A Short History of St Peter's

Beautiful Stained Glass

St. Peter's Church

Each of our beautiful stained glass windows depicts key events, people and stories from the bible.

The Village of Anlaby has been thriving for over 1000 years and, whilst the community was small, people went to Church in Kirk Ella. It wasn’t until 1863 when the population had grown, that a room in Anlaby was given a licence for Anglican services. These first services were held every Sunday evening, and during the winter a lecture was given on Wednesdays. These were very popular and well attended and the congregation started collections with the aim of building a Chapel-of-Ease for the parish of St. Andrew’s Kirk Ella. The land for the proposed Church was given by Sir Francis Legard, of Ganton near Scarborough.

In 1865, for a cost of approximately £1,300, a church was erected and consecrated on the second Sunday after Easter. Unfortunately, it wasn’t well designed and 18 years later was pronounced unsafe. It was demolished and replaced with our current Church building in 1885.

A very old photograph

St. Peter's Church

We believe that this picture was taken in the early 1900's.

St Peter’s was first licensed for burials in 1871 and was first used in 1873 when space prevented St Andrew’s Kirk Ella being used. Burials ceased at St. Peter’s in 1960. The Church was licensed for marriages in 1872. In 1901, the parish of Anlaby was formed principally from parts of Kirk Ella and Hessle parishes; St. Peter’s was consecrated as a Parish Church in its own right by the then Archbishop of York. Our beautiful church clock was installed into the bell tower in 1911. A major renovation was carried out in the 1960’s, which mainly affected the Chancel and greatly improved the lightness of the interior.

Many of the fittings you see in St. Peter’s today date from the 1880’s, notably the Choir stalls, the pulpit, the organ and the floor tiles. The stained-glass windows are Victorian. An example of the famous carved mouse, trademark of the master Craftsman Robert Thompson of Killburn, is to be found on the carved oak altar.

More recently, colour has been provided in the shape of beautifully decorated hassocks and the splendid variety of banners.

The latest alterations to the church have been made to accommodate our changing needs. In 2009 pews were removed from the rear of the church to make way for our well-used ‘Children’s Corner’. To support our informal ‘Praise for All’ service, a projector and screen have been installed to display worship songs and help with any illustrated talks. A front pew has also been removed on a trial basis to give our worship band more room.