fbpx
Wikipedia

Church of St John-at-Hackney

January 01, 1970

St John at Hackney is a Grade II* listed Anglican Church in the heart of the London Borough of Hackney with a large capacity of around 2,000. It was built in 1792 to replace Hackney's medieval parish church, of which St Augustine's Tower remains, at the edge of its churchyard. The church faces north towards Clapton Square, with the nearby Sutton House and Hackney Central station also accessible from the churchyard to the east and south, respectively. As well as a thriving parish church, St John at Hackney has also become known as a notable music venue, playing host to the likes of Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Emeli Sande, Robbie Williams, Griff and Interpol.

Church of St John-at-Hackney
St John at Hackney Church
Hackney Church
LocationLondon Borough of Hackney
AddressSt John at Hackney Church, Lower Clapton Road, E5 0PD
CountryUnited Kingdom
DenominationChurch of England
ChurchmanshipAnglican
Websitehttps://saint.church
History
Founded1275
Dedicated15 July 1797
Architecture
Architect(s)James Spiller
Years built1792
Administration
DioceseDiocese of London
ParishThe Parish of Hackney
Clergy
Bishop(s)The Right Reverend and Right Honourable Dame Sarah Mullally DBE, Bishop of London
RectorRev'd Al Gordon
Curate(s)Rev'd Mark Nelson; Rev'd Naomi Maxwell
ArchdeaconVery Rev'd Peter Farley-Moore

History edit

See also: Hackney (parish)

The church of St John at Hackney was designed by James Spiller and built in 1792,[1] when demand in the parish of Hackney was in excess of 3,000 parishioners. At an original 3,300 acres (13 km2), at the time the parish was the largest civil parish in Middlesex of those which joined the County of London (created in 1889).[2] The vast, classical, stock-brick building, on a Greek Cross plan, can hold around 2,000 people.[1] The building is Grade II* listed and contains monuments dating from the early sixteenth century, which were transferred from the medieval parish church.

St Augustine's Church edit

It is possible that a chapel stood here serving the small, prosperous manor of Hackney north of the City of London, before the Norman Conquest. No records survive of a conceivable chapel before 1275 for a chapelry within the parish of Stepney which covered the 13 km2 of Hackney (see St Dunstan's, Stepney). From the 14th century the church was dedicated to Saint Augustine of Hippo until, in 1660, it was rededicated to Saint John the Baptist, thenceforth becoming commonly known as St John at Hackney.[2]

In the 13th century much of the land around Hackney formed part of the possessions of the Knights Templar. When the order was disbanded its possessions were passed to the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, who had a mansion on Church Street. At the Dissolution of the Monasteries their lands passed to the Crown and were parcelled amongst Tudor nobles, including Thomas Sutton and Ralph Sadler.[2]

 
c.1750 View of St Augustine's Tower showing the (then) adjacent Black and White House

Growing congregation edit

Hackney's proximity to the City of London and the royal court made it popular with courtiers, city merchants and businessmen. An increasing number of private schools were established in some of the older houses. By 1789 the church capacity, with the addition of numerous galleries, had reached 1,000. This, however, was not enough.[2]

In 1779 a surveyor, Richard Jupp, proposed a rebuilding to increase the capacity to 1,480, but no action was taken. By 1788 a committee found that the population of the parish had increased so much that the church should seek to seat 3,000. The appointed architect, William Blackburn, firmly rejected the idea of building on the old site, advising that a budget of £15,000 be created to buy land on which to construct a new church.[2]

In April 1789 the committee put the matter to a parochial vote, winning their case by 313 votes to 70. A bill was put to the House of Commons. Opponents of the proposal undertook yet another survey with a view to rebuilding on the old site. Finally a compromise was reached; the bill became an act empowering the trustees to acquire, for £875, Church Field which lay to the north-east of the existing churchyard.

New church edit

 
1812 engraving of the church, without a tower

A new church, tower and vestry room would be built within three years of laying the foundation and the old church subsequently demolished, with only its Tower remaining. In the event the initial estimates of costs were significantly incorrect and two further acts had to be passed through Parliament to allow extra money to be raised.

