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Heritage

We are thankful for a rich local heritage, which is now our responsibility to care for, to make known and appreciated more widely, and to pass on to our successors.

You are very welcome to visit our parish to enjoy our heritage at first hand. Other heritage sites nearby in Woolwich include St George’s Garrison Church, the Woolwich Royal Arsenal site with Greenwich Heritage Centre, the Town Hall, and the Royal Artillery Barracks.

The roots of our parish history lie in the first “mission chapel” built in Woolwich in 1816. See the Parish Roots page to learn more about the Catholics in Woolwich before St Peter’s was built, and our Timeline for the subsequent history of St Peter’s and its congregation.

Our main buildings were designed by the famous Pugin family: the church by AW Pugin in 1843, and Pugin Place (originally a school) by EW Pugin in 1858.

The history and traditions about the Apostle Peter are important to us, as our church is dedicated to him.

The Heritage ​Lottery Fund awarded £250,000 to the parish over the period 2016-19, largely to help repair the church roof and stonework but also to make the parish heritage more accessible to the wider community. in parallel with the repair work, the heritage pages on this website were enhanced and expanded. 

Timeline

The history of St Peter's with key highlights.

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Parish Roots

Read about the roots of our church in Woolwich.

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Leading Catholic Priests of Woolwich

Read about the leading Catholic priests who have served in Woolwich since 1816.

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Church tour

Following a tour around our church here you will discover striking architectural elements.

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Our Pugins

Two Pugins have been responsible for the design of major portions of our parish buildings: Augustus and his eldest son…

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Caring for our buildings

Our church and associated buildings are all listed Grade II by Historic England.

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St Peter’s Story

Peter was born at Bethsaida, near the Sea of Galilee. Peter, whose name was originally Simon, was a fisherman along with…

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Our information sources

List of the main sources we have relied on for our parish history pages

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Heritage Links

Woolwich, Eltham and Greenwich have rich histories with royal, naval and military connections - all of them are well…

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