Parish History

Wolverhampton has a long recusant history and for 200 years was the ecclesiastical centre of the Church in the Midlands, the Welsh Marches and East Anglia. The significance of SS Peter and Paul goes well beyond the confines of the present West Midlands owing to its central position in the revival of English Catholicism in the nineteenth century. Giffard House, a fine Georgian House (1728-33) with a magnificent staircase was built by the Giffards of Chillington as a Mass-house. In 1826, as a memorial to Bishop John Milner, the present classic church of SS Peter and Paul by Joseph Ireland was built on to it. It has a splendid stuccoed interior with shallow domes, high lunette windows, a classical organ case and an altar painting by Joseph Barney. Wolverhampton City Council has described it as "one of the most beautiful churches in the city".

For more information, please read the online booklet below.