St Peter-in-the-East

St Peter-in-the-East
St Peter-in-the-East
Parish Church of St Peter-in-the-East
Style	Norman, Perpendicular Gothic
Years built	12th century
Administration
Diocese	Oxford

St Peter-in-the-East is a 12th-century church on

St Edmund

as an impoverished student.

History

A church has existed on the current site since the late 10th century.^[2] In the 11th century, it was replaced by a stone church, which is mentioned in the Domesday Book of c. 1085:

the church of St. Peter Oxenford holds of Robert two hides in Haliwelle...It was worth twenty shillings, now it is worth forty...

The church is believed to be named after the 5th-century church of S. Pietro in Vincoli, Rome, Italy.^[3] In the early 12th century the church was renamed St-Peter-in-the-East, because of its location near the East Gate of the walled city of Oxford, to differentiate it from the Church of St Peter-le-Bailey, which was built close to Oxford Castle.

The

Holywell were originally chapels of ease

of St Peter's.

In the twentieth century, changes in the demographics of central Oxford, mainly as a result of the First World War, led to a significant decline in the size of the congregation, and the church closed in 1965.

The present day

St Peter-in-the-East was deconsecrated in the 1970s and renovated for its present use. The building now serves as the college library of St Edmund Hall.^[2]

Church building

The 12th-century church originally consisted of a crypt, chancel, and nave, extending to just beyond the south door. In the 13th century, a north aisle was added to the nave. The church tower was added in the 14th century, and the nave was either heightened or reconstructed to connect with the tower. The windows are mostly 14th-century and the door into the tower is 16th-century. At the east end of the aisle there is a small chapel dedicated to St Catharine and St Thomas, constructed in the early 16th century.

St Edmund of Abingdon

in the churchyard.

The Lady Chapel (or North Chapel) was built in the early 13th century. It was donated by

St Edmund Hall

after him. The north window, dating from 1433, was donated by the vicar, Vincent Wyking. It contains some glass from that period and some from the 14th century. The east windows are two 13th-century lancets.