Church of St Peter

Church of St Peter

A parish church built in 1840-41 by the architect Lewis Vulliamy, with early 20th-century internal refurbishments and a vestry added to the east. The church is constructed in well-crafted knapped flint, framed by stock brick banding, quoins and pilasters, with terracotta and stucco dressings.

The building follows a large rectangular plan with a tower at the west end and a shallow apse to the east end, beyond which projects a single-storey range to the east. The design is in the Norman style, which was briefly fashionable at the time of its design, and is overall bold in massing and austere in decoration.

The west end features a Norman portal of four orders, above which rises the mass of the tower. The tower is blind except for a roundel at the top bearing a shield-bearing angel, and then rises as an octagonal tower enlivened by elegant columns and topped with a spire. The roof profile of the wide nave is visible behind, with stepped round-headed lancets alternately blind. Each bay of the side elevations is defined by a tall rounded lancet edged in brick between brick pilasters set on a flint and brick base. The glass is mostly clear except for the windows to the eastern end. The east end comprises a main wide gable with a lower gable of shallow sanctuary with triple lancet windows. In front of this stands a single-storey vestry range with a central door in a moulded portal and raised gables at each end. These lower ranges return to the north and south with secondary entrances and are faced with a wide blind arcade.

The interior reveals the Norman style through a large rounded sanctuary arch, within which is an arcade with paintings of saints in Greek Orthodox style, added in 2000 to designs by Gregory Papagiougiou. The roof is striking, comprising eight queen-post trusses with bold trefoil spandrels, all in rich dark wood. A refurbishment in 1905 under the Reverend W.H. Maynard included removal of the galleries, addition of the vestry, and relocation of the organ to the east end. An east window of 1909 features kneeling angels flanking a figure of Christ. A Gothic rood screen was installed in 1911 along with the pulpit, font and stained glass by Heaton Butler & Bayne, painted with names to form a war memorial. The pews may also date from this period, are of good quality and display Perpendicular detailing. These early 20th-century refurbishments moved away from the resolutely Norman styling of the exterior but are of quality and contribute to the interior's interest.

The Church of St Peter was the first of Bishop Charles James Blomfield's churches in Bethnal Green. As Bishop of London, Blomfield was determined to address the dramatic shortage of churches and vicars in the capital, calculating that in some parishes there was less than one church for every 19,000 people. Blomfield's campaign formed part of the wider Church Commission of 1818 to build new churches. Bethnal Green had experienced considerable population growth in the early 19th century and was a prime candidate for a Commissioners' Church. The church was originally situated in the centre of a square with terraced houses, although these are now mostly replaced except for the grade II Vicarage, also by Vulliamy. The church forms a group with listed railings and piers, the Vicarage and the former school, now the Noel Mander Church Organ Works.