Bell Tower
St. Peter’s has a fine peal of eight bells, presented in 1921 by Sir David and Lady Rutherford in memory of their son, Lt. David Rutherford, who was killed in Ireland in 1920. The regular home tower ringers enjoy Wednesday practice nights once each month when they often receive instruction from more experienced ringers from other local towers.
Flower Committee
The Committee is responsible for all flower arrangements in church, week by week and at festivals. The cost of flowers is met either from donations or from parish funds.
Over 60’s Club
An outreach group of some 40 older members of the community, some of whom are members of the congregation, which affords the opportunity to socialise and enjoy a variety of activities and events. There is usually a summer outing each year and a Christmas dinner, which has been provided by the local BUPA hospital for many years.
St Peter’s Players
In 1959 Kathleen Steel, with help from church members, successfully wrote and produced ‘Cinderella’ followed by ‘Dick Whittington’ in 1960. These productions gave birth to St. Peter’s Players in 1961 with Gerald Waite as secretary and Philip Kirby as musical director. For many years most members came from St. Peter’s congregation. The group was originally set up to stage pantomimes in the Parish Hall and in 1961 Margot Bliss obtained a script of ‘Jack and Beanstalk’ which became the first production of the fledgling theatre group. This was followed by ‘Babes in the Wood’ in 1962 and in the Spring of 1963, the then vicar, the Rev’d Philip Cecil, produced a religious drama ‘Christ in the Concrete City’.
As the players grew and became more ambitious, they ventured into plays and musicals and presented up to three productions annually, the youth section winning many awards at local drama festivals. However over the ensuing years, the fortunes of St. Peter’s Players fluctuated and gradually the number of members from St. Peter’s congregation became fewer.
Nevertheless at the turn of the century the Players saw a tremendous revival and had a great success in 2000 with their production in church of ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ followed by ‘Sweeney Todd’ in 2001 and ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat’ in 2002, which they originally staged in 1976. Their 2003 production was ‘Children of Eden’ followed by Sleeping Beauty in 2005 and Babes in the Wood in 2007.
The photograph above depicts a scene from ‘Babes in the Wood’. The two villains pictured are the Rev’d Ron Cottingham, curate (left) and the Rev’d Philip Cecil, vicar.