St Peter's Church, Leicester

St Peter's Church, Leicester, is a Grade II listed^[1] parish church in the Church of England in the Highfields area of Leicester.^[2]

St Peter's Church, Leicester
St Peter's Church, Leicester
52°37′48″N 1°06′59.9″W
Location	Leicester
Country	England
Denomination	Church of England
Website	stpetershighfields.co.uk
History
Dedication	St Peter
Consecrated	16 April 1874
Architecture
Heritage designation	Grade II listed[1]
Architect(s)	George Edmund Street
Groundbreaking	1872
Completed	1879
Specifications
Bells	1
Administration
Diocese	Diocese of Leicester
Archdeaconry	Leicester
Deanery	City of Leicester
Benefice	Benefice of St Peter Highfields and St Philip's Leicester
Parish	Parish of St Peter Highfields, Leicester
Clergy
Rector	The Rev Jonathan Surridge, 2016
Deacon(s)	The Rev Caroline Brown, 2021
Laity
Organist(s)	Chris Gray

History

The foundation stone was laid on 14 November 1872 by the Bishop of Peterborough. The church was built as a memorial to Richard Curzon-Howe, 1st Earl Howe, and was originally known as the Howe Memorial Church.^[3] It was built to the designs of the architect George Edmund Street.

The church was consecrated on 18 April 1874 by the Bishop of Peterborough.^[4]

The spire was dismantled in 1968 and the building continued to deteriorate such that by 2014 the tower masonry and roof coverings were in very poor condition, and the building was added to the Heritage at Risk register.^[5]

Between 2018 and 2021, repairs funded by the Heritage Lottery, Leicester City Council, the Diocese of Leicester and the church's own funds, led to the tower, tower roof, stonework and the main roof being repaired.^[6]

Incumbents

• F.W. Robinson 1874 - 1893^[7] (afterwards vicar of Paston)
• W. Perowne Holmes 1893.- 1906^[8]
• A.I. Grieves 1906 - 1911^[9] (afterwards vicar of Finedon)
• Ambrose Lethbridge 1911 - 1917^[10] (afterwards rector then provost of St Mary's Cathedral, Glasgow)
• William Thompson Elliott 1917^[11] - 1926 (formerly vicar of All Saints’ Church, Bradford, afterwards Vicar of Leeds)
• G.E. Powell 1926 - 1933
• Robert L. Leatherdale 1934 - 1945 (afterwards residentiary canon of Ripon Cathedral)
• Albert William Eaton 1945^[12] - 1960 (formerly rector of Christ Church, Johannesburg)
• Edward Wilson Carlile from 1960^[13]

Parish status

The church is in a benefice with St Philip's on Evington Road, Leicester.

Organ

The pipe organ was built by Joshua Porritt in 1875. It was extensively modified by Stephen Taylor and Son in 1910. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.^[14]

Organists

• William Henry Wale 1874 - 1882^[15]
• Philip Angrave 1882 - 1891^[16]
• Cardinal Taylor 1891 - 1894 (afterwards organist of St Mary's Church, Humberston)
• Walter Joseph Bunney FRCO 1905 - 1936 (formerly organist of Holy Trinity Church, Leicester)
• Harold Barnes 1937 - 1946^[17] (afterwards organist of St Mary's Church, Melton Mowbray)