William Blackburn died suddenly in November 1790; a month later James Spiller, influenced by and a friend of Sir John Soane, was chosen from six candidates; Hackney Church was his largest project to date and remains Spiller's magnum opus. Believing that a building seating 3,000 would have poor acoustics, he persuaded the trustees to allow him to reduce the capacity to 2,000, but remained convinced that the acoustics would not be good unless the church was full.

Work began in 1792 and the main structure took more than two years to complete. The church was consecrated on 15 July 1797.

 
Loddiges' family vault in St John's Church Gardens

Harry Sedgwick, a trustee, oversaw a subscription for planting the churchyard. 129 subscriptions enabled nearly 200 elms and horse chestnuts to be planted in avenues. Sedgwick was later buried in the churchyard; and his planting achievement is commemorated on his tomb. Sedgwick lost his only son in action in the Napoleonic War; he has an elaborate memorial inside the church.

In March 1798 the body of the old church was demolished and several of the tombs removed to the new church. The tower remained - left intact to hold the bells as funds did not allow building a tower on the new church. In 1814 the tower was added to the church and, in 1816, a stained glass east window was installed behind the altar.

The old tower of St Augustine's Church remains standing and plays a symbolic and ceremonial role in Hackney: it has adorned the masthead of the Hackney Gazette since its foundation in 1864 and is incorporated in the coat of arms of the London Borough of Hackney. In 1871 an appeal was launched to provide the tower with a four-faced clock, and this was duly installed by Gillet & Brand on New Year's Day in 1872.

In 1890 the church purchased the early 16th-century house on Homerton High Street, in the grounds of which was constructed a school, and the house named the St John's Church Institute. This would later be purchased by the National Trust, and is now known as Sutton House.

The churchyard closed to burials in 1859, after which it became overgrown and derelict. It was laid out by the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association's landscape gardener Fanny Wilkinson, which included the demolition of Henry Rowe's 1614 mortuary chapel, and opened for public recreation in 1894.[3]

In 1902 the church was renovated and had electric lights installed, the repairs and alterations costing £1,823.[4] In the 1920s, with the roof becoming structurally unstable, the church was forced to temporarily close, with the timbers being shored up with scaffolding. The roof was reconstructed in 1929.

The war dead of Hackney are commemorated by a stone monolith in the churchyard in front of the north entrance, erected in 1921.

Fire damage and repairs edit

 
The Beaufort family tomb in St John's Church Gardens

The repairs to the roof had not entirely fixed the problems of the 1920s, and further reconstruction work was scheduled for the summer of 1954, which was scheduled for completion on 19 May 1955.

On 18 May 1955 a fire started in the church roof among workmen's tools, destroying the roof, some of the pews and the 1799 organ by George Pike England. During the ensuing major reconstruction work there was some reordering of the interior, including the insertion of a partition at the south end of the nave of the church to create the Hurdman Hall.

A replacement three manual Mander organ came from All Saint's Ennismore Gardens, Kensington; altar hangings designed for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey were donated; and the east window replaced by a new one designed by Christopher Webb. The new church was reconsecrated on 24 June 1958 (St John's Day).

At the fête on 5 July 2008, the church and its churchyard were rededicated by the Archdeacon of Hackney, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the reconstruction and the major works undertaken to regenerate the church gardens over the previous year. St John's Church Gardens, around the tower and church, were awarded both a Green Flag award and Green Flag Heritage status in 2008. As of 2022, St John at Hackney churchyard currently holds a Green Flag award.[5]

With the fabric of the church still requiring significant maintenance, a multi-million pound Restoration project began in 2018, which claims to reconfigure the church to its original Greek Cross plan, reconnecting the church with its original architectural language, and providing more space for a range of activities, including church services and use as a music venue. New features will include the creation of two new chapels in the north and south wings, a raised stage and a range of new facilities.

Operation of the church edit

Clergy

The current Rector of Hackney is Rev'd Al Gordon, who was instituted by the Bishop of Stepney in 2016. Other clergy include Rev'd Mark Nelson, Associate Rector, and Rev'd Naomi Maxwell, Curate.

