St John the Baptist - Peterborough

The History of St John's.

Peterborough has had a Parish Church since the 11th century. The first recorded Vicar of Peterborough was William of Waterford instituted by Bishop St Hugh of Lincoln in 1229. The present St John's replaced the original Bondgate church, east of the Abbey church, because of flooding at Martin's Bridge, and since many people had moved to larger houses around the market place. Materials from the old church, and the nave of St Thomas' Chapel west of the cathedral, together with timber brought from Milton Park were used in its construction. The present church building was dedicated by Abbot Genge on the Patronal Festival, June 24th (The Feast of the Nativity of St John the Baptist) 1407.

The sixteenth century was an eventful time for St John's. Its bells sounded for the funerals of both Katharine of Aragon (1536) and Mary, Queen of Scots (1587) in the cathedral. The church sexton, Robert Scarlett, buried both Queens, and is himself buried in the cathedral, having died in 1594 at the age of 98.

The parish registers and records are deposited at the Northants Records Office, and record the baptism in 1599 of Henry Heath, one of the Forty Roman Catholic Martyrs executed in 1643.

The best known Vicar of Peterborough, Simon Gunton, faithfully entered the names of those who died from the Great Plague, which raged between 1665 and 1667. He marked each entry with an "x" to thank God for his own preservation, and appended a prayer to each page.The church tower had originally been built with a spire, but in the late 1820's this had to be removed, as the building was found to be in a very unsafe state. In 1881 a high gale blew the east pinnacle off the tower and it crashed through the aisle roof. After this disaster an extensive work of restoration was undertaken in the years 1881-3, when the interior took its present shape. Galleries which had provided seating accommodation were removed. Further renovation work took place in 1909, and in 1976-7, when the fifteenth century font was moved to its present location.

In the nineteenth century, many people came to live in Peterborough largely due to the coming of the railway. New parishes were formed to serve the growing population, but St John's remains the Peterborough Parish Church and its vicar bears the title Vicar of Peterborough. During the Second World War, the silence of the bells was only broken in celebration of the victory at El Alamein in 1942. The more recent redevelopment of the city has left the church surrounded by a modern commercial centre and a congregation drawn from a wide area. Its life flourishes around the central worship of Christ, as it has for nearly 600 years on this site.

Details of the Building.

Over the South Porch entrance is an heraldic antelope surmounting the top gable. One theory is that this is the emblem of the Lancastrian King Henry IV, who reigned 1399-1413 and who was therefore on the throne during the building of the Church. Alternatively, it may be a unique example in a public place of the heraldic antelope put there in honour of the Earl of Derby, who often resided in Peterborough. The South Porch is perhaps the finest part remaining of the original fifteenth century building. The Porch has a fine vaulted ceiling, upon which can be seen medieval stone carvings of great interest. The three carved bosses represent respectively the Trinity, the Annunciation, and the Crucifixion.

The North Porch on the opposite side of the church is an embattled porch, with two gargoyles, one side, beneath two of the buttresses.

The interior of the church is very much restored. This was done in the 1880's, under the direction of J L Pearson, architect of Truro Cathedral. Galleries were removed and a large East Window depicting the Ascension was inserted over the high altar.

The woodwork is relatively modern. The two screens separating the organ vestry and Lady Chapel area were erected in 1915, and the chancel screen dates from 1917. The rood was added to the chancel screen in 1938.

The Lady chapel was restored in 1923 and re-ordered in 1989. A white light is placed above the aumbry to indicate the the Blessed Sacrament is reserved here. In the Lady Chapel stands a Georgian monument to Matthew Wyldbore, who died in 1781. Wyldbore was twice elected MP for Peterborough, and is remembered in St John's because of a legacy he left to the bellringers, reputed in gratitude for finding his way safely through the mists on Peterborough Common by making for the sound of St John's bells. The window above the Lady Chapel altar depicts the Resurrection.

The Church has two framed pieces of embroidery, from medieval vestments. Each piece of needlework is in the form of a cross, and seems to represent the trinity: the design may even have been copied from the central boss in the ceiling of the South Porch. These are displayed on the South aisle wall

Much of the Church Plate dates from the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, but this is not kept in the church.

The ring of eight bells were recast in 1675 after the Restoration, again in 1808 and rededicated in 1947 after an overhaul. The 19th century carillon was restored in 1991 though some of the tunes that it plays have yet to be identified.

The High Altar reredos is modern. The main figures carved on it are St John the Baptist, St Peter (Patron of the diocese, and Bishop St Hugh of Lincoln and Abbot Genge, who both played parts in the history of St John's.

The church has a number of stain-glass windows, mainly Victorian. The most recent, in the north aisle, was dedicated to Bishop Easthaugh in 1968: it is designed by Brian Thomas.

There are several memorial tablets on the church walls, mostly of the eighteenth century date. Notable among them are the Wyldbore Memorial in the Lady Chapel, and the mural monument by John Flaxman to the Squire family, situated on the north wall to the west of the Porch.

The vestment cupboard, in the north-west corner, is dated 1569. Its doors may have been an aumbry cover and it shows a Spanish Crucifixion scene in a German frame. The crucifix itself is modern, but the rest of the carving is of the sixteenth century.

