St Peter's Church dates from Norman times although traces of Saxon stonework have been found from around the 7th century. In the churchyard there is an ancient yew tree which experts have dated as being over 850 years old. The 13th century stone tower, apart from housing the six bells, is also the home of the local public library. The original stone spire was built in 1320 but was found to be unsafe in the 1940's when the top two thirds were removed. It proved too costly to rebuild in its original form and so in 1972 a fibre-glass copy was put in its place.
The church itself underwent major refurbishment in 2008/2009 and it reopened in January 2010 with the dual purpose of worship and hosting local events which is how, originally, church buildings were used. St Peter's Centre/The Hub is now a thriving community project which houses a cafe as well as the library plus weekly events such as yoga, choir, food market and a baby and toddler group. See www.hubcommunity.org for more information.
Also in the church yard is the grave of Private Robert Jones VC. Private Jones was awarded the Victoria Cross for his role (aged 21) in the battle of Rourkes Drift during the Zulu war where he heroically defended a hospital unit. After suffering spear and bullet wounds he was discharged and settled in Herefordshire. He died in Peterchurch in 1898 (aged 41) from gunshot wounds - the coroner passed a verdict of "suicide whilst temporarily insane" after hearing how he was tormented with recurring nightmares relating to his experiences in the war. You will notice that his headstone faces away from all the the other tombs. This is because suicides were usually not allowed to be buried on consecrated ground - placing the headstone this way signifys the nature of his death. However his VC decoration allowed him to be interred in St Peter's but his coffin entered the churchyard over the wall and not through the gate!
If you would like to add to the Church Micro series yourself then please look here
http://churchmicro.co.uk/
There is also a Church Micro Stats & Information page that can be found at
http://www.15ddv.me.uk/geo/cm/index.html