St Peter’s C of I Church, Culmore Road, Londonderry, BT48 8JB

St Peter’s Church in the City of Londonderry is a contemporary hall church built between 1960 and 1979. Designed by A T Marshall, who also worked as a city planning officer, the church is situated on Culmore Road near the Foyle Bridge roundabout, with the ground sloping away from the road.

The church has a modest design with clean lines and a low-pitched copper roof, topped by a copper-clad fleche towards the west end. It is oriented east-west and includes a north-west porch and a north-east vestry. The exterior walls are white rendered. The west end features a breakfront with a large, pointed three-light stained glass window, the centre light being dominant, with the walls on either side splayed. The south wall has seven bays with six tall, pointed lancet windows. The chancel is distinguished by a large stained glass window divided into four panes by a mullion and transome, forming a Roman cross. A dark-painted plinth steps down with the ground’s slope. The roof has a generous overhang, sheeted soffits, and concealed gutters with two copper downpipes. The east gable is windowless, with splayed walls creating a significant roof overhang. A door provides access to an underfloor space. The vestry projects eastward and, due to the sloping ground, becomes two storeys with basement access. The north and south walls of the vestry have high parapets, and the vestry roof is flat. The north elevation includes three tall, pointed lancets between the porch and the vestry. The porch is described as pedestrian and ill-proportioned, with an entrance door featuring two square-headed leaves and simple gable barges with minimal overhang. The vestry wing has a similar design with double doors and domestic-style windows. The copper roof elevates the church, although the fleche is noted for its lack of subtlety, being diagonally set on the ridge and crowned with a slim, gilded metal cross. The grounds are primarily a bitmac car park and paved areas, with limited planting. A church hall, with a concrete tiled roof, is located to the north, perpendicular to the church. The foundation stone was laid by Col. Sir Basil A.T. McFarland Bt. CBE ERD HML on 28th July 1965, and the church was dedicated the following year.