Restoration project

In 2018, St John at Hackney embarked on a multimillion-pound Restoration project, including a £1.84 million-pound grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The design team included John Pawson CBE and Es Devlin OBE. In 2019, the church opened new community facilities in the adjacent Hackney Gardens development to enable it to grow its outreach work and activity. The church re-opened for worship and live events in September 2020, and has since welcome thousands of people through its doors.

The restoration of the church was awarded an RIBA National Award in 2022.[6]

Notable burials edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b Historic England. "CHURCH OF ST JOHN (1226959)". National Heritage List for England.
  2. ^ a b c d e Hackney: The Parish Church, A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 10: Hackney (1995), pp. 115-122 accessed: 26 July 2008
  3. ^ "London Gardens Trust: St John's Gardens". Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  4. ^ "Ecclesiastical intelligence". The Times. No. 36891. London. 6 October 1902. p. 5.
  5. ^ "Green Flag Award Winners 2022" (PDF).
  6. ^ https://www.architecture.com/awards-and-competitions-landing-page/awards/riba-regional-awards/riba-london-award-winners/2022/st-johns-church-hackney
  7. ^ "Hackney Pages 450-516 The Environs of London: Volume 2, County of Middlesex. Originally published by T Cadell and W Davies, London, 1795". British History Online.

Sources edit

  • Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol.1, Frederic Youngs, London, 1979

