St John's Wood Church
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St John's Wood Church is a
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...
in
St John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the City of Westminster, London, lying 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Traditionally the northern part of the ancient parish and Metropolitan Borough of Marylebone, it extends east to west from ...
,
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. The church is located on Lord's Roundabout, between
Lord's Cricket Ground Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...
and
Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...
, and has a Grade II* listing. The parish is in the Archdeaconry of Charing Cross, in the
deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...
of Westminster St Marylebone.


History

St John's Wood Church started life as a
chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently. Often a chapel of ea ...
to
St Marylebone Parish Church St Marylebone Parish Church is an Anglican church on the Marylebone Road in London. It was built to the designs of Thomas Hardwick in 1813–17. The present site is the third used by the parish for its church. The first was further south, near Ox ...
, and was constructed in 1814 by Thomas Hardwick, who was simultaneously constructing the current St Marylebone Church. Although the church originally had extensive burial grounds, these were closed in 1855 and opened as a public garden, St. John's Wood Church Grounds, in 1886. In 1898 the building became a chapel of ease to
Christ Church, Marylebone Christ Church, Marylebone, also called Christ Church, Lisson Grove, and Christ Church, Cosway Street, is a Grade II* listed former Church of England church, built in the 1820s in Marylebone in the City of Westminster to designs by Thomas and Phil ...
, and increasingly became the centre of administration for the parish. After bomb damage during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
rendered St Stephen's, Avenue Road unusable, St John's Wood Church became a parish church in its own right in 1952. As well as holding regular services for the community, the church has hosted the wedding of
Peggy Cripps Enid Margaret "Peggy" Appiah (née Cripps), MBE ( ; 21 May 1921 – 11 February 2006), was a British children's author, philanthropist and socialite. She was the daughter of the Right Honourable Sir Stafford Cripps and Dame Isobel Cripps, and ...
to Joe Appiah in June 1953, the blessing of the marriage of
Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...
and
Linda McCartney Linda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney ( Eastman; September 24, 1941 – April 17, 1998) was an American photographer, musician, animal rights activist, vegetarian cookbook author and advocate, and entrepreneur. She was the keyboardist in th ...
in 1969, and the funeral of
Ursula Vaughan Williams Joan Ursula Penton Vaughan Williams (née Lock, formerly Wood; 15 March 1911 – 23 October 2007) was an English poet and author, and biographer of her second husband, the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. Biography Born in Valletta, Malta, th ...
in 2007. A Church Hall complex was constructed in the 1970s, the completion of which was marked with the erection of a statue of the church's patron,
John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
, by
Hans Feibusch Hans Nathan FeibuschFeibusch, Hans Nathan< ...
. Restoration of the church interior took place in 1991 under the supervision of
Michael Reardon Michael Reardon may refer to: *Michael Reardon (climber) (1965–2007), American climber, filmmaker and writer *Michael Reardon (actor), foreign actor who starred in '' Colpo rovente'' 1970 * Michael Reardon (architect), English architect, historic ...
, when the chancel pavement was relaid in limestone and the present central altar replaced the high altar at the east end of the church.


Present day

The church has between 130 and 150 regular worshippers, with an electoral roll of 225. Services aim to maintain "a tradition of thoughtful and intelligent preaching and teaching", as well as the church's musical tradition; in addition to a professional octet of singers leading the worship at the main Sunday service, an amateur Chamber Choir made up of members of the congregation sings Evensong once a month. The
organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...
is a three manual, 52 stop instrument by B. C. Shepherd and Sons. The building is also kept open from early morning to late afternoon every day as a place of prayer and stillness. St John's Wood Church works closely with other local churches, who together hold a monthly service with letter-writing for
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
. Clergy from St John's Wood Church also meet with representatives from the
Liberal Jewish Synagogue The Liberal Jewish Synagogue, or LJS ( he, קהל קדוש לב חדש, ''Qahal Kadosh Lev Chadash'', "Holy Congregation New Heart"), is a house of prayer in St John's Wood, London, founded in 1911. It is the oldest and largest member of Britai ...
and
London Central Mosque The London Central Mosque (also known as the Regent's Park Mosque) is an Islamic place of worship located on the edge of Regent's Park in central London. Design and location It was designed by Sir Frederick Gibberd, completed in 1977, and ...
to hold
scriptural reasoning Scriptural Reasoning ("SR") is one type of interdisciplinary, interfaith scriptural reading. It is an evolving practice of diverse methodologies in which Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Baháʼís, and members of other faiths, ...
discussions. During term-time the Church Hall complex is occupied by St John's Wood Pre-Preparatory School during the day, while a local youth club operates in the crypt on Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings.St John's Wood Church website
"Crypt Youth Club"
Retrieved 18 November 2013.
The hall is also occasionally hired out for local residency association meetings, and to charities such as ARC UK.


Incumbents

;Incumbents of St John's Wood Chapel * Okey Belfour, 1814–18 * Gilbert Parke, 1818–25 * Thomas Wharton, 1825–55 * Henry Sandham, 1855–95 * William Ferrar, 1896–99 * James Beaumont, 1900–15 * Edward Adams, 1915–25 * Brierley Kay, 1925–40 * Oswin Gibbs-Smith, 1941–47 * Noel Perry-Gore, 1947–52 ;Vicars of St John's Wood Church * Noel Perry-Gore, 1952–72 *
Tim Raphael Timothy John Raphael (26 September 192920 November 2016) was an Anglican priest. Raphael was educated at Christ's College, Christchurch and the University of Leeds. after which he was a Scientific Officer at RAE Bedford. He trained for ordinati ...
, 1973–83 * John Slater, 1983–2001 * Anders Bergquist, 2002–present


See also

*
List of churches in London This is a list of cathedrals, churches and chapels in Greater London, which is divided into 32 London boroughs and the City of London. The list focuses on the more permanent churches and buildings which identify themselves as places of Chris ...


References


External links


The church's websiteContact details for the churchThe Church's Facebook page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Johns Wood Church Church of England church buildings in the City of Westminster 19th-century Church of England church buildings Diocese of London St John's Wood Grade II* listed churches in the City of Westminster