From the outside, St Peter’s Church is rather uninspiring brick box with a small square tower. It is in the centre of Chester and built on the foundations of the Roman Headquarters where the four main roads of Eastgate, Northgate, Watergate and Bridge street meet.
Queen Æthelfled is said to have built a church here in the C9th. The present building dates from the C14th, although the tower was rebuilt in the C16th. it was restored in the C19th and much of what you see is Victorian.
The church is reached up a short flight of steps. Inside it is a big box divided into four equal size aisles by stone columns. The pillar just inside the door has the remains of a medieval wall painting depicting the Nativity and Crucifixion. The small niche would have contained a statue of the Virgin and Child.
The rest of the church is Victorian. The carved reredos behind the altar dates from 1905. There is a wooden gallery on two sides. These are Victorian, replacing earlier galleries. Originally there would also have been a gallery at the west end used by the church musicians in the days before churches had organs. Now there is no gallery but an organ high in the north gallery. There is however, still a youth band which plays at Sunday morning services.
At the back of the church, just inside the door is the quiet room.
There is little about the church on the web and there is no guide book. There is little to attract the casual visitor apart from the wall painting. I got the impression that it doesn’t get many visitors, although the “cafe”:https://www.silvertraveladvisor.com/review/restaurant/175464-review-st-peter-s-church-cafe is popular with the Oldies who obviously know a good thing. This is a non profit making enterprise run by friendly volunteers. Coffee and a slice of homemade cake cost £2.20 so it is worth visiting just for that!
There is no parking for the church although there are public car parks close by. The post code is CH1 2LA.
