The history of
St Peter's Church Farnborough, Hampshire
Church of England, Diocese of Guildford

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History of St Peter's Farnborough, Hampshire

The present church is partly Norman (the north and west walls of the nave and the northern doorway) having been built somewhere in the early 1200's. We know this because there was a dispute over the payment of tithes in 1230. It has been suggested that because the church is built on a circular mound a wooden Saxon church could have predated the Norman one.

The Domesday book dated 1086, however, has no record of a church in Farnborough - not surprising as the male population is given as 16 - so if there ever was a Saxon church it was not long lived. The original Norman church consisted of the current nave with crypt underneath and a very small chancel.

One surprising fact is that the original dedication of the church is not known for certain. Such evidence as there is - a will dated 1537 and details of the paintings, which originally covered the north wall - would indicate that it was initially dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It is strange that the change of dedication to St Peter is not recorded somewhere.

Many changes have been made to the church building over the centuries, but only the major ones are highlighted here. The wall paintings of St. Mary Magdalene, St. Agnes and St. Eugenie on the north wall (the last said to be unique in England) date from the 1300's and at one time were white-washed over!

The wooden porch was built in the 1500's and unfortunately obscures the Norman north doorway...

The wooden church tower with four bells (now eight) and the gallery were both constructed in the 1700's.

In 1886 the present chancel, rerodos and east window were erected. The reredos depicts two scenes from the life of St.Peter so at that time the church was certainly dedicated to him. The organ dates from 1893.

In 1901 the north and south transepts and the south aisle were added. This meant losing the original Norman south wall. The opportunity was taken to retain the old south doorway as a feature on the outside of the new south wall. The dormer windows in the roof were also put in.

In 1907 the lych gate was built.

In 1964 the current north and south annexes to the chancel were constructed and the remnant of the wooden screen, once a double decker, which separated the chancel and the nave was moved to its present position. The final alterations were the addition of the new vestry in 1975 and the transfer of the font to its current location in 1989.

The crypt under the nave was closed for burials in 1858 and it is recorded that it contains the remains of the first five Earls of Anglesy and eight of their relatives. It has not been opened since 1875.

Our thanks to Bill Wright for supplying the text for this page, his extensive knowledge and research of the history of St Peter's

Inside the Church Outside the Church

Wall Paintings

17th Century 18th Century 19th Century 20th Century

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