The St Peter's Centre is a multi-purpose community resource and the home for Open Heaven Church and Elim Pentecostal Church in Loughborough.
"The St. Peter’s Church building we see today represents a permanent successor to the earlier “Tin Church” built by James Lee in 1889 situated next door. In 1892 the Tin church was extended to serve the growing community. Work commenced on building the present stone church in the autumn of 1910 with the first ceremonial stone being turned on November 10th 1910. Work on building the new church continued throughout 1911 and the first quarter of 1912 and on the 26th April 1912, the Bishop of Peterborough consecrated the new church.
A souvenir calendar in 1912 shows an architectural sketch of the church. The drawing includes the Lady Chapel. However, the Lady Chapel was not built in 1912 as planned as insufficient funds were available and it wasn’t until 1958 that work started on the Lady Chapel and was completed in 1962.
The first world war memorial was designed by Weatherley and consists of a triptych with the names of the fallen and the inner sides of the doors with panels depicting Saint George and Saint Michael.
St. Peter’s is a Grade II listed building and the listed building description includes a final section called “Summary of Importance”. We have quoted this below:
“This is a carefully designed church which is built of the unusual purple granite of Mountsorrel. The imposing line of the nave and chancel is augmented by the aisles, Lady Chapel and vestry. The interior is lofty and spacious with the nave arcades and passage aisles adding to the grandeur of the building. The good quality contemporary fittings survive with stained glass of the first half of the 20th century and the church is remarkably intact.The St. Peter's Church building we see today represents a permanent successor to the earlier "Tin Church" built by James Lee situated next door.
Work commenced on building the present stone church in the autumn of 1910 with the first ceremonial stone being turned on November 10th 1910. Work on building the new church continued throughout 1911 and the first quarter of 1912 and on the 26th April 1912, the Bishop of Peterborough consecrated the new church.
A souvenir calendar in 1912 shows an architectural sketch of the church. The drawing includes the Lady Chapel. However, the Lady Chapel was not built in 1912 as planned as insufficient funds were available.
Work started on the Lady Chapel and was completed in 1962.
2004 - St. Peter’s church becomes officially redundant.
2005 - Churches were invited to submit applications for St Peter’s. Open Heaven and Elim who had been working together for several years decided to submit a joint proposal where both churches would share the building.
August 2013 - the Mayor officially opens The St. Peter's Centre during our well attended community festival event called "House Warming"."
SOURCE - (
visit link)
The church is Grade II listed -
"GV II Church. 1910-12. By WS Weatherley of London and GH Barrowcliff of Barrowcliff and Allcock, Loughborough. Lady Chapel 1958 by Albert Herbert of Leicester. Local Mountsorrel granite rubble with stone dressings and plain tile roof with stone coped gables with kneelers and finials. Gothic style with buttresses with set-offs. Plan of nave and chancel in one with north Lady Chapel and south organ chamber and vestry. Narrow passage aisles and north and south porches. Chancel has 7-light east window with Decorated tracery and 2-light windows to north and south. Lady Chapel has 3-light windows. Organ chamber to south has 2-light window and ashlar gabled bell-cote to side over vestry which has flat-arched windows and curving parapet. Nave is of 5 bays and has 4 3-light clerestory windows either side over the aisles which have narrow lancets. North and south porches are similar and have moulded arches and double doors within with elaborate metal decoration. West end has 7-light west window with fine Decorated tracery. INTERIOR. Walls of buff coloured rendered plaster with Ancaster stone dressings. East window has fine stained glass. Wooden reredos with carved and panelled altar canopy and riddle posts with angel finials, both designed by Weatherley. Elaborate sedilia and piscine in south wall. Carved choir stalls and communion rails. Organ of 1913 has panelled and carved case. Panelled and boarded chancel roof. Pulpit in carved wood on stone base. Nave arcades of moulded arches dying into hexagonal piers with shafts rising to panelled and boarded nave roof. Aisle roofs similar. Aisle lancets are filled with stained glass of 1920's and 30's. Unusual font of beaten copper and iron. First World War memorial on west wall which was designed by Weatherley and made by Robinsons, Marsham St., London, and which consists of a triptych, the inner panel with the names of the Fallen and the inner sides of the doors with panels depicting Sts. George and Michael. HISTORY: This church replaced the adjacent earlier mission church which had been built in 1889 and extended 1892 to serve a new community. This followed the development of several streets of housing principally for those employed by a large supplier of greenhouses and agricultural and other machinery, Messenger and Co.
SUMMARY OF IMPORTANCE This is a carefully designed church which is built of the unusual purple granite of nearby Mountsorrel. The imposing line of the nave and chancel in one is augmented by the aisles, Lady Chapel and vestry. The interior is lofty and spacious with the nave arcades and passage aisles adding to the grandeur of the building. The good quality contemporary fittings survive together with stained glass of the first half of the C20 and the whole church is remarkably intact."
SOURCE - (
visit link)