Roman Catholic Church of St Peter and All Souls, Peterborough

Roman Catholic Church of St Peter and All Souls, Peterborough

This Roman Catholic church was built between 1895 and 1896 to a design by architect Leonard Stokes. It is constructed in Stamford limestone with tiled roofs.

The church is cruciform in plan, though oriented south-east to north-west in its actual placement. It comprises a nave with aisles on each side, shallow transepts that function as chapels, and a sanctuary at the east end. Porches are positioned on the south and north elevations at their western ends. A single-storey sacristy adjoins the north aisle and leads to the separately listed presbytery, which is attached to the church at the north-east corner and forms an L-shape. A parish room is attached to the south-east corner of the presbytery and has its own external access on Fitzwilliam Street.

Externally, a gabled roof runs continuously over the nave and sanctuary, extending over the aisles above a plain parapet. A pointed bell cote rises above the sanctuary at the east end.

The north elevation contains seven bays. The westernmost bay is marked by a recessed porch with a curved archway, hood-mould, and an incised St Cuthbert's cross on either side. The porch has timber double doors with decorative iron strap-hinges featuring ivy leaf motifs. The next four bays each contain a two-light pointed arch window. To the east lies the north transept with its own gable-end topped with a cross finial, a three-light pointed arched window, and a small stair turret. This is followed by the two-light sanctuary window and the single-storey sacristy, which has a plain parapet and mullioned windows with leaded lights. The west gable-end is distinguished by bands of ashlar stonework and contains a large seven-light pointed window with curvilinear tracery.

The south elevation features a porch at its west end and five two-light pointed arch windows. The south transept, similar in character to its northern counterpart but lacking a stair turret, sits towards the west end. At the east end, the sanctuary has a two-light window matching that on the north side, with a buttress positioned to its left. The parish room is attached at this eastern end.

At the time of survey in 2022, the nave walls were being supported by scaffolding.

The interior of the nave features an open timber roof, plain plastered walls, a timber boarded floor, and a timber gallery spanning the western bay. All windows throughout the church are clear glazed. The nave arcades comprise six bays with chamfered pointed arches on tall stone piers. Arch vaults extend across the aisles to frame the windows in each bay. The eastern bay of each arcade aligns with the transepts, each containing a small chapel.

A tall, moulded pointed arch opens into the sanctuary, which is raised three steps above the nave. The sanctuary has a blind north-west wall with a central recess, lit from either side by two-light arched windows. The floor is polished marble. A suite of altar, ambo, seating, and tabernacle in stone was created by Antonio Gianatiempo. A curved altar-canopy and reredos, which are copies of originals removed in 1971, incorporate carvings of 1913 depicting the Crucifixion, St Peter, and Judas Maccabeus.

The south-east Lady Chapel contains a marble altarpiece by Leonard Stokes, set with a 14th-century icon of the Virgin by Ugolino. The chapel is lit by a three-light stained glass window by Hardman and contains an altar rail thought to be by Leonard Stokes.

The north-east chapel features a carved timber reredos with relief carving of the Last Supper and Crucifixion by Ferdinand Stufflesser. The nave walls display large timber Stations of the Cross by Martin Feuerstein.

A small octagonal timber font of late 20th-century date stands at the west end of the nave.