Church Of St John The Evangelist

The Church of St John the Evangelist is a church built in 1849 by John Nash and Edwin Nash of Bermondsey, designed in an early English style. The church was significantly enlarged in 1861 with the addition of north and south aisles, and again in 1866 when north and south transepts were added, the nave was lengthened, and a new chancel was built. Constructed from Kentish ragstone with Bath stone dressings, the roof is slate, featuring alternating bands of plain and curved slates alongside ridge tiles.

The church comprises a nave with north and south aisles, a chancel, transepts, a south porch, and a north vestry. A 150-foot high west tower topped with a spire is a prominent feature. The tower’s lower stages have trefoliated headed doorcases with corbel heads, a lancet window, a clock face, paired louvred lancets, and a stone spire featuring lucarnes and a cockerel weathervane. The south aisle has a gable with a lancet, a rose window positioned underneath, and two lancets to the west. There are three traceried windows to the south. The south porch is accessed by a flight of five stone steps, its gable featuring a saddlestone and quatrefoil light, an arched doorcase with colonnettes and corbels, and an elaborate double door with traceried design. The transepts each possess a large gable with a trefoil window and five lancets, with one arched window below. The north aisle exhibits a quatrefoil with a traceried window below the west front, and four arched windows separated by buttresses along the north front; the transept mirrors the south transept in design. The lower chancel features a lancet window, and the vestry is attached to the north.

Inside, the nave has arcading supported by octagonal stone piers and wooden posts with arched bracing. The north aisle contains the King Edward VII window, which depicts Temperance and Hope 'after' a design by Burne Jones, and was executed by William Morris and Co in 1910. An elaborate pulpit incorporates a figure of St John the Evangelist, reportedly copied from St Bartholomew's in Sydenham.