The History of St John's

St John the Baptist is one of the first, if not the first, Church inspired by the Oxford Movement. In the Spring of 1840 the Rev John Moore Capes, MA of Balliol College, Oxford, began to search for a place where a new church was needed. At that time Eastover, (Bridgwater east of the River Parrett) was growing fast and was the home not only of the docks and ship building yards but also of brickworks where among other things the famous “Bath Bricks”, which whitened doorsteps across the nation, were produced. There were already over 3000 working people living in the area and despite its size, the Parish Church of St Mary’s could not accommodate them all. The Rev JM Capes offered to build the church at his own expense, provided a small endowment could be raised by the locals for the support of a minister.

From an early etching we know that the Church was meant to have a tall, slender spire crowning the tower. Unfortunately this was never built; the official reason given was the risk of subsidence in the marshy ground not far from the river. However, it is often suggested that the cost, together with the Rev Capes leaving St John’s, after just serving for two months, to become a Roman Catholic, might also have been a contributing factor. After a short break the church, with its truncated tower, was consecrated on August 17^th 1846, with Rev JC Collins as its first vicar.

Just three years later in 1849 a cholera epidemic struck the town and over 200 people died, 88 of them in Eastover. A stone in the far north of the churchyard marks the spot where the 88 were interred in a mass grave. The headstone commemorating this was refurbished by the Bridgwater Heritage Group and rededicated in September 2013. St John’s is an attractive grade 2 listed building and has received funding towards its restoration from the Churches Conservation Trust and English Heritage as proof of its historical importance.