St Peter in the East Oxford

This week the Church Explorer visits the former St Peter in the East now St Edmunds Hall Library the final church I needed to visit in the book Oxfordshires Best Churches. There is some history to read about the church in the link but to give you some info the church dates back to the 12th century and due to a decline in the congregation closed in 1965, it was deconsecrated in 1970's and repurposed for it's present use. I purchased a Pevsner on Oxordshire and noticed the crypt from St Peter in it so asked about when I was there. As it was an open even they did not open the crypt but gave me their email address to get in touch and arrange a visit which is what I did hence a second visit. I'm afraid I set my copy of Pevsner back as I did not like the format and the fat it was not all of Oxfordshire in the book.
 

 

The church from Queen street

Through the old pedestrian gate of the church now locked

The path to the church now from the collage

With a set of old headstone steps to climb

 

St Edmund sat on his bench reading
 

 

From St Edmund to the church 

  

 

St Edmund

 

 

 This was taken as I left the church 

 

East end of the church

 

 

From over the churchyard
 

 

Couple of the headstones in the old churchyard

 

 

There are still quite a few headstones if you look around

 

 

Along with tombs in the shrubbery

 

 

Path takes you back to the collage
 

 

North side of the old church

 

And the tower which is worth going in if you get a chance

 

 

Wide shot of the north side

 

 

The east end of the church with north aisle

 

 

North aisle from the outside

 

 

Back around the south

 

  This is on the second visit which I was going as you can see the library is shut

 

 

Freeze around the outside, the heads look like that have been replaced 

 

 

No doubt they are replicas of the originals

 

 

They look in too good condition

 

But they are amusing none the less

 

Porch that would have had a priest room over it

 

Inside is another superb Norman doorway

With beakheads around it

 I never tire seeing doorways like this

Inside from the door which I took on my second visit you can just make out some students working

Looking down to the chancel end of the church

This looks back through nave to the west end from the chancel end

The east window, the altar was removed during the updated to a library

Chancel ceiling

Looking down to the nave ceiling

There is some beautiful stained glass to see, like this one in the south wall of  the chancel 

Two single windows with memorials between them

Collage of the windows, the single one have Norman stone work on them

Book case hides part of this one

Over the entrance door is these bequests

All around the church are memorials 

Ben Cutler his and son, Ben was a butler. He must have been well thought of to have this memorial

Every where you look are memorials

This one took my eye, it is to Simon Parret and his wife Elizabeth. Behind them are twenty kids, they were some busy little bees. Makes me wonder if he ever went to work

Another nice memorial to I think Petri Eliot MD

Nice black one, Makes me wish they taught Latin at the school I went to when I see memorials written in it

This one pokes up above some books, I'm not sure they would have been impressed if I moved a few to see what the rest of the memorial said

Sad memorial this one

More interesting memorials 

This one I really do not have a clue with

This is new to me, I never knew the first English aeronaut was  James Sadler and he made his flight from Oxford, does not say he was a pastry chef though

Nearby is this memorial 

I can just about make this one out as Anna & Jacob Oldsworth and he  was a rector at Kencot and if you want to see what his church was like it's in the link

Not far away is this one of John Strong 

 Another one I cannot read

This  in the old chancel and may well have been a stoup 

The stone below is what I noticed was it part of a tomb

This certainly looks like a lid off one

In what was the lady chapel is this window

That still has some medieval glass Cromwells thugs could not reach

The nave ceiling

Royal coat of arms might be George II

 The crypt, I found this picture in on Wikipedia of what it looked like

Looks like this now

Looking east to a small altar and yes they hold services down here

One of the doors that lead up to the church 

The altar and small east window

Looking back west 

The capitals on the pillars have carvings on them

They are a bit worn now

but still worth looking at

This one looks like men on horses

The font which I was really pleased to see has been saved

Look from the entrance on the way out 

I'll leave you with this superb Norman font

Till next time may I wish you all a peaceful week