St Peter's Church

St Peter's Church. . History , Welcome to St Peter's, St Albans. St Peter's is an ancient gateway church to St Albans which has been serving the city and welcoming visitors and pilgrims for over 1000 years., This large open churchyard provides a window into the past which, with its church building, gravestones and tombs, gives strong sense of history. It tells of a medieval anchoress - a woman who withdrew from secular life for religious purposes; of a of king who fought bloody battles in the adjoining streets; of a master mason who built St Paul's Cathedral; of children who were rescued from poverty and of a pioneer in mental welfare., According to the Abbey Chronicles, the first church on this site was built by Abbot Wulin (Ulsinus) in 948, the same year as the St Albans churches of St Michael and St Stephen. These all welcomed pilgrims on their way to visit the shrine of St Alban., No trace of the original building survives; the oldest parts of the structure which can be seen today are the 15th century central piers and south wall of the nave. From the 13th century the plan of the church was a cross with a central tower. In 1801 the tower collapsed and was rebuilt much as it appears today. The transepts were demolished in 1801., During the 1860's colourful stained glass by a Belgian artist, Capronnier, was inserted in the south windows. The church took its present shape in 1895 when parts were rebuilt by Lord Grimthorpe (who had earlier restored St Albans Abbey). Panels of medieval stained glass have been put in the windows he built on the north side., The following points of particular interest are visible from around this side of the church and are marked on the map., Burials from the St Albans battles of the Wars of the Roses in 1455 and 1461., The bodies of many babies born to London's destitute were buried here in the 18th century. The infants had been brought from the London Foundling Hospital to be cared for by wet nurses in St Albans, but many died. Those who fostered the survivors included Elizabeth Deamer, the wife of St Peter's sexton.