St Peter’s Church Upwell 1920

St Peter, Upwell

History of St Peter

According to the booklet, The parish church of Upwell St Peter, there is evidence that a Roman house-church existed on the site which was followed by a substantial Saxon building. A new church was built in the 13th century and this was much enlarged in the 14th century.

The gallery was built to accommodate the people of Nordelph whose parish grew rapidly in the early 19th century but there was no church until 1865. So until then, the people were brough by horse drawn barge to Upwell at the expense of the rector.

The angels are believed to have been brought in during the early 13th century. Some hold objects associated with the Passion e.g. a hammer and nails, a spear, a bucket for hyssop and a crown of throns. They feature in Dorothy Sayers’ novel The Nine Tailors; she was the daughter of the rector of Upwell Christchurch.

the royal coat of arms belonged to the Townley family who provided rectors at Upwell for over a century.