Church of St Peter and St Paul, Uppingham

52°35′14.3″N 00°43′19.75″W

Church of St Peter and St Paul, Uppingham
Church of St Peter and St Paul, Uppingham: glowing in the early morning winter sun, the church is seen from the southeast corner of the churchyard
Denomination	Church of England
Churchmanship	Broad Church
Website	www.uppinghamchurch.co.uk
History
Dedication	St Peter and St Paul
Administration
Province	Canterbury
Diocese	Peterborough
Parish	Uppingham

The Church of St Peter and St Paul, Uppingham is the Church of England parish church of Uppingham, Rutland. It is part of the Diocese of Peterborough.

History

Market Place, Uppingham with the church porch

The church is a Grade II* listed building.^[1] It is largely 14th century but was heavily restored in 1861 by Henry Parsons.^[2]

It consists of a western tower, nave with north and south aisles and clerestory, chancel and north chapel, organ chamber and vestry, and north and south porches. The tower is of three stages with angle buttresses and has a tall recessed spire with three tiers of lucarnes. The nave is of four bays and was lengthened by one bay in the 1861 restoration. The north aisle is from the Decorated period, the south aisle is Perpendicular. There are remnants of wall decoration on the south arcade consisting of red flowers and tendrils.

The chancel was rebuilt in 1861, incorporating black marble columns to the north chapel (Lady Chapel) and organ chamber. During the reconstruction some sculptured fragments of the twelfth century were found, two of which are now built into the wall on either side of the north door. A coffin lid of the thirteenth century was also found.

The font of 1863^[3] was designed by George Edmund Street for All Saints', Cottesbrooke, Northamptonshire.

Rectors

• Edmund Bonner 1528–1541
• Edward Martin 1631–1637
• Jeremy Taylor 1638–1643
• Edward Jones 1786–1814
• George Hutchinson 1815–1817
• John Giles Dimock 1817–1858
• William Wales 1859–1879
• C. A. Yate 1879–1880^[4]
• Prideaux Lightfoot 1880–1906^[5]
• Edward Moore (Archdeacon of Oakham) 1907–1920
• John Ivan Willett 1982–1999
• Stephen Evans 2000–2010
• Rachel Watts 2011–current

Bells

The tower has a ring of eight bells.

• Treble 1773 Pack and Chapman of London
• Second 1773 Pack and Chapman of London
• Third 1772 Pack and Chapman of London
• Fourth 1804 Robert Taylor of St Neots
• Fifth 1895 John Taylor & Co of Loughborough
• Sixth 1772 Pack and Chapman of London
• Seventh 1772 Pack and Chapman of London
• Tenor 1772 Pack and Chapman of London

Organ

The organ case was obtained from St Mary's Church, Nottingham in 1777 and is by Thomas Swarbrick dating from 1742. The organ itself is by Harrison and Harrison, built in 1894 and installed in 2006 by Peter Collins when it became redundant from All Saints', Eppleton, County Durham. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.^[6]

References

1. Historic England. "Church of St Peter and St Paul, (1073973)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
2. Leicestershire Mercury – Saturday 9 November 1861
3. Leicester Journal – Friday 16 October 1863
4. Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser – Thursday 22 July 1880
5. Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser – Wednesday 19 September 1906
6. "The National Pipe Organ Register (NPOR)". Npor.org.uk. Retrieved 3 February 2014.