Church of St Peter and St Paul

The Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul stands in the heart of Wisbech, Cambridgeshire. Built in the 12th century, it is the town’s oldest surviving building and its first Grade I listed structure. The church’s four-aisled nave and detached bell tower rise above the flat Fenland landscape. Inside, Norman and later medieval work sit side by side, with a Decorated-style chancel and a Perpendicular tower added after earlier collapses. A modern flèche crowns the tower, which contains a peal of ten bells, four of which date back to 1566, 1608 and 1640. The church holds several notable works. Sir John Betjeman called it a ‘typical town church’ in his guide, and it contains a wall monument by Joseph Nollekens and a marble reredos designed by William Bassett-Smith and made by Salviati in 1885. A memorial to Far East prisoners of war, designed by Brian Krill, stands inside, recalling those lost in the Second World War. The graveyard, now Tillery Park, once held victims of the 1832 cholera epidemic. Visitors find a church of many periods. The Norman nave lies north of a second nave, each with aisles and chancels. The tower’s lower stages are plain, but its upper parts are richly carved with patrons’ names. The bells, recast in 1823, were restored and rehung in 1994. Outside, the Rose Fair still raises funds in the churchyard each summer, while the wider town celebrates with floats and stalls.