St Peter-in-the-Forest is a 19th-century

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ca ...

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London and the ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Charing Cross, the town borders Chingford to the north, Snaresbrook and Sou ...

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

, sited adjacent to a small portion of

Epping Forest Epping Forest is a area of ancient woodland, and other established habitats, which straddles the border between Greater London and Essex. The main body of the forest stretches from Epping in the north, to Chingford on the edge of the Londo ...

History

The building was founded in 1840 as a

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently. Often a chapel of ease is deliberately b ...

to St Mary's Church, Walthamstow, at the instigation of the vicar, William Wilson, who also established two other daughter churches for the rapidly growing town. The new church was designed by the architect

John Shaw Jr. John Shaw Jr. (1803–1870) was an English architect of the 19th century who was complimented as a designer in the "Manner of Wren". He designed buildings in the classical Jacobean fashion and designed some of London's first semi-detached ...

and built of

London stock brick London stock brick is the type of handmade brick which was used for the majority of building work in London and South East England until the growth in the use of Flettons and other machine-made bricks in the early 20th century. Its distinctive ...

in the

Italianate style The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassical architecture, Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabular ...

. It became a parish of its own in 1844. The church served the nearby Forest School until a school chapel was built in 1857. The

advowson Advowson () or patronage is the right in English law of a patron (avowee) to present to the diocesan bishop (or in some cases the ordinary if not the same person) a nominee for appointment to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, a ...

, the right to appoint a vicar, was originally held by the vicar of St Mary's, but in 1859 was given to Edward Warner, who had donated £1,000 for a vicarage house and whose son would develop the

Warner Estate The Warner Estate is an area of housing in Walthamstow and Highams Park, Waltham Forest in East London. The area was developed by Thomas Courtenay Warner and the Warner Company. History Thomas Courtenay Warner inherited his father's estate i ...

; it remains with the Warner family to the present. St Peter's was assigned a cemetery in 1845, and extended in westwards in 1887, so that the tower now stands at the centre of the south aisle rather than in the southwest corner. The interior was remodelled by

Martin Travers Howard Martin Otho Travers (19 February 1886 – 25 July 1948) was an English church artist and designer. Travers was born in Margate, Kent, educated at Tonbridge School, entered the Royal College of Art in 1904, and was awarded its Diploma in A ...

in 1936–37. In 1945, a

V-2 rocket The V-2 (german: Vergeltungswaffe 2, lit=Retaliation Weapon 2), with the technical name '' Aggregat 4'' (A-4), was the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was develop ...

landed nearby causing substantial damage to the north side; this was repaired in 1951 when an entrance lobby and vestries were also added. Further work in 1958 altered the chancel, sanctuary and added a west window depicting

Christ the King Christ the King is a title of Jesus in Christianity referring to the idea of the Kingdom of God where the Christ is described as seated at the right hand of God. Many Christian denominations consider the kingly office of Christ to be one of ...

. A fire in 1975 damaged some original internal fittings. The church was given Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

status in 2009 because it was considered "of special architectural interest for its pleasing Italianate Romanesque design by the notable architect John Shaw Junior". However, it later appeared on the

Heritage at Risk Register An annual ''Heritage at Risk Register'' is published by Historic England. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for actio ...

. In 2017 it was announced that St Peter's had been awarded £117,500 by the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

for restoration and improvement of the building to make it more suitable for use by the local community.

References

External links

* *

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

Grade II listed churches in London Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Waltham Forest Churches bombed by the Luftwaffe in London 1840 in London {{UK-anglican-church-stub