itself stood near to that street in St. Peter's Lane. It is stated by Nichols that the old County Gaol (which stood at the corner of the old High Street and Free School Lane), had been built on the site of St. Peter's church, but he must have been mistaken. The church did not face the old High Street, but lay some way back from the main thoroughfare, and was approached by two lanes, one the present St. Peter's Lane, leading out of the old High Street, the other a cross-lane, coming from Dead lane. Fragments of the old church are thought to have been found during some excavations that were made in 1839, near the corner of St. Peter's Lane and West Bond Street; and further confirmation of this site was discovered in 1892, when some workmen exposed what seemed to be a portion of the West wall, and the lower part of the tower, to a height of 8 or 10 feet.
A tragic event, which took place on Christmas Eve in 1306, may be quoted from the Coroner's Roll of that year. "It chanced about midnight that Simon the Welshman, clerk, came to St. Peter's church of Leicester, to ring the bells for matins, as the custom is; there he met William, vicar of the said church, standing in that church, who asked him where he had been tarrying so long, and struck him with a knife which is called Misericorde on the head even to the brain, and he lived for two days." The hue and cry were raised; the townships came, that is the East, West, South and North Gates, "together with the frankpledge of that township"; (i.e., the North, in which the occurrence happened.) "They ordered the coroners and bailiffs of Leicester;
whereof an Inquest was taken, who say that they suspect no one of the said death but the said William the vicar himself; who kept himself in the said church for seven weeks, and afterwards came to the peace, and was kept in prison in the custody of Hugh the Mercer" (then Bailiff of Leicester). "He had chattels: 2 pieces of tapestry for five shillings, one housing of striped cloth for five shillings in the hands of Godfrey of Louvain, William of Broughton and William Turner, frankpledges; two small sheets for 1 shilling and ten pence, 2 sheets for 2s. & 6d., in the hands of William of Ruddington; one white tunicle for three shillings in the hands of the said frankpledges; one pavilion of Persian
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