Robert and Alice Liversage had no children. They were rich. They lived on the corner of the Corn Market and Albert Street on the site where the Samuels shop now stands. Robert was a highly skilled and respected dyer of wool and a very clever business man. We are told that his life was an example of faith, hope and charity. Robert Liversage donated much of the money needed to build the cathedral tower. But Liversage made out a will which would benefit his own church, St. Peter's, where he worshipped regularly.

In his will written in 1531 he established a chapel to be built at the East end of the North aisle and made provision that most of his property would be given to the vicar of St. Peter's in order to benefit the poor of the parish. Upon his death; the hearse lay in the chapel, partially hidden from public view by a "screen". (His body was afterwards buried in a vault 20 feet deep underneath the chancel floor where it was accidentally discovered by workmen in 1929.)

A daily mass was said by the Liversage chaplain for the souls of Robert and Alice -but not for long. The practice was abolished by Edward VI a few years later. A divine worship was to be celebrated in the chapel every Friday, to be attended by 13 people who would each receive a silver penny. ...A most unfortunate bequest! -Hutton, Derby's first historian wrote: "A sufficient congregation was not doubted, nor their quarrelling for money. The priest found his hearers in that disorder which his prayers could not rectify. They frequently fought, but not the fight of good faith, nor did the ill-neighbourhood end with Friday.

No scheme is likely to fill the church as a silver penny... no devotion is valid that is bought with a price."

The majority of his wealth was far better managed! 12 almshouses were built on St. Peter's Churchyard (now the site of numbers 24-28). These were replaced in 1836 by the 24 almshouses on London Road which still house pensioners who have lived within the (old) parish boundaries. The trust has been well managed and grown considerably.

Stricter records had to be kept from 1727 when a whole acre of land on Bradshaw Way got "lost" following the expiry of a 99-year lease. The vicar and church wardens of St. Peters are still entitled to be trustees ex-officio, but from 1897 the other trustees were elected and since 1948 they have been appointed by Derby city council.

The Liversage trust is listed on the black and gilt charities board hanging in the church behind the font.

We owe a debt of gratitude to the wisdom of the monks of Darley Abbey. Realising that trouble was ahead, they sold the patronage of St. Peter's to a private citizen, Peter Marten of Stapleford. Now dis-associated from the monastery, the church survived the reformation intact. From this time on, the patronage passed backwards and forwards between the crown, town and noblemen; changes being made at the whim of the reigning monarch:

Edward VI took the patronage for the crown, then gave it to the Babington family.

Mary took it away from them to give to the Bailiffs and Burgesses of Derby.

Elizabeth I gave it back to Babington, but he was later charged with high treason.

Babington was a Roman Catholic and had plotted the murder of Queen Elizabeth I. His estates were forfeited in 1588.

Elizabeth then granted the patronage of St. Peter's to Sir Francis Beaumont of Gracedieu, Justice of the Common Peace. Sir Anthony Babington.

George was a wealthy orphan. He was scared of abduction and sought sanctuary in St. Peter's church. Before long the greedy Mr Griffin arrived to take him away for his own financial benefit. The town rallied to the defence of young George, who had been made a ward of court. There was quite a commotion. The town bell was rung and the burgesses arrived. George successfully escaped abduction, thanks to the efforts of the local townspeople.

Blind Joan Waste loved nothing better than to hear the scriptures read out loud. She would pay her friends a penny or two a time if they would read her New Testament bible to her. She quickly learnt most of it off by heart.

Her father was a barber and a rope-maker and had taught Joan how to turn a rope. She could knit too. The family were proudly protestant, attending St. Peter's regularly where they were glad to hear and understand the services in English. (They were not well enough educated to understand Latin.)

On the day Queen Mary came to the throne the Latin mass was re-established. No-one was more dismayed than Joan. Being the headstrong girl that she was, she protested. ...Very Loudly! It caused those in authority some embarrassment. She was hauled before the Bishop where she insisted that the sacraments of bread and wine were only a representation of the body and blood of Christ. She would not and could not become a Roman Catholic. Although she called herself "a blind, poor and unlearned woman" she was none-the-less condemned to die as a heretic. At Windmill Hill, (off Burton Road) Joan was led out on the arm of her brother to be burnt at the stake. As the fire burnt, there was a hushed and terrified feel to the air as the crowd watched the young woman who would not compromise her faith - not even to save her own life!

Joan was one of several handicapped martyrs to be executed by Queen Mary. Under Elizabeth I, priests were required to accept the Queen as the Head of the Church. The vicar of St. Peters signed. but three local priests became the Padley Martyrs.

Babington Hall stood at the bottom of Babington Lane, the site now marked by a plaque on the wall. Anthony Babington had acted as page to Mary and as a Roman Catholic supported her cause. It was therefore fitting that Mary, a prisoner, should rest the night in Derby. By now the house had been let to Henry Beaumont whose wife acted as hostess. Guarded by Sir Ralph Sadler, it was a tense moment for Derby as Mary rode horseback through the centre of Derby, heavily guarded on her journey southwards and to her ultimate death.