External links edit

  Media related to Church of St John-at-Hackney at Wikimedia Commons

  • Official website

51°32′57″N 0°03′12″W / 51.549224°N 0.053360°W / 51.549224; -0.053360

January 01, 1970
church, john, hackney, john, hackney, grade, listed, anglican, church, heart, london, borough, hackney, with, large, capacity, around, built, 1792, replace, hackney, medieval, parish, church, which, augustine, tower, remains, edge, churchyard, church, faces, n. St John at Hackney is a Grade II listed Anglican Church in the heart of the London Borough of Hackney with a large capacity of around 2 000 It was built in 1792 to replace Hackney s medieval parish church of which St Augustine s Tower remains at the edge of its churchyard The church faces north towards Clapton Square with the nearby Sutton House and Hackney Central station also accessible from the churchyard to the east and south respectively As well as a thriving parish church St John at Hackney has also become known as a notable music venue playing host to the likes of Coldplay Ed Sheeran Emeli Sande Robbie Williams Griff and Interpol Church of St John at Hackney St John at Hackney ChurchHackney ChurchLocationLondon Borough of HackneyAddressSt John at Hackney Church Lower Clapton Road E5 0PDCountryUnited KingdomDenominationChurch of EnglandChurchmanshipAnglicanWebsitehttps saint churchHistoryFounded1275Dedicated15 July 1797ArchitectureArchitect s James SpillerYears built1792AdministrationDioceseDiocese of LondonParishThe Parish of HackneyClergyBishop s The Right Reverend and Right Honourable Dame Sarah Mullally DBE Bishop of LondonRectorRev d Al GordonCurate s Rev d Mark Nelson Rev d Naomi MaxwellArchdeaconVery Rev d Peter Farley Moore Contents 1 History 1 1 St Augustine s Church 1 2 Growing congregation 1 3 New church 1 4 Fire damage and repairs 2 Operation of the church 3 Notable burials 4 References 5 Sources 6 External linksHistory editSee also Hackney parish The church of St John at Hackney was designed by James Spiller and built in 1792 1 when demand in the parish of Hackney was in excess of 3 000 parishioners At an original 3 300 acres 13 km2 at the time the parish was the largest civil parish in Middlesex of those which joined the County of London created in 1889 2 The vast classical stock brick building on a Greek Cross plan can hold around 2 000 people 1 The building is Grade II listed and contains monuments dating from the early sixteenth century which were transferred from the medieval parish church St Augustine s Church edit It is possible that a chapel stood here serving the small prosperous manor of Hackney north of the City of London before the Norman Conquest No records survive of a conceivable chapel before 1275 for a chapelry within the parish of Stepney which covered the 13 km2 of Hackney see St Dunstan s Stepney From the 14th century the church was dedicated to Saint Augustine of Hippo until in 1660 it was rededicated to Saint John the Baptist thenceforth becoming commonly known as St John at Hackney 2 In the 13th century much of the land around Hackney formed part of the possessions of the Knights Templar When the order was disbanded its possessions were passed to the Order of St John of Jerusalem who had a mansion on Church Street At the Dissolution of the Monasteries their lands passed to the Crown and were parcelled amongst Tudor nobles including Thomas Sutton and Ralph Sadler 2 nbsp c 1750 View of St Augustine s Tower showing the then adjacent Black and White House Growing congregation edit Hackney s proximity to the City of London and the royal court made it popular with courtiers city merchants and businessmen An increasing number of private schools were established in some of the older houses By 1789 the church capacity with the addition of numerous galleries had reached 1 000 This however was not enough 2 In 1779 a surveyor Richard Jupp proposed a rebuilding to increase the capacity to 1 480 but no action was taken By 1788 a committee found that the population of the parish had increased so much that the church should seek to seat 3 000 The appointed architect William Blackburn firmly rejected the idea of building on the old site advising that a budget of 15 000 be created to buy land on which to construct a new church 2 In April 1789 the committee put the matter to a parochial vote winning their case by 313 votes to 70 A bill was put to the House of Commons Opponents of the proposal undertook yet another survey with a view to rebuilding on the old site Finally a compromise was reached the bill became an act empowering the trustees to acquire for 875 Church Field which lay to the north east of the existing churchyard New church edit nbsp 1812 engraving of the church without a tower A new church tower and vestry room would be built within three years of laying the foundation and the old church subsequently demolished with only its Tower remaining In the event the initial estimates of costs were significantly incorrect and two further acts had to be passed through Parliament to allow extra money to be raised William Blackburn died suddenly in November 1790 a month later James Spiller influenced by and a friend of Sir John Soane was chosen from six candidates Hackney Church was his largest project to date and remains Spiller s magnum opus Believing that a building seating 3 000 would have poor acoustics he persuaded the trustees to allow him to reduce the capacity to 2 000 but remained convinced that the acoustics would not be good unless the church was full Work began in 1792 and the main structure took more than two years to complete The church was consecrated on 15 July 1797 nbsp Loddiges family vault in St John s Church Gardens Harry Sedgwick a trustee oversaw a subscription for planting the churchyard 129 subscriptions enabled nearly 200 elms and horse chestnuts to be planted in avenues Sedgwick was later buried in the churchyard and his planting achievement is commemorated on his tomb Sedgwick lost his only son in action in the Napoleonic War he has an elaborate memorial inside the church In March 1798 the body of the old church was demolished and several of the tombs removed to the new church The tower remained left intact to hold the bells as funds did not allow building a tower on the new church In 