The Ancient Chapelry of St Peter |
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Drawing of St Peter's Church by James Eden
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Box-pews in the west gallery; the pulpit; and roof trusses of unusual
design.
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The chancel; chancel arch; and nave
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The new organ (2002)
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The Church
is not the first Church dedicated to St Peter to stand in Formby.
The title 'The Ancient Chapelry of Formby, St Peter' reminds us
that a chapel existed in Formby from early times - in what was a
detached part of the ancient parish of St Mary, Walton. The Rector
of Walton is to this day Patron of the living.
The ancient chapel stood close to the sea (on the site of the
present St Luke's Church) and was destroyed in 1739 by a storm.
The decision was made to build a new church on a site further
inland and there is evidence from a parish in Oxfordshire that a
nation-wide levy - by order of 'Letters Pattents' of the King -
was made for this purpose. The total amount collected by this levy
was 1154 pence.
So it is that we have a Georgian Church, with characteristic and
very elegant clear glass windows, dating from 1746. At different
times side galleries were added (the line of which can still be
seen in the plasterwork). Box pews and a pulpit
on the south side of the Church (between the windows) are revealed
in a seating plan of 1767.
The building itself is listed. Its fine Georgian nave was
completed in 1746. An 18th century "Singers Gallery"
with box pews adorns the west end of the nave which is lined with
large, clear, wood traceried windows. Unique semicircular wooden
beam trusses support the roof. A lovely Victorian
chancel was added in 1869.
The styles of nave and chancel complement each other in a most
satisfactory way. John Betjeman once visited the church and
remarked on the effective use of glass.
The major change to the building took place in the 1870's. The old
apsidal east end was removed and the present chancel, sanctuary
and side chapel (The Formby Chapel) added. The style chosen was
neo-Gothic so much in at the time. As a result, the Church has its
contrasting, not to say competing, halves. To stand at the chancel
steps and look first west and then east
makes this point.
The main Altar and the sanctuary panelling were given in memory of
old boys of St Peter's School and members of the choir who had
died in the Great War. The present organ,
installed in 2002, includes pipe work from the War Memorial
instrument of 1949.
Two members of the Formby family of Formby Hall were incumbents of
St Peter's for the major part of the 19th century and monuments to
them are on the west wall of the Formby Chapel.
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The above (slightly contradictory) information is borrowed from the
church's web site at
>>>> Please visit them there <<<<
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The information below was supplied by Philip
Lowe, choir master and one time church warden
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I believe the FORMBY church to
which you refer is St. Peter's in Green Lane,
Formby, otherwise known as the Ancient Chapelry of
St. Peter, Formby.
St Luke's, Formby [is] a small church built by the
Formby family in 1855 as a private chapel in the
local cemetery.
A previous church stood on the site of St Luke's
but was overcome by a sandstorm. The
congregation took some of the stone and the sundial
and coat of arms and went inland away from the
storms to build St Peter's.
[ . . . ] The old building which
[once] stood on the site . . . dates back to ca.1200
and was built by or connected with the monks of
Cockersand Abbey on the Ribble estuary. From
some old accounts I know it had bells and box pews
which were rented, including a gallery. No
information about the design of the church has yet
been found by present members of the congregation.
St. Luke's have a website http://stlukes.merseyside.org
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ACCESS |
| Map reference : Sketch
maps showing the whereabouts of both churches are
available on the church web sites.
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