St Peter’s, Freshford

St Peter’s is a Grade II listed building in the heart of the conservation area of the village of Freshford. Parts of the church date from the late fifteenth century, and it has a fine peal of six bells.

The church can seat approximately 150 - 175 people between the pews and chairs and it is open each day for visitors. The last quinquennial inspection was held in November 2018, which raised no major issues.

Across the road from the building is the Old Bakery, which was converted for church use approximately thirty years ago. It is held in trust, by the Diocese of Bath and Wells, for St Peter’s.

In 2022, we were finally able to embark on a much-needed renovation project for the church, mainly thanks to the combination of a large donation from the Younghusband Trust in Freshford, generous gifts from other trusts including FLISCA, Friends of Freshford, the Medlock Trust and the Cavaliero Family Trust, private donations and fund-raising which took place over a period of years. Its recent completion means that the building is now suitable for use by the whole community, complete with an access ramp for those with pushchairs or who are physically less able.

The renovation work includes a fully accessible toilet and kitchen area. The heating has been replaced by a more efficient system and the building has been fully redecorated with new lighting, including dimmable uplighters and a new audio-visual system and WiFi.

Having removed most of the pews and replaced them with chairs, we now have a versatile space which we can flex to accommodate differing requirements, as and when needed.

The perennial problems of car parking in Freshford remain, although we do have a designated disabled parking space outside the church entrance. We feel we now have a building fit for the 21st century, and look forward to it being used more widely by the community.

Roland Birchby, Steve and Debbie Ashcroft are our Churchwardens for St Peter's. If you wish to contact them please email them on info@flshc.co.uk.