Friends of St Peter's, Great Berkhamsted

On Friday 6 May 2016, the Friends and Parish of St Peter’s were greatly honoured by a visit of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to St Peter’s Church, Berkhamsted.

The Friends of St Peter’s has been supporting the conservation of a rare and unusual Coat of Arms of Queen Elizabeth I, which hangs in St Peter’s Church, Berkhamsted.  This Coat of Arms has recently been restored and a new board has been added to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in 2012. The new board was unveiled at a special ceremony by Her Majesty the Queen, attended by a number of local dignitaries and representatives of the local community.

During the ceremony, the choirs of St Peter’s Church and the Berkhamsted school sang a short programme of choral pieces in the presence of Her Majesty, including Vivaldi’s Gloria and Henry Wood’s O Thou the Central Orb. A beautiful new work, O Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem, composed specially for the occasion by St Peter’s Director of Music, Adrian Davis, was also sung. The event was a occasion of great celebration and a tremendous honour for the whole town.

The Queen then went on to visit the Berkhamsted School for a celebration of their 475th anniversary.  Berkhamsted School was founded in 1541 by Dean Incent, a member of the Berkhamsted Parish who was Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral 1540-45. At the school, the Queen inspected a guard of honour from the school’s Combined Cadet Force, and was entertained by pupils performing songs from their forthcoming production of The Lion King Jr.

Read more about the Elizabeth I Coast of Arms on the special project page.