Bygone Burnley: St Peter’s Church and School, Part One, with historian Roger Frost MBE

The first part sees Roger outside the church where he explains its central role in the early history of the town, nearby physical features, and a potted history of the school.

Our second episode, which will be aired on our website later this week, sees Roger move inside our town’s magnificent parish church, and look at its many memorials to prominent figures as well as its superb architectural features.

Standing in the church yard first, though, Roger explains that St Peter’s stands in the original old centre of Burnley.

“The first reference to St Peter’s is 1122 but it’s clear from that document that there had been a church on the site for a period we can’t determine, but I would guess it would be in the 8th Century, a date between about 760 or 820,” he said.

“However, we’re not even sure about the 1122 date. The one thing we are certain of is that it was in the reign of King Henry I, William the Conqueror’s youngest son.”

Roger then went on to explain how Burnley got its name – it is the town on the River Brun.

He added: “The Brun is close by and if you go back to the Dark Ages, the site of the church yard and the school was dominated by a defensive construction, a mound of earth with a fence on top which linked the River Brun and in that area was the church, which was much smaller then, the market square, the town’s first shops and inns.

“Burnley grew from this very small spot into the medium town it is now.”

Roger then went on to the explain the early history of St Peter’s School.

“The school was the first school built in the area where people didn’t have to pay to send their children. The incumbent or parson of Burnley, Robert Moseley Master built the school in 1828. St Peter’s is the oldest primary school in Burnley, and one of the oldest in the area.”