Find a church

The history of this unusual site with its two buildings begins in the 12th century when the order of St John of Jerusalem was given charge to build a preceptory.

St Matthias was built as a Chapel of Ease of St Mark, Torwood.

'The last Norman church built in Derbyshire, in 1923'.

The church at the heart of the town: every year, thousands of people visit our beautiful church.

The churchyard has a distinct curve to it perhaps following the shape of an underlying moat and ancient meeting place. An ancient Yew tree reckoned to be between 1,000 and 2,000 years old also stands in the churchyard.

Here is a large town church that speaks of the 15th century. In 1483 Edward V, the husband of Elizabeth Woodville of nearby Grafton Regis, gave a large grant of stone from the royal quarries nearby in Whittlebury.

A small Benedictine priory stood here in the year 900 AD and the chancel area of the present church is thought to be the site of its chapel.

Historical documents refer to St Peter's as a Royal Chapel as early as the 12th century, today it is a Chapel Royal and Royal Peculiar; directly under the jurisdiction of The Queen.

With its origins as a Saxon chapel, the church we see today with its 12th century cancel, is constructed of one building inside another, joined only at the windows.

The stunning interior of Caen stone evokes the great Gothic cathedrals of Amiens and Reims; the church is also home to a superb collection of stained glass windows by Kempe and others.