Church Of St John

The Church of St John is a Roman Catholic church built in 1819, as indicated by the inscription on the frieze of its colonnaded porch. The church is currently undergoing restoration, as noted during an inspection in July 1992.

Constructed from sandstone ashlar, the church features a hipped slate roof and is designed in a Classical style. The building has a rectangular plan and is set back from the street at a right angle.

The west front is two stories high and has five symmetrical bays, highlighted by a full-width Ionic colonnaded porch. The frieze above the porch reads "ERECTED ANNO DOMINI MDCCCXIX." There is an impost band at the first floor level, a cornice with a blocking course, and a small central upstand. The three central bays contain large round-headed doorways with stepped voussoirs, panelled double doors, and fanlights featuring radiating glazing bars. Above, the first floor has large round-headed windows in the first, third, and fifth bays, with the central window now filled with 20th-century mosaic and the others fitted with renewed arched joinery.

The side walls have four bays and are pilastered, with large round-headed windows in the first three bays. A small vestry with a hipped roof is attached to the fourth bay on the north side, while a louvred cupola with a domed roof sits over the fourth bay on the south side. At the rear, there is a large round-headed window in the center, flanked by pairs of 12-pane sash windows on two levels.

The interior was not accessible during the inspection, but it is noted to have Corinthian pilasters with an entablature and a prominent mutuled cornice. It also features an internal apse with giant Corinthian semi-columns and an elaborate baldachino, along with a west gallery supported by Corinthian columns. The church forms a group with the Walmesley monument in front and with St John's Club, located beside the entrance passage.