St Peter’s Church celebrated its centenary in 1999.  She was consecrated on Thursday 7 September 1899.  It was after many years of worship taking place in the old schoolroom that it was decided a church for quarry workers and their families was needed.  The three sons of Mr and Mrs Breedon Everard of Bardon Quarry offered to build the church in memory of their parents; to this day there is a plate high up on the west wall reading “To the Glory of God and in memory of Breedon and Elizabeth Ann Everard, this church was built in 1899”.

 

The church was designed by Mr John Breedon Everard, on land given by Mr William Thomas Everard.   The foundation stone was laid on 6 June 1898.  

 

The church is built of stone quarried at Bardon Hill and Markfield with dressings of doulting stone.  The inside is lined with Ellistown red bricks relieved with Bath stone dressings from Corsham Down.  

 

The church consists of a nave with a narthex, a small transept on the south side and an aisle on the north side, together with a chancel.  An organ chamber and a vestry are situated on the south and north sides respectively.  The nave measures 45ft x 32ft inside (including the aisles) and the chancel 25.5ft x 22ft.  There is a slender tower crowned by a fleche on a saddleback roof at the west end of the aisle which contains three bells (the bells are inscribed with the initials of the three Everard sons; William Thomas, Charles and John).  The beautiful stained glass window was installed in memory of John Breedon and his wife Harriet Selby Everard in 1930.

 

The Everards also donated the font in memory of two of their children.  The font itself is made of a bowl of alabaster mounted on a polished Hopton wood stone base.

 

The Everard family stayed loyal friends to the church for many years and all their graves can be found at the east end of the church in the churchyard.

 

The churchyard was consecrated in 1908 and in 1964 a garden of remembrance was created.  There is a parish war memorial on the south east corner of the churchyard.

 

More about the history of our church can be found in the small booklet we made to celebrate her centenary, from which this information is taken.  A copy of this booklet can be downloaded through the following link:

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To this day St Peter’s Church continues to have a very good friendship with the management and staff at Bardon Quarry (Aggregate Industries) and we greatly appreciate all of their support.