on the corner of Castle Road and Tollergate in the town centre. It is a

Grade II listed building 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 ...

History

Foundation

During the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

, the local Catholics of Scarborough met in a house in the Westgate part of Scarborough. In 1809, a

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

was built on Auborough Street. In 1835, the

Catholic mission Missionary work of the Catholic Church has often been undertaken outside the geographically defined parishes and dioceses by religious orders who have people and material resources to spare, and some of which specialized in missions. Eventually, p ...

in Scarborough was served by a Fr Walker. In 1846, he invited the architect

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 ...

to Scarborough so that a new church would be built. However, Pugin did not visit Scarborough.

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...

St Peter's Church, Scarborough
in ''Taking Stock'', retrieved 2 February 2022

Construction

St Peter Catholic church Scarborough interior

After Pugin did not visit the town, the architect George Goldie was invited instead. He designed a

church for the town. Fr Walker initially wanted a church in the Norman Revival style, but was persuaded by Goldie to accept a church in the Gothic Revival style. On 3 October 1856, the foundation stone of the church was laid. In 1858, the church was opened. However, the interior of the church still needed some work, so in 1874 the church was closed to complete the interior before being reopened on 22 July 1874. The organ was made by Foster & Andrews of Hull and rebuilt by

Nicholson & Co Ltd Nicholson & Co. Ltd manufactures pipe organs. It was founded in 1841 by John Nicholson. Its work encompasses the creation of new instruments as well as historical restorations, rebuilds and renovations. In 2013, the firm completed the first whol ...

. In 1858, 1874 and 1898 stained glass windows were installed in the church and were made by Hardman & Co.

Developments

As the population of the Scarborough continued to rise in the 20th century, various

chapels of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently, generally due to travel distance. Often ...

were built from St Peter's Church to serve the increasing local Catholic

congregation Congregation may refer to: Religion *Church (congregation), a religious organization that meets in a particular location *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administrative body of the Catholic Church *Religious congregation, a type of religious instit ...

. St Edward the Confessor Church was the first Catholic church to be built after St Peter's Church. It is to the south of the town. Plans were underway in 1891 to build the church after Elizabeth Reynard of

Sunderlandwick Sunderlandwick is a hamlet in the civil parish of Hutton Cranswick, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately south of Driffield and lies to the west of the A164 road. Sunderlandwick House and its associated stable ...

died and gave the land and money for the church. However, nothing done for another 20 years until a Mr Anderson of York gave £1,000 for the church and building work started. On 13 August 1912, the foundation was laid. The church is in the Byzantine Revival style, was designed by a Fr Eugene Roulin of

Filey Filey () is a seaside town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is located between Scarborough, North Yorkshire, Scarborough and Bridlington on Filey Bay. Although it was a fishing village, it has a large ...

as well as the architectural firm John Petch & Son, and opened in 1914. In the 1950s, the population increased and St George's Church in Eastfield was also built as a

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently, generally due to trav ...

of St Peter's Church. It was built in 1957, cost £15,000, and was enlarged in 1965. In addition, St Joseph's Church was built in Newby and Scalby. Plans for the church started in 1930, land was purchased for it and a temporary building was made in 1949. In 1960, the church was built and cost £35,000. The church was designed by Francis Johnson and is a Grade II listed building.

Parish

The Scarborough

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 ...

of St Peter also incorporates the St Edward the Confessor Church and St Joseph's Church in Newby and Scalby, while St George's Church in Eastfield is served from Our Lady and St Peter's Church in

Bridlington Bridlington (previously known as Burlington) is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is on the Holderness part (Flamborough Head to the Humber estuary) of the Yorkshire Coast by the North Sea. The town is ...

. St Peter's Church has three Sunday

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

es at 5:30 pm on Saturday, 9:30 am in Polish and at 11:30 am on Sunday. St Joseph's Church has one Sunday Mass at 9:30 am. St Edward the Confessor Church has a Mass in

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

every 3rd Sunday of the month at 2:00 pm.Scarborough Catholic Parishes
retrieved 2 February 2022

References

External links

* *
Parish Diocesan Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scarborough, St Peter Grade II listed churches in North Yorkshire Roman Catholic churches in North Yorkshire Roman Catholic churches completed in 1858 Roman Catholic Diocese of Middlesbrough Grade II listed Roman Catholic churches in England Gothic Revival church buildings in England 1858 establishments in England 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom

St Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the early Christian Church. He appears repe ...

Gothic Revival architecture in North Yorkshire