Built by St. Cedd in the year 654, it was reconsecrated much later, in 1920.
The Chapel of St. Peter-On-The-Wall is not an architectural masterpiece, nor is it well known for its ornamentation or the relics it hosts. This small, sober, and unpretentious chapel, located in Bradwell-On-Sea in Essex (on the southeastern British coast, is among the oldest mostly intact Christian churches in England. In fact, some sources claim this is the second oldest Christian building in all Great Britain still standing today (St. Martin’s Church in Canterbury being the first).
According to Bede, Cedd was born in Northumbria, and was taken to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne (the great center of Celtic Christianity) by St. Aidan himself. Bede also relates that Cedd had three brothers: Chad, Cynibil, and Caelin. All four were priests, but only Cedd and Chad became bishops. By the year 653 Cedd was already a priest, so we can date his birth around the year 620.
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