St. Peter's (Parish) Church from Kirkgate
Percy Robinson
1896
Drawing
Source: Robinson's Relics of Old Leeds (1896)
Other views of St. Peter's
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Formatting and color correction by George P. Landow.
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Accompanying text
ALTHOUGH the existing Church of St. Peter is a modern building, being erected during the present century, it stands upon a site which has been occupied by successive churches from very early times. Of the beginning we have very little information, but we may assume that the first church in Leeds was a Saxon structure, in all probability erected during the days of Paulinus, the Northumbrian Apostle. Thoresby suggests that this original church was destroyed by the Danes when they burned York Minster, and this suggestion is not improbable. However, in "Domesday," we have certain evidence of a church being in existence, though what the structure was like can only be a matter of conjecture. It would probably be one of those rude Saxon edifices which were rebuilt by the Normans during the great era of church building in the twelfth century, when they adapted the old churches of the Saxons to their own more extended ideas of propriety and magnificence. . . .
The present building was erected by voluntary subscriptions, at a cost of £29,770, and was opened on Thursday, September 2nd, 1841, in the presence of the Archbishop of York, the Bishops of Ripon, Ross, Argyll, and New Jersey, and a large concourse of clergy and laity from all parts of the kingdom. The church stands upon the old site as nearly as possible, a portion of the old south wall being left standing and included in the present structure. The plan is also similar in general arrangement to the old church, the chief difference being that the tower, instead of being over the transept crossing, is placed at the extremity of the north transept. The double north aisle is retained, but the portion east of the tower is screened off and forms an ante-chapel. The principal entrance is through the tower, the basement of which forms a porch. Over the rich canopied arch, in the inner porch, is placed a full-sized statue of Saint Peter, the patron saint, which formerly stood on the top of the old organ. Immediately opposite the central doorway is the organ, which occupies the whole of the south transept, but which is not visible, being placed behind a richly carved oak screen. The nave and chancel arcades have pointed arches on clustered columns. The chancel, which is approached by seven steps, terminates with a hexagonal apse. Over the altar, in the angles of the apse, are four figures of the evangelists in canopied niches. The cover of the 14th century piscina is on the south-east wall of the chancel, and is converted into a monument to Thoresby, the antiquary. The tower contains a fine peal of bells, thirteen in number. Altogether, there are three thousand sittings in the church, and of these eighteen hundred are free. [39-40]
Sources
Robinson, Percy. Relics of Old Leeds. Leeds: Percy Robinson, 1896; London: B. T. Batsford. Internet Archive version of a copy in the University of California Library. Web. 23 January 2013
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Last modified 23 January 2013