Over the years the fabric of the church building invevitably falls into disrepair. A 1628 record describes St Peter’s as “a large and goodly church for the publique service of Almighty God, which by reason of antiquity and former neglect is very much and dangerously decayed.”
By the 18th century, the first serious signs of decay become apparent: in the 1700s, the ceiling of the St John Chantry collapses, narrowly missing the boys and masters of Berkhamsted School. Routine repairs and alterations to the ancient fabric of the church are made, but a full-scale restoration is not yet attempted.
