Bishop of London to visit later this month
The Bishop of London will carry a special message from the Queen of England when he visits the Island this month.The Rt Rev Richard Chartres will read the message at a special communion service at St Peter’s Church commemorating Bermuda’s 400th year of settlement.“Two months ago St Peter’s learned that the Bishop would be bringing with him a letter from Queen Elizabeth II to read to the people of Bermuda,” said Reverend David Raths, rector at St Peter’s Church. “It is very exciting. We are not sure what the letter will say.“I was told that it is going to be the Queen’s Jubilee greeting to Bermuda. We will have the Premier and the Governor and all of Bermuda’s dignitaries in attendance.”In March, tbe Queen gave permission for St Peter’s to reincorporate the words “Their Majesties Chappell” into its official title, as recent research has proven the church was once known this way in the 17th century.“St Peter’s has always been at the heart of St George's, throughout its history,” said Rev Raths.The Bishop will be the guest speaker at a gala banquet on November 16 at Rosewood Tucker’s Point Club.Tickets are $200. His wife, Caroline Chartres will speak at a coffee event the following day at the St George’s Club. Tickets are $15.St Peter’s special communion service begins at 11am on November 18.For reservations contact St Peter’s by e-mail, office@stpeters.bm, or telephone, 297-2459, by Monday.
Important Events in St Peter’s History
St Peter’s Church has been at the heart of the town of St George since its very beginning. Over the years it has been used as a court, as a place for the Governor to meet with the people before there was an official residence and even as a place to store tobacco.
St Peters has been very much at the heart of the town from the very beginning. It is literally in the heart of the town. Even in the early years it served also as - was probably the only place where people could get together. The governor would meet here befor ehe had his own facilities. They even had court here. In the early years they even stored tobacco in the church until it was shipped out. The church was very much at the heart of a town and a parish and people’s activities. If people didn’t go to church they could be fined. If there were repairs that had to be made, people would make an annual thithe to the church. After the hurricane of 1712, the wardens had lega. When they rebuilt in 1713 they said you either help rebuild or provide money for materials. The church was destroyed in 1712. That was the wooden church. After that everything had to be built of stone.
When the church was renovated in the 1950s they took the roof off and found that only the plaster was keeping the roof on. The beams had completed rotted away. Under the pews they found scores of ancient buttons, cap badges and even hog money.
It is still seen by everyone as - if there is an important event or function - they still that this is the place to come. In the beginning it wasn’t the Anglican church, it was just the church. That didnt’ change into well into the 19th century. There were no other churches until then.
There is still alot of respect of the chuch as a historic, cultural and religious icon for Bermuda. It is certainly just bigger than just being the church of England. We area lso celebrating the odlest Anglican church still in use outside of the British Isles.
Rev Raths - I have been here for the last seven years. It has been a very exciting time. The church - St Georges was the captail of Bermuda until it moved to Hamilton. It some respects it never recovered from that, but in a way it was not a bad thing because the town was preserved.
In 1854 they closed the cemetery because it was full because of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1853. It was so bad they close dthe cemetery because it was full. If they said it was full, it must have been really full. At that point they gave the church new land on the north side which is our current cemetery. Interestingly, we still have around the church yard the black cemetery. It was closed to. I have a feeling, even though emancipation was in 1834.
In the 1850s they decided they needed a new church. The idea was to know this one down. Chief medical officer said you can’t do it because all those graves, some of them are ten years old. You will not be disturbing those graves. Instead they decided to take land up the hill by where the old government house was. They completed the
laid corner stone in 1872. They went ahead and built the new church When they first started to think about it in 1850s St Peters was not victorianised. It is basically the way it was in 1850. All the other churches were turned into Victorian style churches with arches and stained glass windows. They left this one because they thought they would knock it down. As things transpired. It caused a huge argument because there were some who didnt’ want hte new church and couldn’t see spending the money. There were those who were so angered at the decision - they went and started thei rown church. The church taht is now the Salvation Army - yards away from the Unfinished Church was built as a reformed episocopal church. That lasted until 1896. The whole issue of the new church was so contentious. When the new cathedral burned down they used the money that had been sent aside for the new church, to rebuild the cathedral. The Unfinished Church was finished. It had the roof on and the floors were done. Minutes of meetings approving designs for stained glass windows. They just stopped and let it fall down.
