History of St Peter's
This information is available as a pdf to download (scroll down to the end of the text) and is also available in church.St Peter’s Church Hope
(This guide has been produced from a range of information, and I am grateful to the authors of that information, and also to Hope Historical Society for checking some of it for accuracy. However, if your historical knowledge enables you to spot omissions or inaccuracies, I’d be delighted to hear from you, so they can be corrected. Rev’d Louise Petheram)
Hope Church has been a place of Christian worship for over 1000 years, since at least Saxon times. It may have been founded as a minster church, by monks and priests from the monastery at Repton, in south Derbyshire.* The Domesday Book (1086) lists a church, a priest and a mill in Hope. The earliest parts of the current church building date from the late 1300s.
The Tower Restorations in 1728-30 included rebuilding the tower, which contains a ring of 8 bells, the earliest cast in 1733. The bells are rung regularly by a local and visiting bell-ringers. The tower clock was installed in 1887 for Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, and converted to electricity in 2004.The Nave The nave was built in the 15th century. Clerestory windows (above the level of the side aisle roofs) let in more light. In the 1970s, the nave was re-roofed in stainless steel, rather than lead. One of the roof beams has the date 1741 and the names of the churchwardens. The south porch, with its room above (known as a parvise) is a later addition, though in a consistent, perpendicular, style.
The Chancel The chancel was demolished in 1882 by the vicar, Rev’d Henry Buckston, who wished to rebuild it in a modern style, with two more windows to let in more light. The Bishop of Lichfield insisted it was rebuilt in the original style! The oak panelling in the chancel is made from old box pews, dating from 1587 to 1690. On the south wall there is a sedilia (canopied seats set into the wall) and a piscina (a basin for washing vessels used for communion – if it didn’t have a drainage hole it would be called a ‘lavabo’). In the north wall there is an aumbry (a small cupboard used for storing communion vessels and, sometimes, consecrated bread and wine for later use)In the choir pews, look for the carved mouse and butterfly carved in to the top of the pew ends.
Inside churchThe Pulpit The pulpit is Jacobean, carved with the date 1652, and was installed by Rev’d Thomas Bocking (vicar from 1650 -72)
Parish Chest On your left as you enter church is the old parish chest. Historically, before there was a church safe, this is where the registers and the church valuables would have been kept. The chest had three different locks, and so could only be opened if all three keyholders (both church wardens and the vicar) were present.
The Font The present font is made of local gritstone, and possibly dates from the early 1300s. It was found in the vicarage garden in 1907 and mounted on a new base. It is so large because babies used to be totally immersed during baptism. The font is sited close to the north door of the church because historically Christians were only allowed into the ‘body of the church’ once they had been baptised.
Gravestones Fixed to the wall by the font are two 13th century stone slabs found when the chancel was demolished in the 19th century. Horns, swords and arrows on each slab show they would have covered the graves of Wood Reeves, officials responsible for the royal hunting forest surrounding Hope. These officials also gave rise to the name of the pub next to the church, the Woodruff Arms.
Reredos This is the screen behind the main altar. It is carved alabaster, dated 1908. Look for the crown of thorns, nails, and dice. The statue to the left is St Peter, holding keys. The statue to the right is St Paul.
Wooden candlesticks These tall wooden candlesticks were once part of a 17th century four poster bed! They were adapted for their present use by a local woodcarver, Micah Howe, who also made the bishops crozier (crook), one of the bishop’s thrones and prayer desk.
Chairs / bishop’s thrones One of the bishop’s thrones was made by local woodcarver, Micah Howe. Schoolmaster’s: one of the wooden chairs in the chancel belonged to Thomas Bocking (owner of the Breeches Bible), vicar 1650 -72, and local schoolmaster. It bears the Latin inscription ‘ex torto lignis non fit mercurius,’ sometimes loosely translated as, ‘you can’t make a scholar from twisted wood.’
Paintings Above the south door there are two framed paintings, dating from 1733 and showing Aaron’ and ‘Life.’ Two more paintings above the north door depict ‘Moses’ and ‘Death.’ In the chancel are the arms of Queen Anne, dated 1712.
Stained glass windows Working clockwise round church from the south porch (the main entrance)Christ teaching in the Temple: north aisle. This window is a memorial to Edward Vincent, vicar 1904-34. The boy Jesus is shown talking with the elders in the Temple in Jerusalem. Look for the tiny image of Mary and Joseph searching for Jesus, in the left hand panel. The Nativity Window: north aisle by Lady Chapel. From 1919, this window is a memorial to Mrs Vincent, the then vicar’s wife. Designed by F.C. Eden it shows the shepherds visiting the infant Jesus, with angels and the three kings in the background. The Annunciation: Lady Chapel. A memorial to Polly Freckingham, the daughter of a churchwarden. The two stained glass coats of arms, of two local families, the Eyres and the Talbots, are the oldest examples of stained glass in St Peter’s. The chancel windows are by Charles Eamer Kempe (1837-1907), and together show an account of Holy Week. Look out for Kempe’s insignia of wheatsheaves.In the south aisle, a window shows Peter’s release from prison. This window is a memorial to the Middleton family, and is also by Kempe.
Outside church
Carvings and gargoyles In a niche above the porch is a small statue of St Peter. Look out too for the carved heads at the base of the pinnacles on the porch. There are similar heads on other pinnacles too, and on the outside of the north wall of church. Hope Church has a wonderful variety of large gargoyles, that are often remarked upon!Anglo-Saxon Cross In the churchyard, near the south porch (the main entrance) there is the upright section of an Anglo-Saxon Cross, probably dating from the early 10th century. Stylistically different from other nearby local crosses, this cross was rediscovered when the old village school was rebuilt in the 1850’s. The cross has figures of a couple apparently embracing, and another couple shaking hands, with a cross in the background, possibly symbolising treaties over land ownership taking place during this period.
Eccles Cross North of the church, approx 2 metres from the church, there is the 50 cm high stump of a medieval wayside cross, known as the Eccles Cross. A Scheduled Ancient Monument, only the base and stump of the shaft of this Wayside Cross remain. Its original position is shown on an early OS map, at the junction of paths leading to Hope from Brough and Bradwell. The name ‘Eccles’ implies association with a site of religious significance.
Guide Stoop South of the church is a ‘guide stoop,’ found in the old vicarage garden, and set on top of a stone gatepost (shown by the metal latch) A guide stoop was a stone marker, set where two or more paths met, to show the way to the nearest market town. In 1697, William III passed an Act saying that guide stoops had to be erected in all remote areas.
The Dial Stone Also to the south of the church is another Scheduled Ancient Monument, the Dial Stone. Octagonal on plan, this has five steps to a platform in which is embedded a medieval cross-base supporting a round column. Poorly understood, Tradition says this assemblage of historic stonework was once sited in the market place, though clear evidence for this is lacking. An 1872 document says that the missing dial-plate bore the date 1805 and was protected by a circle of spikes.
Sheep stile The gate out of the churchyard onto the main road (opposite Spar) has a sheep stile next to it, a gate that allowed people through, but prevented sheep from entering.
Further information can be found in the Hope Historical Society publication ‘Rediscovering Hope 2023.’ Details of all their publications and research can be found on the Hope Historical Society website https://hopehistoricalsoc.uk/
* A Stage or Two Beyond Christendom: A Social History of the Church of England in Derbyshire by Michael Austin, publ. Scarthin Books 2001