Information Point 1 
Origins of St Peter's

St Peter’s began as a modest church building before the Norman invasion in 1066.  Its subsequent history is punctuated by the appearance of Kings and Queens which you may well notice as you tour the church. The existing interior Nave pillars mark out the probable rectangular shape of a pre-1066 church building which would probably have been much smaller than today’s building, wooden and within a rural rather than an urban setting.  The church is dedicated to St Peter, a leading follower of Jesus. Tradition has it that Abbot Ulsinus of St Albans Abbey founded the church in 948, although scholars now believe that this date cannot be right. Following Henry VIII’s enforced closure of monasteries in the 1500s, the right to appoint the Vicar passed to the King, but then in 1600 Queen Elizabeth 1 gave this right to the Bishop of Ely. Then in 1854 the right was passed back to Queen Victoria and has been held by the Crown ever since. Our vicars remain nominated by the monarch, and our choirs wear red cassocks in place of the normal black ones.