St Peter's Church, Devizes

St Peter's Church, Devizes
St Peter's, Devizes, as seen from the Bath Road
Coordinates: 51°21′14″N 2°00′22″W / 51.354°N 2.006°W / 51.354; -2.006
Country England
Denomination Church of England
Churchmanship Traditional Anglo-Catholic[1]
Website stpeters_devizes.org.uk
History
Status Active
Dedication St. Peter
Consecrated 24 July 1866
Architecture
Functional status Parish church
Heritage designation Grade II listed
Architect(s) William Slater and Richard Carpenter
Groundbreaking 30 June 1865
Completed 1866
Administration
Parish Devizes
Archdeaconry Wiltshire
Diocese Diocese of Salisbury
Province Province of Canterbury
Clergy
Bishop(s) The Rt Revd Jonathan Goodall SSC (AEO)
Vicar(s) Rev Vincent Perricone

St Peter's Church is an Anglican parish church in Devizes, Wiltshire. It is a Victorian church and is situated on the Bath Road, one of four Anglican churches in the town. It is in the Anglican Diocese of Salisbury but is under the Episcopal care of the Bishop of Ebbsfleet. It is also an active member of Devizes Churches Together.

History

St Peter's Church was built when Rev Benjamin Dowding, Vicar of St James's Church, Devizes, decided that the town needed another church that was nearer to the Kennet and Avon Canal and the industries surrounding it.

The foundation stone was laid on 30 June 1865 by Rev Dowding.[2] The construction took from 1865 to 1866 and was built by Slater & Carpenter. The church was consecrated on 24 July 1866 by Walter Kerr Hamilton, Bishop of Salisbury. The consecration service was attended by the Royal Wiltshire Militia who marched to the church with the clergy in procession.[3]

The south aisle and organ chamber were added between 1884 and 1885 by Weaver & Adye.

The first vicar of St Peter's was Rev Harold Grindle. Successive incumbents added to the development of the building and the culture of the parish, notably Canon Frederick Phipps who served for 34 years and introduced the Anglo-Catholic style of worship that continues to this day.

Another former vicar is Rev Douglas Bryant. He was priest of St Peter's for seven years and in that time, he did much to increase the church's devotional atmosphere. He eventually became a Canon of Guildford Cathedral. Bryant's son, Mark Bryant, is now the Bishop of Jarrow.

In more recent years, St Peter's has become an active member of both Forward in Faith and The Society (Church of England), and the PCC have passed Resolutions A, B and C in opposition to the ordination of women as priests.

The present Incumbent is The Rev'd. Dr Vincent Perricone, appointed in 2014.

Stations and icons

St Peter's has a hand-carved, wooden collection of Stations of the Cross that decorate the walls of the church. It also has a collection of icons, including one of St Paul and one of St Peter, which was given to the church by a former parishioner, Estelle Holloway.

List of incumbents

Priest's Name From To
Harold Grindle 1866 1885
Arthur Devas 1885 1901
Frederick Phipps 1901 1935
George F. George 1935 1939
Cyril Reeves Palmer 1939 1941
Sidney Wyman 1941 1944
George Hamilton Douglas 1944 1950
Douglas Bryant 1950 1957
Vernon Thomas 1957 1966
Henry Maude 1966 1974
John Croft 1974 1985
Brian Tigwell 1985 1999
Leslie Attwood 2000 2002
Peter Moss 2005 2013
Vincent Perricone 2014

Organ

The church has a 2 manual pipe organ by Griffin and Stroud dating from 1898. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Devizes: St Peter, Devizes". A Church Near You. The Church of England. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  2. ↑ "New District Church near Devizes". Devizes and Wiltshire Gazette. England. 26 July 1865. Retrieved 2 November 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)).
  3. ↑ "Consecration of St Peter's Church, Devizes". Frome Times. England. 25 July 1866. Retrieved 2 November 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)).
  4. ↑ "NPOR N08429". National Pipe Organ Register. British Institute of Organ Studies. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.