Christ Apostolic Church (Former Church of St John) is a Grade II listed building in the Camden local planning authority area, England. First listed on 10 June 1954. Church. 6 related planning applications.

Christ Apostolic Church (Former Church of St John)

WRENN ID
fossil-arch-frost
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
Camden
Constituency
Holborn and St Pancras
Country
England
Date first listed
10 June 1954
Type
Church
Address
Christ Apostolic Church (Former Church of St John), 23, Highgate Road
OS grid reference
TQ 288 853
Coordinates
51.5525, -0.14246
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: sale history · related consents · flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Christ Apostolic Church, formerly the Church of St John, was built on the site of the earlier Kentish Town Chapel. James Wyatt designed the original church in 1783, of which only the nave walls and the heightened shallow western apse remain. The rest of the building was rebuilt and extended between 1843 and 1855 by JH Hakewill. It is constructed of grey brick with carved stone dressings, and has slate pitched roofs.

The exterior features north and south aisles, a vestry and a south porch. East-facing twin stone spired towers rise above, featuring louvred Romanesque-style belfry openings and lean-to porches decorated with heavy neo-Norman and 13th-century ornament. The east facade is buttressed, with a window of three round-arched lights separated by colonnettes; a smaller round-arched window sits above, and a roundel is contained within the gable, which has a Lombard-style frieze. Gable ends of the side aisles have two-light round-arched windows.

Inside, the open nave has a tie-beam roof, with three round-headed windows on each side. Two round-headed windows with a rose feature at the apsidal west end. Three neo-Norman arches separate the nave from the shallow, flat-ended chancel. Notable features include a carved oak pulpit, pews with carved ends on the choir platform, and intact nave pews. A late 19th-century alabaster font sits on a stone base, covered by an elaborate openwork wooden cover suspended from a pulley. There are several late 18th and early 19th century wall monuments lining the nave.

The church contains stained glass, largely from the 1840s, including 'Baptism of Christ and Lazarus' by Wailes, dated 1845. A stained-glass window by Burne-Jones, depicting 'The Building of the Temple' and dated 1862, was originally located in the former south gallery and removed to St Benet's, Lupton Street in 1994.

Significant monuments include a stone sarcophagus commemorating John Finch, d.1797, by Charles Regnant; a monument to Sarah Pepys, d.1806, depicting a mourning woman by an urn; and a monument to William Minshull, d.1836, featuring a portrait profile by Chantrey. Other minor tablets are also present. Stop-chamfered spine beams with run-out stops contribute to the architectural detailing.

Local climate

Christ Apostolic Church (Former Church of St John) sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 680 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 99% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 99% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 29 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 66% of listed buildings. Of these, 13 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

Sign in or create a free account to unlock:

  • No EPC on record for this property
  • Sale history — 1 transaction since 2021
  • Related listed building consents — 6 applications
  • Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
  • Flood risk assessment
  • Radon risk assessment
  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Create free account

Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.

Similar buildings

The closest matches to this building from all 493,000 UK listed buildings, by architecture, period and materials.

Nearby listed buildings

  1. The Forum Grade II 44 m
  2. 1 to 7, Highgate Road Grade II 84 m
  3. Bull and Gate Public House Grade II 102 m
  4. 1a, Leverton Place Grade II 185 m
  5. Numbers 64 and 66 and Attached Railings Grade II 191 m
  6. Pineapple Public House Grade II 200 m
  7. 68 and 70, Highgate Road Grade II 204 m
  8. 1 and 3, Leverton Street Grade II 224 m
  9. The Assembly House Public House Grade II 225 m
  10. 96 and 98, Fortess Road Grade II 286 m