St Peter’s is a vibrant, inclusive, and welcoming church community, situated in the heart of Belper, and boasts the largest building and worshipping community in the town. Our church is open-evangelical, trusting in God’s living word for guidance in welcoming everyone to be part of our church family, regardless of background or identity. We have a blend of worship styles within our regular Sunday service pattern, from modern band-led music to traditional organ hymns, and interactive family services to celebrating with the bread and wine of communion. Children are always welcome for every service, either engaging in the main service or in Sunday Club at the west end of the church.
The Grade II listed building, completed in 1824, is open every day for personal prayer during daylight hours. It also houses our Parish Office where our Admins work Monday to Friday to provide care and information to everyone we make contact with. A prominent feature of the building is the impressive 100-foot tower, containing eight bells which are rung on Sundays and special occasions. To access a virtual tour of St Peter’s building, click here!
Our building is also a real community hub, and offers a whole range of groups and activities for members of the wider community to join in with, such as groups, private bookings, and frequent Saturday night concerts. As the historic parish church of Belper, we have close links with the civic life of the town, and are also pleased to host many weddings, funerals, and christenings. We’re also proud to have a strong relationship with St John’s CofE Primary School, and we mutually support one another at every level and opportunity.
Our main worship services are at 10am on Sundays, and we have a weekly prayer meeting at 11.30am on Tuesdays too – please come and join us! The church is also open most daytimes for private prayer.
Eco Church is a scheme for churches of all denominations to enable them to show care for creation as an integral part of loving God’s world and following his command to tend and keep it. A Rocha UK asks churches to complete a survey which looks at five areas of activity – worship and teaching, buildings, land, engagement with the local community and global campaigns, and the personal lifestyles of the congregation. In 2024, St Peter’s became only the second church in Derbyshire to be awarded a gold award!
Church members are conscious of their impact on the environment and the need to care for God’s creation. The church uses renewably-sourced electricity, Fairtrade tea, coffee, and sugar, FSC-certified paper and printer paper. LED lightbulbs are gradually being installed, and we have also become a local recycling centre for biscuit and cake wrappers, home and laundry care items, and occasionally clothes. We also regularly write articles and organise events to inform the community about issues that affect carbon footprints.
We also manage our churchyard to encourage wildlife, and the Community Garden has three raised beds for community fruit and vegetable growing, with the produce available for anyone to pick. We take an active part in the Churches Count on Nature, Belper Goes Green, and Belper in Bloom, and have achieved a number of awards including a Certificate of Excellence from the Bishop of Derby (2018), a Judges Award from Britain in Bloom (2019), and a Certificate of Recognition from RHS & East Midlands in Bloom (2020). A group of both church members and non-members meet most Wednesday afternoons to work in the Community Garden, coordinated by St Peter’s eco-champion Anne Clark.
For more about Eco Church, visit https://ecochurch.
There has been a Christian chapel in central Belper since about 1250, initially dedicated to St Thomas Becket and later renamed St John’s, and originally part of Duffield parish. The town and population expanded during the industrial revolution, becoming the largest town in Derbyshire except for Derby. So, after the victory at the battle of Waterloo in 1815, parliament granted £1,000,000 for new churches to be build throughout the land as ‘a symbol of a nation’s gratitude to almighty God for its safe deliverance’ – known as Waterloo Churches – and Belper was chosen after local funds were raised for an application.
The plans were prepared by Matthew Habershon of London, and the constructor was Spencer Crewe of London. The new church, measured to seat over 1500 people, was constructed with ashlar masonry and contains a nave, chancel, north and south galleries, with a lofty tower, originally surmounted with pinnacles removed in 1954. The foundation stone was laid by William Spencer the Duke of Devonshire, hosted by George Strutt, on 31st October 1822, and the new Gothic church (101′ long, 56′ wide, with 30′ ceiling height and 100′ tower height), built in the style of a non-conformist church, was opened two years later and consecrated on 6th September 1824 in the incumbency of Rev. Matthew Tunstall, dedicated by the Lord Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry to the honour and glory of God, and in memory of St Peter.
In the remainder of the 1800s, the building saw a variety of additions and installations, including the tower clock (1825) and original bell (1831), and a couple of decades later the Holt organ replaced the former Snetzler (1853), and six new bells were added to the tower (1861). A robed choir was established (1871) and the triple-deck pulpit was altered and repositioned (1872). Later in the 19th Century, the east stained-glass windows were installed (1884), the brass eagle lectern and carved font cover were anonymously donated (1888), the churchyard was closed (late 1880s), the Parish Magazine began publication (1890), and Sunday school was established (1891). St Peter’s officially became the parish church of Belper in 1880.
The early 1900s was a time of difficulty, with two world wars and financial depression in between. Money was tight and the vicar even voluntarily reduced his stipend, but congregation numbers were still strong. After eight new bells were installed (1925), the church continued to be renovated, especially after being hit by gunfire from a German plane (1945) and having a fire in the tower (1949) which caused the pinnacles to be removed. Later renovations included the reordering of the west end (1981), removal of eighty pews and relocation of the font from the back to the front (1983), chancel area reshaping (1988), organ restoration (1992), office and kitchen installation (1997 and 2000), the exterior driveway was tarmacked, lit, and levelled (2007), and toilets refurbished (2009). In the 1990s the music group gradually overtook the diminishing choir, and the church now boasts a rich combination of traditional and modern worship music.
In 2024, a full 113-page book was produced by George Gunby explaining the history of the church and celebrating its 200th birthday. Click here to view a digital version.
Belltower
Along with the Strutt’s mill on the riverbank, St Peter’s 100-foot belltower defines the Belper skyline. The first bell was installed in the tower in 1831, which was then replaced by six steel bells in 1861 when a ringing team was established. Since then, bellringing has become a staple in Belper culture, on Sundays as well as a variety of celebratory and commemorative occasions. In 1925, the bells were upgraded when Taylors Bellfounders of Loughborough cast eight new bells for St Peter’s, each one engraved with Latin and names of church personnel. Initially women were not permitted to be part of the ringing team, however that changed in 1955, and now Gillian Hughes is the tower captain. Ringing practice takes place on Wednesday evenings, as well as other ringing team practices at different times in the month.
Churchyard
St Peter’s churchyard was the primary spot for residents’ burials in the town after St John’s chapel graveyard was declared full and closed. Many historic figures were buried here in the 1800s. However, after Belper Cemetery was opened in 1859 just north of the town and grew in popularity, St Peter’s churchyard was officially closed in the late 1880s. However, east of the church we have a Garden of Remembrance which is consecrated for cremated remains to be buried. A full list of burials and inscriptions can be seen here. The churchyard has seen many changes in recent decades, including the construction of three raised beds for community fruit and vegetable growing with the produce available for anyone to pick, managed by our Gardening Group.
Organ
St Peter’s organ has been here since William Holt built and installed it in 1853, and is the earliest surviving organ of substance in Derbyshire. Prior to this, records are minimal, but an 1850 notebook mentions a Snetzler organ in Belper Church. In 1873 Radliffe and Sagar of Leeds rebuilt and extended the organ, which was then overhauled in 1902 by JH Adkins of Derby. By the 1930s it was in disrepair, and a bequest caused the church to purchase a Hammond organ, which meant the Holt saw no action (except a bullet hole from a German plane in 1945) until it was restored to its former glory in 1978, when a third keyboard and fluorescent lighting was added. Since 2022, Richard Marsden has been our primary organist, though others play regularly for services too. For more information, please click here to read Rodney Tomkins’s booklet “Belper Parish Church and its Organs”.
(Click to enlarge)
