Modern Britain

In the nineteenth century the church was extensively renovated, and the tower was completely rebuilt in 1871. The church remained active into the 1960s, until many local houses were demolished for the new ring road. Failing to find it a new purpose, the church was declared redundant in 1972, and in 1978 it was converted into the city's Guildhall (the Medieval version of this had been demolished by its supposed guardians in 1951).

St Peter the Apostle Anglican Church in St Peter's Street is thought to stand on the site of a Christian church built during the Roman period and which was possibly rebuilt by St Augustine after he landed in AD 597. Evidence of its early origins can be seen in the tower, which incorporates Roman tiles, and in its lower levels where Saxon quoins or cornerstones can be seen. The tower in its present form dates from around 1100 and houses four ancient bells cast between 1325 and 1637.

The parish registers begin on 9 September 1590. By the middle of the 1600s the parish of St Peter's was the home of many Huguenot and Walloon refugees who had fled France and the Low Countries to escape religious persecution. As early as 1681 St Peter's was united with the adjoining parish of Holy Cross, and this connection only ended in 1959. Having survived a threat of demolition, in 1872 the church was in need of repair and was closed for a few years. Services were suspended between 1923-1959 but have now fully resumed.

St Peter's Methodist Church lies a little way back from St Peter's Street. John Wesley first visited Canterbury in 1749, at a time when Methodists still worshipped within the Anglican Church. Eventually the need arose for a separate building that was built in King Street using materials from the recently demolished St Andrew's Medieval church building. The polygon chapel was primarily a preaching place, although its organ was later transferred to the current building.

St Peter's was built in 1811, and it became the main place of worship for the Wesleyans in the city. By about 1820 the Sunday School had 37 members, and in 1851 a church census says St Peter's had 1100 seats and a healthy congregation. Alterations over the years cut back the gallery, and lowered the pulpit, while moving it to one side. In 1976 the sanctuary area was enlarged and the pulpit was lowered even more. The latest alterations, leaving the church as it now is, were completed in 1998.

All Saints Church was located on the corner of the High Street and Best Lane, and its churchyard still exists behind the railings there. The Medieval church is mentioned in 1616, but the tower was demolished in the 1700s to make space on the crowded road (the print shown here is from the 1780s). A new, yellow-brick, Regency church was built on the same site in 1828, but this closed in 1902 and, its role as a church hall no longer needed, the building was demolished in 1937.

St Augustine Anglican Catholic Church lies a little way along Best Lane from All Saints' former churchyard. Increasing liberalisation of the Anglican church in the USA saw this denomination created in Illinois in 1978, and it arrived in Britain in 1992. St Augustine's was formed in May 2005 and originally met at Canterbury City Cemetery Chapel. The new building seen here was formerly a nonconformist chapel which had become secular in use, but it was consecrated for its current use on 20 September 2008.

St Alphege Church is on St Alphege Lane as it meets Palace Street. As with the two similarly named churches in Seasalter and Whitstable, this church gained its name because the body of Archbishop Alphege, who was killed by Vikings in 1013, was landed at Seasalter on its way to Canterbury Cathedral, and it rested here overnight before being taken through the cathedral gates. The dedication of the church before this is unknown.

The church was described as 'ancient' in 1166, although the current building, with two gables facing Palace Street, and knapped flint walls, is probably later. The octagonal font is Perpendicular, and the font cover is seventeenth century. In 1974 the parish of St Peter the Apostle, and St Alphege with St Margaret, and St Mildred with St Mary de Castro, was formed. In 1982 the church of St Alphege was declared redundant and now houses the Canterbury Environment Centre.

One print on this page contributed by Stephen Bax.