Person    | Male  Died 1205

Peter of Colechurch

Categories: Architecture, Religion

Peter of Colechurch

His name, sometimes given as Peter de Colechurch, is connected to the church where he was a priest, St Mary Colechurch in Cheapside.

Colechurch had already rebuilt London Bridge from elm in about 1163. Then in 1176 he began work on the foundations for the first pier of a new stone bridge. This work was probably instigated by King Henry II. The eleventh pier from the Southwark side was built as the largest of the nineteen piers, specifically to accommodate a chapel dedicated to Thomas Becket. Most Londoners on pilgrimage to Canterbury would have begun their journey by crossing the bridge. In 1205 Peter of Colechurch was buried in this chapel.

The bridge took 33 years to complete (Colechurch died before it was completed) and lasted more than 600 years.

Our information is mainly from various Wikipedia pages and British History online.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Peter of Colechurch

Commemorated ati

London Bridge - information/viewing panel

Unveiled by the Duke of Gloucester, this is actually an "interpretation panel...

Read More

Other Subjects

William Oxtoby, A.M.I.C.E.

William Oxtoby, A.M.I.C.E.

Appointed Surveyor/Engineer for the Borough of Camberwell c.1898. William Oxtoby was born on 7 February 1862 in Hull, Yorkshire. He was the fourth of the five children of Robert Oxtoby (1823-1874)...

Person, Architecture, Engineering

2 memorials
Adelphi Terrace

Adelphi Terrace

The Adam brothers built a very large development including a run of houses with a terrace that over-looked the river, which was much closer before the Embankment was built. It was this terrace that...

Place, Architecture

3 memorials
Whitehall

Whitehall

Major road in London, running from Parliament Square to Trafalgar Square. The name is derived from the Whitehall Palace which stood here and was almost completely destroyed by fire in 1698. The Ban...

Place, Architecture

1 memorial
John Elger

John Elger

Architect, master builder and speculative developer. Active in London and Bedford.  From British History: "... a Bedford carpenter's son who had made his name in the 1820s and '30s as a speculative...

Person, Architecture, Property

1 memorial
Royalty Mansions

Royalty Mansions

Built in 1908 as flats with workrooms for tailors. It was purchased for improvement by the Soho Housing Association in 1978 and after extensive renovation work was opened in 1980. Architects: 19...

Building, Architecture

1 memorial