Croydon Minster is the parish and civic church of the

London Borough of Croydon The London Borough of Croydon () is a London borough, borough in South London, part of Outer London. It covers an area of and had a population of 397,741 as of mid-2023, making it the most populous London borough. It is London's southernmost ...

, located in the

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...

area of Croydon. There are currently more than 35 churches in the borough, with Croydon Minster being the most prominent. It is

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. Six

Archbishops of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop was Augustine ...

are buried in the church: Edmund Grindal (d.1583),

John Whitgift John Whitgift (c. 1530 – 29 February 1604) was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1583 to his death. Noted for his hospitality, he was somewhat ostentatious in his habits, sometimes visiting Canterbury and other towns attended by a retinue of 8 ...

(d.1604),

Gilbert Sheldon Gilbert Sheldon (19 June 1598 – 9 November 1677) was an English religious leader who served as the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1663 until his death. Early life Sheldon was born in Stanton, Staffordshire in the parish of Ellastone, on 19 J ...

(d.1677),

William Wake William Wake (26 January 165724 January 1737) was a minister in the Church of England and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1716 to his death. Life Wake was born in Blandford Forum Blandford Forum ( ) is a market town in Dorset, England, o ...

(d.1737), John Potter (d.1747), and

Thomas Herring Thomas Herring (baptised 10 October 169323 March 1757) was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1747 to 1757. Early life and education He was the son of John Herring, rector of Walsoken in Norfolk, who had previously been vicar of Foxton, near Camb ...

(d.1757).

History

Medieval church

The church was established in the middle Saxon period, and is believed to have been a

minster church Minster is an honorific title given to particular churches in England and Wales, most notably York Minster in Yorkshire, Westminster Abbey in London and Southwell Minster in Nottinghamshire. The term ''minster'' is first found in royal fou ...

: one which served as a base for a group of clergy living a communal life, who may have taken some pastoral responsibility for the population of the surrounding district. A

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...

issued by King

Coenwulf of Mercia Coenwulf (; also spelled Cenwulf, Kenulf, or Kenwulph; ) was the List of monarchs of Mercia, king of Mercia from December 796 until his death in 821. He was a descendant of King Pybba of Mercia, Pybba, who ruled Mercia in the early 7th century. ...

refers to a council which had taken place close to what is called the ''monasterium'' (meaning minster) of

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

. An Anglo-Saxon will made in about 960 is witnessed by Elfsies, priest of Croydon; and the church is also mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086. The earliest clear record of the church's dedication to St

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

is found in the will of John de Croydon, fishmonger, dated 6 December 1347, which includes a bequest to "the church of S. John de Croydon". In its final medieval form, the church was mainly a Perpendicular-style structure of late 14th and early 15th-century date. It still bears the arms of archbishops Courtenay and Chichele, believed to have been its benefactors.

Destruction and rebuilding

The medieval building underwent some restoration in 1851 and 1857–9, under the direction of

George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), largely known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he ...

. On the night of 5 January 1867, a fire broke out – possibly caused by overheating of the poorly positioned flues of recently installed Gurney stoves – which eventually gutted the entire building. It was rebuilt to Scott's designs between 1867 and 1869, incorporating some of the medieval remains (notably the west tower and south porch), and essentially following the medieval plan, while enlarging the building by extending its footprint further east. During the period of rebuilding, services were held in a temporary " iron church", with seating for 700, erected in April 1868 in Scarbrook Road. The church's reconsecration by Archbishop Archibald Tait took place on 5 January 1870. The church still contains several important monuments and fittings saved from the old building.

Present day

The church was elevated to the status of Croydon Minster (the modern honorific title) on 29 May 2011, the first such change in the diocese of Southwark. Croydon has strong religious links, Croydon Palace having been a residence of the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

from at least the beginning of the 13th century to the beginning of the 19th. The Bishop of Croydon is a position as an

area bishop A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the Metropolitan ...

in the

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Diocese of Southwark. The current area bishop is Jonathan Clark, who was consecrated on 21 March 2012. Until recently (mid 2016) the vicar was Colin J. Luke Boswell, Vicar of Croydon and Chaplain to the

Whitgift Foundation The Whitgift Foundation is a charity based in Croydon, South London, England. The purpose of the charity is to provide education for the young and care for the elderly. The main activities of the charity are the operation of three independent ...

. Croydon Minster today ''de facto'' serves as

Whitgift School Whitgift School is an independent day school with limited boarding in South Croydon, London. Along with Trinity School of John Whitgift and Old Palace School it is owned by the Whitgift Foundation, a charitable trust. The school was prev ...

