St. Peter and St. Paul, known commonly as Buckingham Parish Church, is the

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

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 ...

Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

, England. The current rector is Revd Will Pearson-Gee who leads a range of services; traditional and modern in style, most of which are on Sunday. The church is prominently located in the centre of the historic core of Buckingham on Castle Hill.

Services

The church holds four services per week, three on a Sunday and one on a Wednesday. Sunday 9AM: Traditional Service - Traditional

hymns A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

and readings, led every week by one of the church's three current organists and

church choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

(Except on first Sundays of the month) Sunday 11AM: Family Service - Family based

worship Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity or God. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recognition of a God. An act of worship may be performed individually, in an informal or formal group, ...

with

Contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music (CCM), also known as Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music, is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christianity, Chri ...

, led every week by a contemporary band Sunday 6PM: Contemporary Service -

, led every week by a contemporary band Wednesday 10AM: Midweek

Holy Communion The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an ordinance in others. Christians believe that the rite was instituted by J ...

- Said service with Holy Communion

History

The previous church located in Prebend End dated from before 1445 but no records have been found before this date apart from a reference to it in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086. It had a history of the tower and spire collapsing several times and in 1776 it collapsed for the final time.

Browne Willis Browne Willis (16 September 1682 – 5 February 1760) was an antiquary, author, numismatist and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1705 to 1708. Early life Willis was born at Blandford St Mary, Dorset, the eldest son of Thomas Wi ...

had a great desire to restore the church to its former glory following the last repairs in 1698, but the new spire was too ambitious. A new site became available on Castle Hill and the decision was taken to move the church. The foundation stone for the new church was laid by Robert Bartlett, bailiff of Buckingham, on 25 November 1777 at a grand ceremony, including the singing of a hymn specially composed for the occasion followed by the roasting of an ox with beer and bread supplied by Earl Temple. On 6 December 1780, the church was

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

by Thomas Thurlow, Bishop of Lincoln following a detailed petition letter sent to the Bishop which described the reasons for the new church. The petition read as follows: "That the Tower of the ancient fabric of the Parish Church of Buckingham having fallen down destroyed the Great parts of the Church, and that the inhabitants were unable to rebuild the same, that in consideration of such inability, the Right Hon Richard Earl Temple generously under took by Virtue of an act of Parliament to build a new Church... that the said Church is now completely finished for the celebration of divine worship, by the Right Hon George Earl Temple, Heir to the said Richard Earl Temple. That the ground on which the said Church is erected, together with commodious passages thereto and an area surrounding the same has been freely given and legally conveyed for the use of the said Parish by the Right Hon Ralph Earl Verney of the Kingdom of Ireland."

Architecture

The Church design originally had just two elements: the tower with octagonal plan

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spire ...

, and the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

with a

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

formed within this main volume and was quite a simple Georgian building. The current Victorian

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, 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 ...

church seen today is the result of many 19th-century alterations by

George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), largely known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he ...

including the significant structural repairs and new

buttresses A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act a ...

and internal alterations started in 1860, a

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 ...

added in 1865 and a porch in 1867. The new chancel was funded by a £358 donation from the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos. The additions were consecrated by Bishop Wilberforce in 1867, leaving little of the original 18th-century church left untouched.

The Restoration of the organ

The Buckingham Parish Church

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

, built by Norman & Beard was originally installed at St John's Church,

Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery and the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, Waterside Theatre. It is located in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wycombe and Milt ...

, with the opening recital given on 30 January 1913, by Dr. Ley. It was moved to

in 1969 and overhauled with some tonal alteration. In 2015–16, following well over 100 years of service, the organ was restored, raised and rebuilt by Peter Collins Ltd, including new stops in keeping with ‘

Hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit, and is usually applied to peaks which are above elevation compared to the relative landmass, though not as prominent as Mountain, mountains. Hills ...

, Norman & Beard schemes. When the organ was moved from Aylesbury to Buckingham, it was considered fashionable to remove the large Open Diapason on the Great Organ and replace with a lighter sounding diapason and to add a mixture stop. The large Open Diapason has been reinstated and the mixture re-voiced. Additional stops added to the Swell and Pedal organ improve the chorus effect without changing the overall tonal character of the instrument. Raising of the organ onto a

mezzanine A mezzanine (; or in Italian, a ''mezzanino'') is an intermediate floor in a building which is partly open to the double-height ceilinged floor below, or which does not extend over the whole floorspace of the building, a loft with non-sloped ...

platform enables the projection of sound into the building more efficiently than previously. The new platform also allows the front case of the organ to be brought forward of the arches which previously hid part of the case on the South side and this has improved sound projection. The pitch of the organ has been raised to concert pitch ( A440 Hz) which also allows more versatility during worship, particularly for choral accompaniment and for use by external choirs and music societies. A new mobile

console Console may refer to: Computing and video games * System console, a physical device to operate a computer ** Virtual console, a user interface for multiple computer consoles on one device ** Command-line interface, a method of interacting with ...

includes the stops for a Choir organ to be added in the future, subject to raising funds for the additional wind chest and clarinet; the floating Tromba is already in place for this division and the other pipes in store, saved from the Norman & Beard at St. Andrew's,

Kettering Kettering is a market town, market and industrial town, industrial town in the North Northamptonshire district of Northamptonshire, England, west of Cambridge, England, Cambridge, southwest of Peterborough, southeast of Leicester and north- ...

. With practical preservation and longevity in mind, the organ is a recent example of Norman & Beard's work, especially helpful for the worship needs of the church, and for musical opportunities in the community. The restoration was made possible by many individual donors as well as trusts and organisations. Since restoration, the organ has been included in the Buckingham Summer Festival, Buckingham Choral Society concerts, and organ recitals. There is further potential for recordings and educational initiatives in the future.The Organ page of the St Peter & St Paul website
/ref> The organ is in regular use, being used every week for the Sunday Traditional Service.

External links

Buckingham Parish Church: St Peter & St Paul's Church

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buckingham, Saint Peter And Saint Paul Church Church of England church buildings in Buckinghamshire Grade I listed churches in Buckinghamshire Churches completed in 1780 18th-century Church of England church buildings Saint Peter and Saint Paul