1814 the tower was added to the church and in 1816 a stained glass east window was installed behind the altar The old tower of St Augustine s Church remains standing and plays a symbolic and ceremonial role in Hackney it has adorned the masthead of the Hackney Gazette since its foundation in 1864 and is incorporated in the coat of arms of the London Borough of Hackney In 1871 an appeal was launched to provide the tower with a four faced clock and this was duly installed by Gillet amp Brand on New Year s Day in 1872 In 1890 the church purchased the early 16th century house on Homerton High Street in the grounds of which was constructed a school and the house named the St John s Church Institute This would later be purchased by the National Trust and is now known as Sutton House The churchyard closed to burials in 1859 after which it became overgrown and derelict It was laid out by the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association s landscape gardener Fanny Wilkinson which included the demolition of Henry Rowe s 1614 mortuary chapel and opened for public recreation in 1894 3 In 1902 the church was renovated and had electric lights installed the repairs and alterations costing 1 823 4 In the 1920s with the roof becoming structurally unstable the church was forced to temporarily close with the timbers being shored up with scaffolding The roof was reconstructed in 1929 The war dead of Hackney are commemorated by a stone monolith in the churchyard in front of the north entrance erected in 1921 Fire damage and repairs edit nbsp The Beaufort family tomb in St John s Church Gardens The repairs to the roof had not entirely fixed the problems of the 1920s and further reconstruction work was scheduled for the summer of 1954 which was scheduled for completion on 19 May 1955 On 18 May 1955 a fire started in the church roof among workmen s tools destroying the roof some of the pews and the 1799 organ by George Pike England During the ensuing major reconstruction work there was some reordering of the interior including the insertion of a partition at the south end of the nave of the church to create the Hurdman Hall A replacement three manual Mander organ came from All Saint s Ennismore Gardens Kensington altar hangings designed for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey were donated and the east window replaced by a new one designed by Christopher Webb The new church was reconsecrated on 24 June 1958 St John s Day At the fete on 5 July 2008 the church and its churchyard were rededicated by the Archdeacon of Hackney in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the reconstruction and the major works undertaken to regenerate the church gardens over the previous year St John s Church Gardens around the tower and church were awarded both a Green Flag award and Green Flag Heritage status in 2008 As of 2022 St John at Hackney churchyard currently holds a Green Flag award 5 With the fabric of the church still requiring significant maintenance a multi million pound Restoration project began in 2018 which claims to reconfigure the church to its original Greek Cross plan reconnecting the church with its original architectural language and providing more space for a range of activities including church services and use as a music venue New features will include the creation of two new chapels in the north and south wings a raised stage and a range of new facilities Operation of the church editClergy The current Rector of Hackney is Rev d Al Gordon who was instituted by the Bishop of Stepney in 2016 Other clergy include Rev d Mark Nelson Associate Rector and Rev d Naomi Maxwell Curate Restoration project In 2018 St John at Hackney embarked on a multimillion pound Restoration project including a 1 84 million pound grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund The design team included John Pawson CBE and Es Devlin OBE In 2019 the church opened new community facilities in the adjacent Hackney Gardens development to enable it to grow its outreach work and activity The church re opened for worship and live events in September 2020 and has since welcome thousands of people through its doors The restoration of the church was awarded an RIBA National Award in 2022 6 Notable burials editFrancis Beaufort creator of the Beaufort scale Edward de Vere 17th Earl of Oxford d 1604 Elizabethan courtier poet playwright David Dolben d 1633 a Welsh Bishop of Bangor where his monument containing a half length statue and a eulogistic description of him still stands Timothy Hall d 1690 former Bishop of Oxford Joachim Conrad Loddiges d 1826 botanist Sir Edward Michelborne c 1562 1609 explorer and adventurer William Nash d 1875 recipient of the Victoria Cross Henry Percy d 1537 6th Earl of Northumberland alleged formerly the betrothed of Anne Boleyn 7 Sir Henry Rowe d 1612 Mayor of London Lady Lucy Somerset Baroness Latimer d 1583 noblewoman and the daughter of Henry Somerset 2nd Earl of Worcester Christopher Urswick d 1522 formerly Rector of Hackney and Dean of Windsor John James Watson d 1839 former Rector of Hackney and Archdeacon of St Albans prominent member of the Hackney PhalanxReferences edit a b Historic England CHURCH OF ST JOHN 1226959 National Heritage List for England a b c d e Hackney The Parish Church A History of the County of Middlesex Volume 10 Hackney 1995 pp 115 122 accessed 26 July 2008 London Gardens Trust St John s Gardens Retrieved 31 January 2021 Ecclesiastical intelligence The Times No 36891 London 6 October 1902 p 5 Green Flag Award Winners 2022 PDF https www architecture com awards and competitions landing page awards riba regional awards riba london award winners 2022 st johns church hackney Hackney Pages 450 516 The Environs of London Volume 2 County of Middlesex Originally published by T Cadell and W Davies London 1795 British History Online Sources editGuide to the Local Administrative Units of England Vol 1 Frederic Youngs London 1979External links edit nbsp Media related to Church of St John at Hackney at Wikimedia Commons Official website 51 32 57 N 0 03 12 W 51 549224 N 0 053360 W 51 549224 0 053360 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Church of St John at Hackney amp oldid 1211397994, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.