Nominal: 679.5 Hz Weight: 2263 lbs Diameter: 48.38" Bell 1 of 1
Founded by John Taylor & Co 1880
Dove Bell ID: 56580 Tower ID: 21551 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Cracked: No
St Peter’s Highfields
Diocese of Leicester
Church, 619013
http://www.stpetershighfields.org.ukThis church is on the Heritage at Risk Register (verified 2025-11-06)
View more information about this church on the Heritage at Risk website
Overview
Grid reference: SK 599 39
A large Victorian Gothic stone church in the 19th-century Highfields eastern suburb of Leicester, quite close to the city centre. St Peter's was built in 1872-4 to a design by G E Street, to serve the burgeoning suburb of Highfields. It is predominantly in the early Decorated style and constructed of brick faced with sandstone rubble, rock-faced sandstone (tower) and limestone dressings and arcades.
Visiting and facilities
Building is open for worship
Building
Ground Plan Description and Dimensions
Ground plan:
7-bay aisled nave with south porch and shallow transepts, with small polygonal chapel to the south transept, polygonal chancel, west tower. Community centre and hall to the north.
Dimensions:
Nave c 35m (110ft) x 7m (22ft), aisles 3m wide.
Footprint of Church buildings: 1074 m²
Description of Archaeology and History
Leicester was the Roman city Ratae Coritanorum, but this church is in a slightly raised eastern part of the modern city, outside the Roman and later Medieval town. There are records of a small number of prehistoric flint artefacts found in the area, including Neolithic and Early Bronze Age arrowheads, Archaeological evidence from these or other periods is possible but not expected from this site.
The church (and adjacent hall and house?) was built in 1872-4 to a design by the noted architect G E Street on farmland outside the city to serve the burgeoning suburb of Highfields. The broach spire was completed in 1879. The floor of the chapel was laid as a War Memorial after World War I.
In World War II the area and the church were damaged by bombing. The broach spire was taken down in the 1980s against the Council’s advice, and the tower given a crenellated parapet. At about the same time the interior was subdivided with a glazed full-height screen adapted from the chancel screen, the western bays of the nave and tower space behind this are now little more than a storage area. A community centre has been built onto the west end of the north aisle, connecting with the old hall here.
Exterior Description
This is a large church, mostly in the early Decorated style, articulated with Street’s customary inventiveness. The tall west tower has a (new) crenellated parapet, angle buttresses and 2-light pointed and cusped bell openings, round clock face across the south openings. The middle stage has coupled cusped lancets to each face. There is a large 3-light pointed west window with reticulated tracery above a 4-centred pointed cusped doorway in the lower stage, this now the main entrance to the church.
The nave has a clearstorey with coupled cusped lancets, similar to the aisles between buttresses of two weatherings to each bay. The gabled south porch off the tower with moulded pointed doorway beneath a round traceried window is mirrored by a shallow gabled transpt on the other side, with a 2-light pointed window. The chancel and south transept chapel each have three pointed 2-light windows to their exposed faces, with a dogtooth frieze along the eaves. The side walls of the chancel have each two pointed 2-lights. The transept outer windows in the gables are 2-lights with reticulated tracery. The north transept houses the organ chamber.
Building Fabric and Features
Tower (component)
19th Century rock-faced sandstone tower
Arcade
19th Century limestone dressings and arcades
Nave
19th Century 7-bay aisled nave.
Chapel (component)
19th Century Small polygonal chapel to the south transept.
Chancel
19th Century Polygonal chancel.
Building Materials
Brick
19th Century Brick faced with sandstone rubble
Sandstone
19th Century Brick faced with sandstone rubble
Limestone
19th Century Limestone dressings
Timber
19th Century Timber roofs.
Tile
19th Century Timber roofs decked with Swithland slate and clay ridge tiles.
Slate
19th Century Timber roofs decked with Swithland slate and clay ridge tiles.
Interior
Interior Description
Moving inside, the interior is whitewashed, the arcades, arches and window frames bare stone. The nave has a continuous arcade of pointed double-chamfered arches rising from octagonal piers with plain capitals, with no chancel arch or other demarcation, but with transverse arches across the aisles. The arcades support a good timber roof with a collar. The floor is of quarry tiles and woodblock.
As already noted a glazed screen cuts the nave in half. The screen itself is a filigree Gothic oak screen which once demarcating the chancel and chapel, which has had glazing and double doors added and the gable above the cornice infilled. West of this screen, the space is clear with a few tables and chairs and stacks of other tables and chairs and other items. The north aisle here contains doors to the toilets and serving hatch to the kitchen of the adjacent hall. The large tower space is open within a tall tower arch carried on huge responds, the space appears unused.
East of it are rows of wooden open-backed chairs in the nave and aisles. An arch demarcates the apsidal (Lady) chapel which opens off the south transept, the latter used as a meeting room. The organ chamber occupies the north transept, and a tall arch opens off the chancel in which the pipes are displayed. Boarded roof to the chancel painted with angels by Cox, Sons & Buckley, carried out in 1882. The High Altar has been brought forward on a new stone dais. The fine chancel ensemble is rather forgotten in the darkness behind this, the good choir stalls, reredos and stained glass no longer achieving the originally intended effect of providing the visual and liturgical focus of the church. Good black and white marble floor.
Fixtures and fittings
Altar
19th Century Oak chest, riddel posts with gilded angels to the High Altar. Chest with carved cornice and surround to Lady Chapel, good. Modern nave altar table.
Pulpit
19th Century Hexagonal oak with blind tracery, good.
Lectern
19th Century Oak eagle.
Font (component)
19th Century Octagonal stone font, Perpendicular style.
Stained Glass (window)
19th Century to 20th Century A large collection of Victorian and later glass from various artists but with a substantial corpus by A O Hemming of London. The collection is worthy of further research, conditions during the site visit were not conducive to close inspection.
Plaque (object)
19th Century to 20th Century Stone tablets in the chancel to the first two vicars, inaccessible during visit. Board recording gift of clock in Queen Victoria’s Jubilee year. Several early 20th-century brass plaques, including some to soldiers (not war memorials), and recording gifts of standards, etc. Boards with list of vicars in gilded lettering.
Organ (component)
19th Century to 20th Century A 2-manual organ by Porritt 1880; rebuilt Taylor of Leicester 1911, and much altered since.
Altar Rail
20th Century Oak, ornate to Lady Chapel, modern catalogue to High Altar.
Bells
Portable Furnishings and Artworks
Board recording gift of clock in Queen Victoria’s Jubilee year.
Registers, presumably from 1897.
Box pews
Bishop's chair
Churchyard
Grid reference: SK 599 39
Burial and War Grave Information
The church/building is consecrated.
The churchyard has been used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard is used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has war graves.
National Heritage record for England designations
There are no records of National Heritage assets within the curtilage of this site.
Environment
Ancient, Veteran & Notable Trees
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
There are no records of Ancient, Veteran or Notable Trees within the curtilage of this site.
Renewables
| Renewable | Installed |
|---|---|
| Solar PV Panels | No |
| Solar Thermal Panels | No |
| Biomass | No |
| Wind Turbine | No |
| Air Source Heat Pump | No |
| Ground Source Heat Pump | No |
| Ev Charging | No |
Species summary
There are no records of species within the curtilage of this site.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
'Seek advice' Species
More information on species and action to be taken upon discovery.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
Further information
Sources
Showing 9 entries of 9 View All
Quinquennial Inspections
Submit a change
If you notice something incorrect or missing, please explain it in the form below and submit it to our team for review.