's chapel. It is also linked to The Minster Schools. The Minster stands in the inclusive liberal catholic

tradition A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common e ...

of the Church of England.

Organ

The church has a large four-manual pipe organ, much of which is by

William Hill & Sons William Hill & Son was one of the main organ builders in England during the 19th century. The founder William Hill was born in Spilsby, Spilsby, Lincolnshire, in 1789. He married Mary, the daughter of organ-builder Thomas Elliot (organ buil ...

and dates from 1869. There is also a small organ in the St Nicholas Chapel which was obtained from St Mary the Virgin, Preston Candover in 1997.

Organists and Masters of Choristers

Before the fire of 1867 records are incomplete, but include: * Thomas Attwood Walmisley 1830–1833 *

John Pyke Hullah John Pyke Hullah (27 June 1812 – 21 February 1884) was an English composer and teacher of music, whose promotion of vocal training is associated with the singing-class movement. He worked with Charles Dickens and Felix Mendelssohn. Life and ...

1837–? After the fire of 1867: *John Rhodes 1857–1868 *Frederick Cambridge 1868–1911 *F. Rowland Tims 1911–1918 *H. Leslie Smith 1918–1948 *Edward Shakespeare 1948–1952 *J. A. Rogans (Hon) 1952–1953 *B. Aldersea 1952–1957 *J. A. Rogans (Hon) 1957–1958 * Derek Holman 1958–1965 * Roy Massey 1965–1968 *Michael Fleming 1968–1978 *David Brookshaw 1978–1980 * Simon Lole 1980–1985 * Carl Jackson 1986–1990 *David Swinson 1990–1992 * Peter Nardone 1993–2000 * Nigel McClintock 2000–2007 * Andrew Cantrill 2008–2012 *Tom Little (''Acting'') 2012–2013 *Dr Ronny Krippner 2013–2021 *Sophie Garbisu (''Acting'') 2021–2022Appointment of New Director of Music
, Croydon Minster, 12 December 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2022. *Justin Miller 2022– Organists Laureate * Martin How 2011–2022 Organists Emeritus * Derek Holman 2011–2019 * Roy Massey 2011–

Bells

The tower houses a ring of 12 bells cast by the Croydon firm of

Gillett & Johnston Gillett & Johnston was a clockmaker and bell foundry based in Croydon, England from 1844 until 1957. Between 1844 and 1950, over 14,000 tower clocks were made at the works. The company's most successful and prominent period of activity as a be ...

in 1936, replacing an earlier ring of eight. The eight original bells were recast and hung with new fittings in a new frame with four additional trebles. The new ring of 12 was dedicated by the Bishop of Croydon on 12 December 1936 and the first peal on the new 12 was rung for the

coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The coronation of the British monarch, coronation of George VI and his wife, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, Elizabeth, as King of the United Kingdom, king and List of British royal consorts, queen of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth realm, ...

in 1937. The tower and ringers are affiliated to the Surrey Association of Church Bell Ringers.

St John’s Memorial Garden

To the south of the Minster is St John’s Memorial Garden, an area of . Up until 1957 it was a traditional cemetery which was no longer used and had become neglected. Earlier gravestones and tombs were relocated or used for walling or paving and a War Memorial was also repositioned.

Gallery

File:The environs of London- being an historical account of the towns, villages, and hamlets, within twelve miles of that capital interspersed with biographical anecdotes (1792) (14582305858).jpg, The west tower in 1792 File:P1180529 Croydon Minster....07.05.14...jpg, The west tower File:Croydon Minster, altar and East window.jpg, Altar and East window File:Croydon Minster, apse ceiling.jpg, The carved, painted and gilded barrel-vaulted ceiling File:Croydon Minster, John Whitgift monument.jpg, Tomb of Archbishop

File:Croydon Minster, painting Feeding of the Five Thousand.jpg, Feeding of the Five Thousand

References

External links

*
Croydon bell ringers website
1867 fires Building and structure fires in London Churches completed in 1870 19th-century Church of England church buildings Burned buildings and structures in the United Kingdom Rebuilt churches in the United Kingdom Church of England church buildings in the London Borough of Croydon History of the London Borough of Croydon Grade I listed buildings in the London Borough of Croydon Anglican Diocese of Southwark Anglo-Catholic church buildings in the London Borough of Croydon Churches dedicated to John the Baptist in England Anglican churches dedicated to John the Baptist {{coord, 51.3727, -0.1061, type:landmark_region:GB-CRY, display=title