St John's Church, Warminster
St John's Church, also known as Church of St John the Evangelist, is a Church of England church located on Boreham Road, Warminster, Wiltshire, England. It was built in 1865 and is a Grade II* listed building.[1]
| St John's Church | |
|---|---|
| Church of St John the Evangelist | |
 | |
| 51°12′1.800″N 2°9′58.320″W | |
| Location | 95 Boreham Road, Warminster, BA12 9JY |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Churchmanship | High church |
| History | |
| Status | Church |
| Dedication | John the Evangelist |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade II* |
| Designated | 31 March 1978 |
| Architect(s) | George Edmund Street |
| Style | Early English style with Gothic Revival elements |
| Completed | 1865 |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Stone |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Salisbury |
| Province | Canterbury |
History and features
The church was built in 1865 due to the overcrowding of the parish church of St Denys,[2] and was completed in the same year. The site is about 3⁄4 mile (1.2 km) southeast of the town centre, in a field called Picked Acre alongside Boreham Road, which was given by William Temple of Bishopstrow House in 1859. The Rev JE Phillips opened a building fund which in less than one year raised £2,700, an amount greater than the building's eventual cost of £1,935.[3]
The church was designed by London architect George Edmund Street in 1864–1865, in an Early English style.[4] Judging by the relatively ordinary-looking exterior, the interior is quite unexpected. The tiling throughout, reredos, low chancel screen wall, font, pulpit, oak choir stalls and free-standing nave benches were completed before 1868. The reredos has a gabled centre with Crucifixion. The stained glass in the chancel was made by Clayton and Bell.[1]
The mosaics and opus sectile murals of scriptural scenes on the wall were designed by Charles Ponting and painted by James Powell and Sons in 1911–1915. These striking turn-of-the-century images are matched by the mosaics of the four archangels on the east wall in the chancel, behind the reredos.[1] A baptistery was also added by Ponting in 1925–1926.[5]
References
- Historic England. "Church of St John the Evangelist (1193567)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
- Pickering, Andrew; Dyer, Kathryn (2013). Warminster Through Time. ‘Through Time’ series. Stroud: Amberley Publishing Limited. ISBN 9781445632001.
- "Then & Now - St John's Church, Warminster". wiltshiretimes.co.uk. 16 August 2007. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
- "Church of St. John, Warminster". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. 25 October 2007. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
- Pevsner, Nikolaus; Cherry, Bridget (revision) (1975). Wiltshire. ‘The Buildings of England’ series. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. p. 555. ISBN 0-14-071026-4.
External links
- A Church Near You entry
