The foundation stone for St Peters in Redcar was laid on Monday 30th June 1823, with the events of the day being reported in detail in the Durham County Advertiser.

I wonder if the ‘time-capsule’ of documents and coins is still inside the building, or whether it was disturbed by later changes, a rough translation of the Latin inscription is :-

The first stone is placed
Feast of St Peter 1823

King George IV Ruling
Edward Venables Vernon, Archbishop of York
Baron Lawrence Dundas, Lord of Manor
Joseph Harrison, Vicar

Fund raising and completion was a major a problem and the £1100 costs had become £2700 by it was finally finished in 1829.

This etching is said to date from 1826, so the church was incomplete at this point and it may have still been an impression of what it should look like.

Things to notice about this compared to St Peters today are that no clock is visible (this was added in 1835) and there are only 4 sets of windows at the side not 5 (the church was extended in 1848) and no Lady Chapel at the rear (built much later in 1926)