Watch more of our videos on Shots!
and live on Freeview channel 276

The congregation of St. Peter’s Church held a special anniversary service on Sunday morning (June 11) with Honorary Assistant Bishop of Peterborough Andrew Proud.

Attending the service were Andrea Leadsom MP, Mayor of Brackley Sue Sharps, town councillors, and the church’s patrons Caryl Billingham, John Townsend, and David Laing.

The church is the only Grade I listed building in the town and has been serving the community since 1223, when Robert de la Hay became Brackley’s first vicar.

The oldest church in Brackley is celebrating its 800th anniversary with a series of special events.

Reverend Rich Duncan has been the vicar of St. Peter's for the past four years. He said: "People have been worshipping in the church’s location for probably over a millennium. We have marked 800 years since the first vicar, but some of the architecture predates that; we even have some Norman sections of the building.

"I find it remarkable that the town of Brackley has had vicars for three times as long as the country has had a prime minister!"

The church is hosting a series of special events throughout the year to celebrate its remarkable history and also raise money for some essential refurbishments.

Included in the church’s busy events calendar, which runs up to the Christmas celebration, are a Medieval Banquet, the Brackley Band Mid-Summer Concert, and a Brides and Blooms Flower Festival at the end of the month (June 23–25).

Reverend Rich Duncan alongside some of the guests of honour for St. Peter's anniversary service.

Rev. Duncan added: "This year, we at St. Peter's want to both give thanks for the past and secure its future. Therefore, throughout 2023, we are both running celebration events and an appeal to raise over £400,000 for building works.

"For the past 800 years, this church has been at the heart of Brackley community life as the place where people have met to worship, as well as to mark births, deaths, marriages, and the major events of the town's life.

"As Brackley's only Grade I listed building, its largest public venue, and the county's largest churchyard, St Peter's Church and churchyard represent a crucial part of its heritage, and we want to ensure that many generations to come can continue to enjoy it."

For a full list of the church’s events and history, visit https://www.stpetersbrackley.org.uk/

Brackley's oldest church announces year of events to celebrate 800th birthday