St Peter, Lowestoft

St Peter, Lowestoft

St Peter was the first of Lowestoft's 19th century churches, built in 1833 in white brick by the Norwich architect John Brown, in the 'Carpenter's Gothic' style. It was built as a chapel of ease to St Margaret, the Borough parish church.

Unlike the similar Ipswich Holy Trinity, there was no tower. Like Holy Trinity, however, a chancel was added later by a more sacramentally-minded generation.

Shortly before demolition, from the top of the adjacent tower block.

The chancel extension. This was in redbrick, in contrast to the whitebrick nave.

The chancel extension was the 1920s work of E.P. Warren. Along with Dacres Adams and Anning Bell, he sacramentalised the interior, with a huge reredos, painted panels and reliefs. At the time, Warren reported that the church was in poor condition, and recommended the replacement of the nave roof. I'm not clear if this was ever done.

Above: when the chancel was new, early 1920s. Below, a plan of the same.

Looking east. The great east window is now at St Margaret.

The church was declared redundant in 1974. It was apparently in excellent condition, but the housing all around was disappearing for the giant inner-ring road complex.

St Peter's Street is now a dual-carriageway linking the two great gyratory roundabouts of the inner ringroad system. St Peter was not in the way of the new road, and was an elegant building, with a secluded garden.

However, 19th century churches were not, at this time, considered important by any charitable trusts, no other users could be found, and when the three year probationary period under redundancy legislation had passed, St Peter came down.

The glass, by Christopher Whall, was, quite frankly, superb. Four lights showed the Evangelists and their symbols, and another between them showed Christ with the Blessed Virgin and St Peter. How do I know this? Because, unlike that in St John, it was all rescued, and reset in the Borough church of St Margaret, where it is by far the best glass in the place. There, the four evangelists have been reset in pairs, with the central three panels in a third window. It works rather well.

A possible point of confusion I: the former St Peter's Street methodist chapel, a survivor.

Another survivor: The former west window of St Peter, showing Christ in majesty, flanked by his mother and the patron saint of the church. Now reset in the north aisle of St Margaret.

Basil Rollason, who played the organ here in the late 1940s, tells me that this instrument was built by Norman and beard. It had two manuals and 20 stops, and was moved before demolition to Christ Church, where it is still today.

A possible point of confusion II: the former St Margaret's Institute, a few yards from the site of St Peter.

Churchcrawlers may be confused by a nearby churchlike structure in Alexandria Road. This is St Margaret's Institute, a parish mission from the late 19th century. This building serves a useful purpose today as a motorcycle showroom; the main entrance is cut into the north wall, and, in all honesty, it is done rather well. It continues to contribute to the urban landscape, and has not become a mere ghost like St Peter.

St Peter, Lowestoft, is now demolished. It formerly stood in St Peter's Street, to the north of the town centre, not far from the junction with Alexandra Road. A block of old peoples' flats is now on the site.

I would be very interested to hear from anyone who has a colour photograph of this church.

The one from the tower block is a selective enlargement from a panoramic view in the archives of the Eastern Daily Press, and is not copyright of this site. The exterior postcard, above, and reredos postcard, below, are courtesy of Stanley Rollason. The other black and white photographs were unearthed in an old architectural journal by Phil Draper, and are also not my copyright.