Saint Peter's Church

Some extracts from Harry Johnson's history of the Saint Peter's Church completed 1928.

Subscriptions were first raised for building a new Church in mid June1825. Nothing happened after that, until five years later, when a resolution in the council actually decided against building a church at all. Nevertheless, that same year, the church site was purchased. (The site had previously been owned by Bell family of Hopton and row 97, and the details of sale shown with the text on St.Peter's road.) The foundation stone was laid on the 7th of July 1831. The total cost of the building was stated to be twelve thousand pounds, two thousand pounds being raised by subscription and the rest from the Commissioners for building new churches. The judge was consecrated by the Bishop of Winchester (Dr Somner) on August 16th 1833.

Built of white Suffolk brick the church is ornamented with square flints and measures 124 feet in length, 64 ft in breadth and has a tower 108 ft high. At one time it was surmounted by four pinnacles, but when one of them was blown off in a gale in 1860, the other three were removed. In a 1906 on the 17th of March the tower was struck by lightning during the Sunday morning service. The four dial clock was actually put into the Church tower in 1876. The original church font was presented to the Mission Church of all Saints Great Witchingham in the 1950s. The Church was renovated in 1906 with new seating, heating and lighting. The organ was moved from the West gallery to the East End of the South Isle. The Reredos panelling was carved in Oak, 26 ft long and depicted the supper at Emmaus.

St Peter's Mission Hall.

There was a mission hall between King's Street and Dean side which was originally a fish curing house and later became the Brunswick Chapel, belonging to the Methodist New Connection. The building is now a plumbers and builders merchants store. Originally the site had been known as "The Rope Walks" and also as "Angels Field".

The Saint Peter's National Schools.

The schools were first opened by Dr Heinz, the Bishop of Norwich, on at the 11th of April 1850. The Head Masters had included Robert Harding, Charles Smith, George Osborne, and A J Greystone (1894), Richard Hartt, (1895), Henry Day (1897), F Westgate (1927).