About us
Loving God and serving the people of Littleover
St Peter's is part of the Church of England and has been in the heart of Littleover for over 600 years. While some parts of the building are very old, the true church is the people inside. And our desire is to share the generous love of God with our wider community. We do this in many different ways, through clubs and groups based in our buildings as well as going further out into our schools, residential homes and wider communities.
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We want to do more in response to local need and are always open to ideas and suggestions from the local community.
Our Team
There are many people involved in life at St Peter's, here are just a few of them....
Revd Alicia Dring
Alicia has been Vicar of St Peter's since 2013. She grew up in Derby. She is also Priest-in-Charge of All Saints' Findern.
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email:
Iona Hague
Iona is the Church Administrator and is usually the first voice you hear when calling us.
Full contact details are at the bottom of this page.
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email:
Paul Taylor
Lay Reader - As a Reader Paul is regularly involved in the leading of services and preaching. He also helps to run the Crossed Keys Cafe.
Heather Newstead
Heather is the Parish Safeguarding Officer responsible for Vulnerable Adults - full Safeguarding information is available here
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email:
safeguarding number:
07857 962197
Revd Jason Kennedy
Jason is Associate Minister at St Peter's and All Saints' Findern. He is also Enabling Minister for Haven Christian Centre in Heatherton.
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email:
Revd David Ditch
David is a retired priest and continues to offer valued pastoral care and support.
Carole Dickinson
Lay Reader - As a Reader regularly involved in the leading of services and preaching. She also helps to run the Re-Create team.
Chris Jones
Church Warden - Wardens are legally responsible for the buildings and the charity that underpins the work of St Peter's. They carry out much of the practical work that keeps the church running on a day to day basis.
Revd Emma Mallord
Emma is the Curate both at St Peter's and at All Saints' Findern.
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email:
Revd Jenny Cooper
Jenny is a retired priest and is a lead member of the prayer support team
Margit Staehr
Margit is the Lead Parish Safeguarding Officer responsible for ChIldren and Young People - full Safeguarding information is available here
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email:
safeguarding@stpeterlittleover.org.uk
safeguarding number:
07716 860498
Helene Roe
Church Warden - Wardens are legally responsible for the buildings and the charity that underpins the work of St Peter's. They carry out much of the practical work that keeps the church running on a day to day basis.
Our Beliefs
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We believe in the Bible to guide and inform our lives as Christians.
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We also believe in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, revealing the loving heart of God to inspire and lead us to grow as disciples of Jesus.
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We believe in the compassionate and loving heart of Jesus Christ who welcomed the stranger, challenged religious pride and included those on the edge of society.
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We aim to be inclusive and loving as we learn and grow together - this can mean challenging ourselves and long held theologies. This is never easy but we hope to disagree well and to love one another even though we may hold different perspectives.
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We want everyone to know that God loves them and that life as a Christian can be an amazing adventure.
"So, in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith.... neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female for you are all one in Christ Jesus" Galatians 3:26-28
Our buildings
St Peter's Church
The main church building is St Peter's Church on Church Street, Littleover - a corner plot between Normanton Lane and Church Street, with The White Swan pub over the road. The majority of the services take place in the building.
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The full address, directions and links to our accessibility statement are at the foot of the page.
St Andrew's Community Hub
St Andrew's Community hub was the worship centre for St. Andrew's Blagreaves until 2023 when the parish of Littleover and Blagreaves merged.
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The Community Hub can be found on
Blagreaves Lane,
Littleover,
DE23 1PX
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Little Angels at St Andrew’s use the building during the week in term time as a pre-school and we have some involvement as a church, but this is run as an independent business. There is also a regular exercise class and some new church groups are meeting there during the evenings and weekends.
The regular "Giveaway Days" also take place here.
Parking is limited, so we recommend street parking where possible. The building is not available for one-off hires or parties.
St Peter’s Community Hub
Situated on Normanton Lane (DE23 6GA) next to The White Swan pub, there are two halls to form the Community Hub. There are regular activities here run by both the church and the wider community.
The two halls are connected by steps and ramps – one smaller hall and is a wooden structure with a small kitchen. The larger hall built in the 1980s has a bigger kitchen and more space for meetings, events and classes.
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The toilets are in between the 2 halls, though level access to the disabled toilet from the larger hall is via the outdoor ramp.. There is a car park which serves both the Community Hub and the Church, so this can get busy. When parking in nearby streets we politely ask that you park considerately for our neighbours.
The halls are booked out to regular users for most of the time. The building is not available for one-off hires or parties.
History
St Peter’s has been a place of Christian worship in Littleover for over 1,000 years and we still have some fragments of the church from the Norman conquests, including a doorway and the church font.
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The main part of the building dates back to approximately the 14th Century when the church is listed as a daughter church to the parish of All Saints’ in Mickleover.
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Apparently, the vicar would ride over on a Sunday and when he could be seen on his horse, the bell would ring and the community would gather for the service. Originally part of the Diocese of Lichfield, then over to the Diocese of Southwell in Nottinghamshire and finally part of the ‘new’ Diocese of Derby in 1927. The parishes of Mickleover and Littleover were separated in 1866 and gradually the church grew and extensions were added. First the north aisle in the mid 19th century and then the south aisle at the turn of the 20th century.
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In 1960 there was a vision to almost double the size of the church with a huge extension of the nave, to include a new west door and balcony. The work was very sympathetic to the existing building, but you can see the change in the size and shape of the windows along with the colour of the stone in the central columns.
In the 1980s more work took out the choir stalls, moved the organ and added a dais. A few years later a screen was added and following Covid a new sound and projection system was installed which is operated from the balcony. This also means that our main Sunday service is always available on livestream through the website.
In the early years, the Harpur Crewe family were associated with the church (known particularly in Derbyshire for their home Calke Abbey at Ticknall) and there is a memorial to Richard and Mary Harpur from the 17th century along with their children.
The daughter of a former vicar, Joyce Harpur, never married and left her estate to benefit ‘the poor of Littleover’ and the charity continues today, sharing grants with people in the parish who are in need, particularly at Christmas.
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Governance
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St Peter’s is part of the Church of England in Derbyshire and is part of the Diocese of Derby in Derby City Deanery.
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We also have a Parochial Church Council (PCC) who meet six times a year to manage the decision making required for the parish. Members of the PCC come from the church family and are elected at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting in April each year.
We are registered charity 1133061, and are registered by the Charities Commission as the Ecclesiastical Parish of St Peter’s Littleover and Blagreaves.
You can find out if you are part of our parish by going to https://www.achurchnearyou.com/ put in your postcode and it will tell you the name of your parish church. Of course, you are still welcome at our church even if you are not in our parish.
Chancel Liability
Chancel repair liability is a legal obligation of property owners in England and Wales to pay for certain repairs to a parish church. When purchasing a property within a parish, it is often recommended that Chancel Liability Insurance is taken to insure against any such repair bills.
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This liability is only an obligation in a small number of parishes. There are NO properties within the boundaries of the Parish of Littleover & Blagreaves where this liability exists.
If you are buying a property within our parish, we would be happy to send a letter confirming the Chancel repair liability - please contact the church office.