St Peter
Gayhurst, Buckinghamshire
Built by the Wrighte family in the 1720s in the style of a Georgian Reception Hall to match the development of Gayhurst Manor.
The church of St Peter & St Paul stands on a hill overlooking the valleys of two rivers, the Great Ouse and the Lovat (also known as the Ousel).
This hill has been the site of a church, and for a long time a castle too, since at least the time of the Normans. In 1066 the town was known just as Newport (meaning ‘New town’ or ‘New Market’), and it was in the 11th century that the Lord of the manor, Faulk Paganel added his name to the town.
Like most churches, Newport’s church has been rebuilt and added to over the centuries. That unknown early church was replaced with what was believed to be a cross-shaped church, with the tower at the centre of the cross, but in the 14th century the tower was destroyed, the nave was rebuilt, transepts removed and the aisles were rebuilt or added. Local records show that a new tower was built onto the west end of the nave about 1540.