St Peter and St Paul is a church in the town of Bromley, Borough of Bromley, in south east

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Known familiarly as Bromley Parish Church, it is not far from Bromley

High Street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...

and approximately halfway between Bromley North and Bromley South railway stations. The church is part of the

Diocese of Rochester The Diocese of Rochester is a Church of England diocese in the English county of Kent and the Province of Canterbury. The cathedral church of the diocese is Rochester Cathedral in the former city of Rochester. The bishop's Latin episcopal si ...

within 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, ...

. Largely destroyed by bombing during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, St Peter and St Paul was rebuilt in the 1950s. It has been

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 ...

since 1955.

History

Previous church

The pre-World War II church, generally in the

Perpendicular style Perpendicular Gothic (also Perpendicular, Rectilinear, or Third Pointed) architecture was the third and final style of English Gothic architecture developed in the Kingdom of England during the Late Middle Ages, typified by large windows, four-ce ...

with a square embattled tower having a turret at one of the angles, had its north aisle rebuilt in 1792 and was completely refurbished and enlarged in 1830. Virtually the whole church—with the exception of the tower—was demolished by a bomb on the night of 16 April 1941. Arthur Gresley Hellicar (1835–1905) was Vicar of Bromley from 1865 to 1905.

Present church

On St

Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was King of England from 1042 until his death in 1066. He was the last reigning monarch of the House of Wessex. Edward was the son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. He succeede ...

’s Day, 13 October 1949, the foundation stone of the new church was laid by then Princess Elizabeth (later Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

). Eight years later, the last phase of rebuilding was complete and on 14 December 1957 the new church was consecrated by the Bishop of Rochester, Christopher Maude Chavasse. The present church incorporates the medieval tower and much of the flint and fragments of the original stone building.

Items of interest

Stained glass

Several of the modern windows (including two illustrated below) were designed by

M. E. Aldrich Rope Margaret Edith Rope, known as M. E. Aldrich Rope (29 July 1891 – 9 March 1988) was an English stained-glass artist in the Arts and Crafts movement tradition active between 1910 and 1964. She was a cousin of Margaret Agnes Rope of Shrewsbury, ...

, a prolific

Arts and Crafts The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...

stained glass artist. The

Baptistery In Church architecture, Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek language, Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned ...

window is by Clare Dawson, her pupil and co-worker.

Organ

The organ, built in 1991 by J. W. Walker & Sons Ltd, was designed to support congregational worship, to accompany a traditional choir, and as a recital instrument for use alone or with other instruments. It has three manuals and pedals, 40 speaking stops, six couplers, and three tremulants, and comprises 55 ranks with 2,708 pipes. The manual and pedal actions of the organ are mechanical; the stop control is electro-magnetic with a solid state capture combination action. The instrument was made and first assembled in Walker's workshops in Brandon, before being dismantled and installed in the church—it weighs approximately 12 tons. The organ cases, gallery woodwork and carved pipeshades were designed by David Graebe. The Specification is below; PEDAL ORGAN (30 notes) 16' Open Diapason 16' Subbass ' Quint 8' Principal 8' Bass Flute 4' Choral Bass IV Mixture 32' Contra Trombone (ext.) 16' Trombone 8' Trumpet ''Choir to Pedal'' ''Great to Pedal'' ''Swell to Pedal'' CHOIR ORGAN (58 notes) 8' Open Diapason 8' Stopped Diapason 4' Principal 4' Open Flute ' Nasard 2' Gemshorn 13⁄5' Tierce III Fourniture 8' Trumpet 8' Cromorne ''Swell to Choir'' GREAT ORGAN (58 notes) 16' Bourdon 8' Open Diapason 8' Chimney Flute 4' Principal 4' Harmonic Flute 2' Fifteenth IV Fourniture 16' Double Trumpet 8' Trumpet V Cornet (from middle C) ''Choir to Great'' ''Swell to Great'' SWELL ORGAN (58 notes) 8' Diapason 8' Voila da Gamba 8' Voix Celeste 8' Stopped Flute 4' Gemshorn 2' Flageolet IV Mixture 16' Bassoon 8' Trumpet 8' Hautboy

Tombs

Famous people buried at St Peter and St Paul have included: * John Yonge or Young, bishop of Rochester * Elizabeth Johnson, wife of

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson ( – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

: her memorial was salvaged after World War II and re-erected in the rebuilt church On Easter Monday April 23, 1753, Samuel Johnson attended church here "to take leave of Tetty", he was relieved having done so and was glad to have felt a cooling of his desire to have a new wife.The Personal History of Samuel Johnson, author Christopher Hibbert, 1st published 1971, also penguin books 1984, page 100 * John Hawkesworth, writer, editor, and friend of

Johnson Johnson may refer to: People and fictional characters *Johnson (surname), a common surname in English * Johnson (given name), a list of people * List of people with surname Johnson, including fictional characters *Johnson (composer) (1953–2011) ...

Zachary Pearce Zachary Pearce, sometimes known as Zachariah (8 September 1690 – 29 June 1774), was an English Bishop of Bangor and Bishop of Rochester. He was a controversialist and a notable early critical writer defending John Milton, attacking Richard Be ...

, bishop of Rochester * John Gifford, British political writer and supporter of

Pitt the Younger William Pitt (28 May 1759 – 23 January 1806) was a British statesman who served as the last prime minister of Great Britain from 1783 until the Acts of Union 1800, and then first prime minister of the United Kingdom from January 1801. He left o ...

*Sir Claude and Sir Edward Scott, first and second baronets of Lychet Minster

Gallery

St Peter and St Paul, Church Road, Bromley - Chancel - geograph.org.uk - 1766713.jpg, Altar St Peter and St Paul, Church Road, Bromley - East end - geograph.org.uk - 1766705.jpg, Interior looking east St Peter and St Paul, Church Road, Bromley - Font - geograph.org.uk - 1766724.jpg, Baptismal font St Peter and St Paul, Church Road, Bromley - Interior - geograph.org.uk - 1766707.jpg, Interior St Peter and St Paul, Church Road, Bromley - Interior - geograph.org.uk - 1766709.jpg, Interior St Peter and St Paul, Church Road, Bromley - Organ - geograph.org.uk - 1766712.jpg, Organ St Peter and St Paul, Church Road, Bromley - Pulpit - geograph.org.uk - 1766723.jpg, Pulpit St Peter and St Paul, Church Road, Bromley - South aisle - geograph.org.uk - 1766708.jpg, South aisle St Peter and St Paul, Church Road, Bromley - South chapel - geograph.org.uk - 1766716.jpg, South chapel St Peter and St Paul, Church Road, Bromley - West end - geograph.org.uk - 1766711.jpg, Interior looking west St Peter and St Paul, Church Road, Bromley - Window - geograph.org.uk - 1766719.jpg, Stained glass window St Peter and St Paul, Church Road, Bromley - Window - geograph.org.uk - 1766721.jpg, Detail of stained glass window depicting Christ the King

References

External links

Bromley Parish Church website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Bromley

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...

Rebuilt churches in the United Kingdom Grade II* listed churches in London Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Bromley History of the London Borough of Bromley Diocese of Rochester