In 1593 an Elizabethan chair was presented to the church. It was later stolen by Oliver Cromwell, but was amazingly discovered in 1960 to be under auction at a sale in Reigate. A conscientious churchwarden travelled to the South Coast, but was delayed and missed the sale. But all was not lost, for after careful negotiations with the buyer, he reimbursed the full price paid and the chair was joyfully rededicated at St. Peter's by the Provost of Derby cathedral. It now sits in the sanctuary, together with a table which dates back to 1762.

Both in 1556 and 1665, the outbreak of plague in Derby was believed to have started in St. Peter's parish, the latter in East Street. So many people died that St. Peter's churchyard could no longer absorb all the deceased and some of the corpses had to be transported to Boulton chapel for burial.

Our three oldest bells were originally cast in 1636. They are still rung today. We know that there were "six musical bells" at St. Peter's in 1829, but in 1897 only five bells were removed when the tower was rebuilt. Three new bells were donated to make up the peal of eight bells which we have today.

Our seventh bell has never needed to be recast since it was first made in 1636. It bears the inscription:

"GLOIRA DEO IN EXCELSIS".

Some ancient memorial tablets have been placed in St. Peter's church, the oldest being on the wall to the left of the Flemish chest which was placed there in 1652. Soon afterwards a stone commemorating Percival Willughby, the first ever gynaecologist, was laid on the floor close by.

The first mayor of Derby was buried in St. Peter's churchyard in 1637. This was Henry Mellor who lived in Babington Hall.

Several prisoners of the old County Gaol were also buried in the churchyard. The gaol was built close to the brook which still flows underneath Victoria Street. It was not a pleasant place in which to reside. Quite apart from being frequently visited by pigs, it was always damp: a contributing factor to the "gaol fever" often fatally suffered by the inmates. At times of flooding, the cells filled with water and the prisoners were "apt to drown"!

The prison windows opened out to the street and the prisoners would beg from passers-by. However, they were in competition from the lepers, each provided by the town with a bell to warn of their approach. "Mad Margery" also roamed the streets wearing a bright red gown, provided for her out of the St. Peter's Churchwardens account.

There was once a man called Noah in the parish. He lived on a boat which was known as The Ark. This can be proven from the parish registers (the oldest of which begins in March 1558). Recorded here are the baptisms of his three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth, which took place in 1670, 1672 and 1681 respectively.

This Noah Bullock built his Ark and launched it on the River Derwent just above St. Mary's Bridge. Folk would laugh at him, but he didn't care because he knew that the last laugh would be his. The boat was the perfect cover for his illegal trade of making counterfeit coins. Should the law arrive to inspect, he could easily conceal the evidence in the muddy water below.

The magistrate Sir Simon Degge, resident at Babington Hall and a friend of Noah's, heard about the business. He summoned Noah to his office saying that he had heard that his friend had taken up a new occupation and he wished to see a sample of his work. Noah wisely said nothing until after Sir Simon had promised that "no evil should befall him, provided that he relinquished the trade". Then Noah pulled out a sixpence and boasted that "he could make work as good as that." Sir Simon could not help but laugh at the joke -and set his friend free.

Having used his wit to escape the halter, Noah broke up his Ark and lived on to die a natural death.

Ashbourne is still famous for its game of football through the town every Shrove Tuesday. The tradition for such Shrove Tuesday games started in the 18th century and the most famous (or infamous) of all took place in Derby. Young men from the parish of All Saints challenged those of St. Peter's and every able-bodied man over the age of 18 was expected to take part. Participants were fiercely competitive as the honour of the parish was at stake! The game started outside the Guildhall and didn't end until the ball reached one or other of the church gates.

The parishioners were so riotous in their behaviour that the mayor tried to stop the game in 1731. He brought some heavy "bouncers" in who surrounded the area in which the game traditionally "kicked off' -but a sweet old lady had concealed a ball beneath her long skirts. ..and so the game began.

The game was finally suppressed in 1848 when the troops were called in!

Even today a sporting match between two geographically close teams is called a "Derby".

It was the night of the 4th December and the town of Derby was over-run with the Scottish supporters fighting for their military leader "Bonnie Prince Charlie". They had succeeded in marching their way South as far as Derby ...and they now had their sights fixed on London itself.

Their aim: to crown once more a Stuart King.

Derby was afraid. The rebel army had reason to fear too. On the following day they were to be disastrously defeated at the battle of Swarkestone and would soon be fleeing back to Scotland.

Re-enactment Societies now commemorate this battle on the first weekend in December. They annually perform a replica battle. The night before must be spent in Derby and the participants sleep in St. Peter's church hall.

The poet William Cowper was called to the bar in 1754, but never practised as he suffered a temporary mental instability. In 1763, working as a commissioner for bankrupts he tried to commit suicide. But he was an intimate friend of the former slave-trader, turned evangelical clergyman, John Newton. Together they wrote many hymns which were published as the "Olney Hymns". The most famous of these are perhaps "Amazing Grace", "How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds" and "Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken".

The hymn "Hark my Soul" is said to have been written by Cowper in 1768 in the upper vestry at St. Peter's.

The Tudor tower stood proudly at the western end of the central nave. It was supported by arches which were badly damaged by the earthquake in Derby in 1811. A crack also appeared below one of the clerestory windows on the south side, which can still be seen today.

Underpinning of the tower attempted to make good the damage, but it was not successful. The bells hanging in the tower could no longer be rung.