Littleover is a suburban village of Derby, 3 miles SW of the city centre. The church is in the middle of the village, occupying a surprisingly large churchyard hidden by the surrounding streets. St Peters was originally a village church consisting of a nave with a S porch, a N aisle and a W bell turret, and a chancel. From what survives and a sketch by R R Rawlins we know that it had a 12thc W doorway and font, and windows of c.1300. In 1857 a new N aisle was built, and the roof of the nave was raised, A S aisle was added in 1908, then in 1961 the church was extended westwards by J. S. Comper, almost doubling the floor area. A new W porch was added and a bell turret built in the angle between this and the W wall of the S aisle. The font was moved to its present position alongside the S doorway (which was now halfway along the nave) and the Norman W doorway was moved inside the church to serve as the entrance to the new bell turret. In 1981 a new vestry and a Parish Office were added to the NE corner of the church, and in 2004 a new toilet block wa sadded at the NW. The former W doorway and the font are recorded here.

In the Domesday Survey, Littleover was a berewick of Mickleover which was held by King Edward before the Conquest and was given (with its Berewicks) to Burton Abbey (Staffs) by William I. In the 12thc the church at Littleover was a chapel of Mickleover. It remained a property of the Abbey until the Dissolution in 1542.

It is suggested by Wright that the font may be 11thc. Hartwell calls it 'supposedly Norman', and the list description simply calls it Norman. Its sheer bulk suggests an early 12thc date. There is little evidence to date the reset doorway beyond the slight chamfer which might suggest the second half of the 12thc rather than the first.