Saint Johns Methodist Church And Adjoining Church Hall

Saint John's Methodist Church and adjoining Church Hall

A Methodist church and church hall built in 1879, constructed in snecked rock-faced yellow and brown sandstone with ashlar dressings and a plain tile roof. The building stands on the north-west side of Saint John's Street in Whitchurch.

The design follows a late 13th or early 14th century Gothic style. The complex comprises a 4-bay nave with a 3-bay liturgical north aisle, south porch, apsidal chancel, north and south transepts, organ chamber to the south-east, north-west steeple, and adjoining vestry and church hall to the north-east.

The north-west steeple consists of three stages. It has a chamfered plinth, angle buttresses to the top of the second stage with chamfered offsets, a second-stage cill string, and a belfry featuring rope-moulded nook shafts at the corners. The belfry openings are triple-chamfered and louvred, divided by shafts with moulded capitals and bases supporting hollow-chamfered arches with continuous hoodmould. Second-stage north and west windows contain two trefoil-headed lights with quatrefoils in the tracery, hollow-chamfered reveals and continuous hoodmould. A north doorway has a moulded arch with two orders of shafts bearing carved foliated capitals and moulded bases, hoodmould, and a half-glazed door with decorative ironwork, approached by four steps. Above the belfry, a stone broach spire has coving with lucarnes on the cardinal faces, each featuring a chamfered trefoil arch and small quatrefoil in the apex. A circular clock at the base to the west is surrounded by a gabled surround.

The nave has a chamfered plinth, chamfered cill string, and continuous hoodmould. The east end is a parapeted gable with trefoil-gabled kneelers and a cross at the apex, with ridge cresting. Side windows consist of two trefoil-headed lights with cusped Geometrical tracery and hollow-chamfered reveals. A large west window comprises four trefoil-headed lights with cusped Y-tracery, hollow-chamfered and moulded reveals, and returned hoodmould.

The south-west porch has low angle buttresses and a parapeted gable. It features a moulded arch with one order of shafts bearing carved foliated capitals and moulded bases, hoodmould, and a pair of half-glazed boarded doors with decorative wrought ironwork, accessed by three steps.

The north aisle has a plinth and cill string, with pairs of chamfered trefoil-headed windows.

The chancel has a plinth and cill string. Three trefoil-headed windows have hollow-chamfered reveals with nook shafts bearing carved foliated capitals and moulded bases.

The south transept features a plinth, cill string, and an interrupted string course with carved stops. The east end is a parapeted gable with trefoil-gabled kneelers and a cross at the apex. A south window comprises four trefoil-headed lights with cusped tracery, hollow-chamfered reveals, and hoodmould with carved stops.

The north transept has a cill string, stepped up to a south window of three lights with cusped Geometrical tracery and returned hoodmould. A blank circular quatrefoil panel appears in the apex of the gable above.

The organ chamber has a hipped roof, a pair of chamfered lancets to the south, and a boarded door to the east with strap hinges, chamfered reveals, moulded arch and cill string carried over as hoodmould.

The church hall has a 2-span roof and a chamfered plinth. An ashlar stack rises to the rear ridge with a brick top stage. Two windows to the west have paired chamfered trefoil-headed lights. A central porch with low angle buttresses, continuous hoodmould returned to the sides, and a parapeted gable contains a boarded door with decorative strap hinges, chamfered jambs and a continuously-moulded arch. The left-hand return front has a window to the right of triple stepped chamfered lancets and two windows to the left of paired chamfered trefoil-headed lights. The right-hand gable end features triple stepped chamfered lancets with a cill string stepped up and continuous hoodmould over all. The rear has windows of paired chamfered trefoil-headed lights to the left and a single light to the right, plus a boarded door to the right with decorative strap hinges and chamfered reveals.

A vestry links the church and hall, with a brick stack in the valley between it and the transept. An east window consists of a pair of chamfered trefoil-headed lights, and a boarded door to the left has decorative strap hinges and chamfered reveals.

Interior

The interior features trussed-rafter roofs with moulded wall plates throughout. The nave has a 3-bay aisle arcade with circular piers bearing moulded bases and capitals, chamfered and moulded arches, and continuous hoodmould. Transept arches are chamfered and moulded with half-round piers and hoodmoulds with carved stops. A chamfered arch opens to the organ chamber in the south transept. Chamfered and moulded rear arches lead further east. Aisle windows have moulded wooden lintels, chamfered cills and splayed reveals. A strainer buttress sits at the east end of the aisle. A continuously-moulded arch opens to the vestry with a boarded door.

Original fittings from around 1879 include wrought-iron and wooden altar rails, wooden choir stalls, and plain wooden pews. The pulpit is circular stone with a moulded base and top, featuring an ogee trefoil-arcaded side with marble inlay, a short circular stem, and steps with a wrought-iron balustrade. The chancel contains encaustic tiles. Stained glass appears in the transepts and east windows. A 19th-century organ is installed. The vestry and church hall each have stone corner fireplaces. The hall's trussed-rafter roof has moulded wooden wall plates and moulded wooden lintels to windows.

The church cost over £5,000 to build in 1879. It is not aligned east-west; this description refers to liturgical directions only.