40th Anniversary, 2002

In April and May 2002 we celebrated the 40th Anniversary of the opening of the church building, and looked further back to the origins of the church in Quarrendon

"Those who build here offer something stable to an unstable and insecure world"
Archdeacon of Buckingham, Ven J.F. Pratt, 14th April 1962, at the Consecration Service

Anniversary Video
Events
History of the church
Past clergy
Share your memories


The Bishop of Buckingham, Mike Hill, and our Anniversary display on Pentecost Sunday. Also pictured: Janet Colchester and Don Wheeler who collected the material for the display.
Bishop's Challenge

bshop by display

Events

We had an action packed two weeks - improving our understanding of our history, and looking forward to the future. Some of the highlights were:

Celebration Service on 14th April
with Guest Preacher Stephen Huckle, former Priest in Charge
 
An Evening with the Launton Handbell Ringers on Thursday 18th April, 7.30pm

The Audio-Visual Exhibition ‘St Peter’s, The Story So Far…’  was officially opened on Friday 19th April, by Deputy Mayor, Cnclr Ray Ghent. It was open all Friday and Saturday, and was visited by church members and local residents.
You can borrow the exhibition for your school, club, etc - just let us know if you are interested

On Sunday morning, 21st April we held a Parish Communion with presentation ‘Past and Present’ . Later the Celebration Tea   and the Choral Evensong with the Aston Clinton Choir   both a great success attracting past clergy, former church member from both St Peter’s and St Mary's. There was much reminiscing, and sharing of experiences and memories. But there was also a challenge to look to the future.

If you missed out on these events, do you have any memories, or photos? do you want an oportunity to see the exhibition? please send us an email  See also Anniversary Video

History of the church

  • Our church takes its name from the old St Peters church that was built from around 1280 AD in the village of Quarrendon, about a mile outside Aylesbury
  • By 1800 the village was depopulated and the church was no longer used. It gradually became ruined and now there is little left above ground level
  • In the late 1940s there was rapid development of housing in the Quarrendon area. Sunday Schools were started in people's homes, for children who could not get to St Marys in the town centre
  • A larger Sunday School was started with in May 1950, meeting each Sunday afternoon in the old community centre (at the end of Stonehaven Road). It opened with 74 children and was led by Doris Garner.
  • On 16th March 1952, weekly Sunday evening services were started in the Community Centre
  • Plans for a church buidling were drawn up and a plot of land in Coventon Road was bought from Aylesbury Borough Council
  • On 29th June 1961, after a procession from the community centre, the Bishop of Oxford, Harry Carpenter, laid the foundation stone. The original foundation stone, from the old St Peters (with the date 1280), was built into the inside wall for protection
  • The new church building was officially opened (dedicated) by the Bishop of Oxford. on 14th April 1962
  • Various extensions to the hall and additions and redecorations to the inside have taken place over the last 40 years
  • The West Window was replaced in 1999
  • St Peters has continued to provide a focus for worship and community activities, and we celebrated the 40th Anniversary of its consecration in April 2002

Past clergy

The following clergy have been Priests-in-Charge at St Peters, or (from 1990) Team Vicars:
Stanley Keene
 March 1952
 to
 June 1956
Dennis Davies
 June 1956
 to
 June 1958
Robert Stroud
 July 1958
 to
 September 1960
Robert Torrens
 October 1960
 to
 June 1963
Anthony Otter
 June 1963
 to
 February 1968
Gordon Wilkins
 February 1968
 to
 September 1971
Daniel Richards
 November 1971
 to
 June 1973
Michael Ballard
 September 1973
 to
 February 1978
John Studd
March 1978
to
 August 1978
Stephen Huckle
 September 1978
 to
 June 1985
Michael Foster
 December 1985
 to
 November 1987
Stephen Rowe
 April 1989
 to
 January 1993
Valarie Hicks
 April 1993
 to
 September 2000
Peter Atkinson
 April 2001
 to
 present
Liz Welters has been Curate from September 1998 to present 

Share your memories

Below are some short quotes from people who remember church and community events around the time that St Peters was started.
Do you have any memories we can add to this record?
Do you know any one who has?
Please let us know .

" On St Peter’s Day we had a service in Church, then processed round the perimeter of the prefabs with St Mary’s choir and our banner in front. We witnessed outside as well as inside the Centre

I’d come down from London. I was so excited that there was a church just at the top of my road
"

Anniversary Video

We are planning a simple video to mark the 40th Anniversary.
Please  let us know if you would like to see it.

Bishop's Challenge

Preaching at our Pentecost Sunday service on 19th May, the Bishop of Buckingham (Mike Hill) warned us that remembering of the past can  sometimes be sentimental - "preserving what we were rather than becoming what God wants us to be". Bibllical remebering should help us re-present the past, providing strength for the present and hope for the future.

He challenged us to become a church which is more:
  • empowered - by God
  • engaged - in the real issues of people's lives and in the community .