The west end of the church was rebuilt 1907 - 1909 when the arches supporting the tower were again opened and oak screens were erected. At this time the Charles Nicholson window "Christ in Glory" was installed above the west door.

The font dates from the fifteenth century. The short panelled column which supports the octagonal bowl with its quatrefoil panels shows traces of having been shortened at some time. It was moved to its present position in 1976. One of the martyrs of the Reformation, Blessed Henry Heath, was baptised in the font in 1599.

To find out more about the history of St John's please contact our archivists, June & Vernon Bull.

(Click to email...)

St John's Parish Registers and Records are held at Northants Records Office. The Peterborough City Library has microfiche copies of the registers from 1559 to the 1950s.

To view or request details of Parish Records Contact:

Sarah Bridges at the Northamptonshire Records Office , County Archivist, Wootton Hall Park, Northampton NN4 8BQ. Tel 0044 (0)1604 762129; fax 0044 (0)1604 767562;

Email archivist@northamptonshire.gov.uk

The History of Peterborough Parish Church

By June and Vernon Bull

Available in St John's

£2.00

Tuesday 8th June 2010 - A possible Medieval Burial Ground was unearthed at the western end of the churchyard, and was reported in the local paper The Evening Telegraph.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS have been confounded by the shock discovery of a medieval burial ground containing human remains outside St John’s Church in Peterborough. Builders working on the creation of St John’s Square as part of the multi-million pound regeneration of the city centre dug up more than they bargained for on Tuesday when the 500-year-old skeletal remains of four people were discovered just outside the west entrance. The discovery could scupper hopes of the works being completed by September with architects currently discussing a re-design so that the stairs leading down to the church do not disrupt the burial site. But the delay could be a side issue when set against the potential revelations it could bring about Peterborough’s heritage, as historical records make no mention of a burial ground in the immediate vicinity of the church and more remains could be found.

Adam Yates, project manager for Northamptonshire Archaeologists, which is overseeing the regeneration work, said: “It was very much a surprise. “Records make no reference to a grave yard next to the church, so it was a surprise all round to find burials had taken place there. “The burial ground itself probably dates back to the early days of the church, in or around the 15th century. “They are consistent with churchyard burials as they are all lined up.”

Julian Limentani, the Peterborough Cathedral architect who is representing St John’s Church, said that it is the church’s wish that the remains are not disturbed, which rules out exhuming the graves. Archaeologists will instead carry out a “soil scraping” to get a better look at the bones as well as looking to discover what other ground has been disturbed by potential burials. Little work has been done on the site yet, but a human skull and leg bones can clearly be seen in the shallow holes dug by builders, who will now have to protect the bones when the stairs are built.

Dave Gibson, site manager for builders Osborne’s, said: “We don’t want to disturb the remains any more than we have to so we are meeting with designers to look at how we can build the stairs and ramps down to the church while protecting the bones beneath.”

Paul Middleton, secretary of the Peterborough diocesan advisory committee, said there was nothing to indicate there was a burial site around the church, with the church’s previous graveyard situation on what is now the Crescent Roundabout, by Queensgate.

Friday 9th July 2010 - The remains of seven medieval bodies were laid to rest after they were uncovered by builders revamping Peterborough city centre, and was reported in the local paper The Evening Telegraph.

THE remains of seven medieval bodies were laid to rest after they were uncovered by builders revamping Peterborough city centre.

Rev Canon Gordon Steele led a re-dedication service yesterday following the surprise archaeological discovery of the bodies, which date back 500 years, outside the west entrance of St John’s Church, in Church Street, last month. After praying for the souls of the buried seven, Rev Steele led a procession through the church and out to the graves, which he then covered with a thin cloth. He said: “Our Eucharist is a requiem for those who have worked in the church over the last 600 years and to remember our brothers and sisters who have died. “As we give thanks for the legacy and heritage of our church, so we pray for the enduring peace of those who died.”

Archaeologists believe one of the bodies could be a priest because he is buried with his head facing west, toward the congregation, while the rest are facing east. The other remains have smaller bones and are thought to be graves of children or juveniles. Archaeologist Stephen Morris, of Northamptonshire Archaeologists, believes that further digging around the site would see more than 20 other bodies uncovered. He thinks that the discoveries could mean the whole of the former Corn Exchange site may have been a cemetery for up to 200 years after the church was built in 1407. He said: “The whole square area may have been a cemetery but I think that most of the bodies may have been removed by the Victorians. “There was no record of any burials in this area so it was certainly unexpected when the bodies were unearthed. “The bodies are all quite packed together and I think if we dug a little deeper we could find more, another two dozen or so bodies. “But we have to respect the wishes of the church which wants to lay the remains to rest once more.”

Efforts will be made to protect the remains as work progresses on the creation of St John’s Square, part of the public realm works which has already seen Cathedral Square revamped. Steps will be built leading down to the church’s west entrance with the work scheduled for completion this September. The church is planning to mark the remains of those buried beneath the square by erecting a memorial plaque in honour of the dead.

St John’s Church was originally located to the east of Peterborough Cathedral, near Boongate, before it was pulled down in 1402 with the agreement of Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Lincoln, and the existing church was built.