The Cirencester Mission was founded from Fairford in 1885 with the opening of a chapel dedicated to the Immaculate Conception in London Road. Standing alongside the River Churn, the building pictured opposite, is now commercial premises.
The foundation stone of St. Peter's was laid on 20 June 1895 by the Rt. Rev. William R Brownlow, Bishop of Clifton, and was the first that he had laid in the Diocese. The architect was Cannon A. J. C. Scoles, who designed some 20 churches included in the 26 page list of his works in the British Architectural Library. He was the son of architect J. J. Scoles, who was responsible for the London Jesuit church in Farm Street, Mayfair and like his brother I. C. Scoles, qualified as an architect before ordination. The builders were Collins & Godfrey of Tewksbury and Cheltenham and the altar is the work of Boulton & Sons of Cheltenham. Fr. James A. Martin, who served in Cirencester between 1894 and 1906 was Priest-in-Charge of the Mission (parishes came into being only in 1918) and successfully completed the building programme, including the house with 'not 1d of debt'. As a comparison with today's building costs, the total cost of the church and house including the architects fee, was just over £22.00! The land had been bought in 1892 for £500, provided by Cannon John Mitchell of Taunton and the Chilean Garcia brothers (former students at the Royal Agricultural College), when E. W. Cripps Esq. of Ampney Parks sold 6 of the 7 acres surrounding Ashcroft House for development.
Gifts donated by parishioners in the 1930's include the stained glass lancet windows behind the reredos depicting the founding of the church, a processional cross, a reliquary and a
jewelled chalice. The small side altars with statues of the Sacred Heart and Our Lady with the infant Jesus date from just before the Second World War as do some of the benches from the chapel of the former Our Lady's Convent in Chesterton (1936-73); the remainder of the benches were made in the early days of the War.
The stained glass window in the organ loft was installed in the mid 1950's.
The tracker-action late Georgian organ dates from around the end of the 18th century.
It was inaugurated in March 1993 and is to restored to its original condition when funds permit.
The current specifications is
Manual (compass 54 notes) enclosed in swell box c.1870
Open diapason 8
Stopped treble 8
Stopped Base 8
Dulciana 8
Viol di Gamba - to tenor c (displacing original twelfth 2 2/3)
Principal 4
Flute 4 - to tenor C
Fifteenth 2
Tremulant
Pedal (compass 30 notes) - added late 19-th century
Bourdon 16
Manual - pedal coupler
The church celebrated its centenary in 1996 with, as its climax, Consecration by the Bishop of Clifton, Rt, Rev. Mervyn A. Alexander, on Saturday 5 October. Extensive refurbishment took place in the proceeding years. Redecoration included a ceiling stenciled with motifs of intertwined S(aint) P(eter) and is crossed keys copied from a more elaborate earlier design. A new stone altar (enclosing relics of St. Alphonsus Liguori founder of the Redemptorists) and English oak lectern stand in the recarpeted sanctuary. A new English oak organ loft from is decorated with carved shields of two Bishops of Clifton, Rt. Rev. W. R. Brownlow (1830 - 1901), who opened the church and M. A. Alexander (1925 -) who presided at its consecration, flanked by those of St. Peter and the Town of Cirencester.
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