St Peter The Apostle

Introduction

St Peter The Apostle in Gorleston is a Grade II* listed church. The first post-Reformation Catholic church in Gorleston was a converted malthouse on Church Lane, dedicated to St Peter, in use from 1889.

History

Ambrose Page and Mrs Nellie Carson were the first to marry there in 1908, and Page later bequeathed enough money for a new site to be bought in 1913 and to get permission by 1938 for construction of a new church. The foundation stone was laid by Bishop Youens of Northampton on 28 February 1939, and the bishop opened the unfinished church on 14 June of the same year. The original vision for an open west porch was actually built as a fully enclosed baptistry. In the late 1950s, Barry Hastings (of Wearing & Hastings) installed a canopy over the altar, causing the rood to be lifted higher.

The hot air heating system and lighting scheme had already been replaced by 1959, and again in 1992. The church was formally consecrated on 5 May 1964. In the mid- to late 1970s, the sanctuary platform was altered and extended, and the pulpit was moved from its original north-west position. The tabernacle was re-positioned from the altar to a shelf under the east window, allowing for the west-facing celebration of Mass in accordance with the reforms of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965).

Architecture and furnishings

The church is constructed entirely of red brick laid in Flemish bond and the roof is covered in pantiles. The church has a cruciform basilican plan with a Lady Chapel and sacristy to the south and north of the chancel respectively, and the altar is centrally located beneath the crossing tower. The west elevation has a projecting gabled baptistery with a small window of its own. The gabled north face of the porch features incised brickwork depicting St Peter casting a fishing net over those entering below.

Over the crossing is a square lantern tower with gables facing the cardinal points, each face having a pointed Diocletian window. The nave arcade is two bays long, formed from two-centred arches without any moulding or ornament that rise directly from the tiled floor rather than columns or capitals. Beneath the large western window, three steps below the level of the nave is a square baptistry, at its centre is the font: a stone cube standing on an octagonal stem. The east wall of the north transept has three doorways: two originally lead to either side of a confessional and one to the sacristy.

The Lady Chapel has an arcade of two very acute arches joined by an octagonal column with a wide square abacus. The east end of the church is laid out in collegiate fashion with benches facing each other. The corners of the crossing are cut away to create intersecting arcades, giving the impression that there are no piers supporting the base of the tower. The altar incorporates the foundation stone of the church and is carved with a Latin inscription by Anthony Foster.

The east wall of the crossing tower has a fresco by Denis Tegetmeier showing Christ’s arrival in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and Christ carrying the cross. Tegetmeier’s 1962 Stations of the Cross are found throughout the church. The sink on the north side of the sacristy has a tap in a carved recess of polished limestone, carved with a Latin inscription from a vesting prayer: DA DOMINE VIRTUTEM. The 1963 east window by JE Nuttgens depicts Christ the King with the Virgin Mary and St Peter.

The Lady Chapel has a stone altar, above which is a window depicting Our Lady of Walsingham by Chapel Studios (1994). The porch has an arcade of two-centred arches that were infilled with glazing in 1992. The parish has a Music Liturgy group.

Parish life

The parish has an Altar Servers group. The parish has Extraordinary Ministers. The parish runs Children’s Liturgy. The parish has Money Counters.

The parish runs First Communion preparation. The parish has a Faith Club. The parish runs Bible Study. The parish runs a Social Media group.

The parish has a Laity Council. The parish serves a Syro-Malabar Community.

Sacraments and pastoral care

The parish requires at least two months' notice for a child's baptism. Confirmation preparation is combined with St Mary's Great Yarmouth. The parish offers the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick.