History
A Short History of St John’s Church
In 2018 - we celebrated our 175th 'Birthday' with events throughout the year. Read below to see our history.
This beautiful and ornate church was built of local stone by Sir John Buckler, a famous London architect. It cost £3,000 and was paid for by Sir Stephen Glynne of Hawarden whose sister, Catherine, married the Prime Minister, William Ewart Gladstone.
Sir Stephen also paid for
the adjoining parsonage and school to be built. The church was consecrated on July 22nd 1843 and the first incumbent, Rev. John Ellis Troughton, spent the next twenty years decorating the interior with murals, stencils and stained glass windows. The murals are copied from the work of the German artist, Friedrich Overbeck, and were renovated by William Gladstone in 1889. The church clock was donated by Agnes Wickham, one of Gladstone’s daughters.
When the church was built, an ancient custom was adopted of dividing the sexes during services – the men sitting on the south side of the nave with the women on the north.
In more recent times, the churchyard paths have been completely renovated and an adjoining field has been consecrated as an extension to the original graveyard.
St John’s continues to be a vibrant place of worship for all ages with Rev. Troughton’s wonderful work available for all to see.
A More Detailed History
St. John the Baptist Church owes its existence to a group called the Cambridge Camden Society, later called the Ecclesiological Society, who set themselves up at Cambridge University in 1839.
The look and feel of the Church of England had become very bland and to some extent unruly. No one was really taking it seriously anymore. The buildings were becoming more and more like Roman or Greek temples, and the congregations were dwindling.
The three men who were first involved were;
John Mason Neale who you will know for writing famous hymns such as Good Christian men rejoice, Good King Wenceslas and O come O come Emmanuel.
Alexander Hope who married Prime Minister Salisbury’s sister,and Benjamin Webb
They decided to try to change the church through the style of building. Many churches were changed inside, and new ones were built in the gothic revival style, just as the Houses of Parliament had been, and as you see St. John’s today.
At the same time, a group of students from Oxford called the Oxford movement were changing church services. The church style they introduced was called High Church. Both groups were to change the face of the Church of England forever.
Sir Stephen Glynne of Hawarden joined the Cambridge Camden Society as he was “obsessed” with churches all over Britain and was building churches in this area.
In 1842, he decided to build and pay for this church at a cost of £3000. On July 22 1843 the church was opened.
The first vicar was called John Ellis Troughton and he took it upon himself to decorate the church. He painted the murals in oil, designed, painted and burned the stained glass windows, did the stencilling, and some of the the wood carving. This took 20 years.
The oil painted murals are copies of work by a German artist called Overbeck.
The organ was originally on the gallery. The clock was donated by one of Prime Minister Gladstone’s daughters. The school and Parsonage came a little later.
The church is built in the Early English Style of local stone by a famous architect, John Buckler. Its dimensions are a small scale version of Solomon’s Temple.
An ancient custom was adopted when the church opened. The men sat on the south and the ladies on the north side.
All donations to the upkeep of this unique and historical church are gratefully received. Please contact wardens or vicar for details.
Many of you who live on the new Redrow Estate will see that a lot of your roads are named after the people above.
