St John's, Redhill facts for kids

St John's is a small, quiet community located near Redhill in Surrey, England. It's like a tiny village, known as a hamlet, and is surrounded by lovely areas like Earlswood and the wooded Redhill Common. St John's is also connected to Reigate by streets with pretty, natural gardens. It's one of the three church areas, or parishes, that make up Redhill. The area around St John's School and Church started very small, but it grew so quickly that people once thought it would become a brand new town!

St John's School: A Look at Its History

The story of St John's School began a long time ago, on August 21, 1840. At a meeting, people decided to ask for money from the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway Company. This was because the railway was built across common land, which meant people lost their rights to use it for things like grazing animals.

Four years later, the church leaders had a meeting to decide what to do with the £535.7s they received. They chose to use one-third of the money to help the poor and two-thirds to build a National School in St John's. The school, which had separate sections for boys, girls, and infants, opened in 1845. Today, St John's is still a strong Primary school for the community! You can find more about the school's history here, and the school's own website also has lots of information.

Church of St John the Evangelist: Its Design and Features

The Church of St John the Evangelist is an Anglican church, meaning it belongs to the Church of England. It's considered a very important building, given a special Grade II* listing. This means it's more significant than a standard Grade II building.

The first version of this church was built in 1843 by James Thomas Knowles, on a high spot overlooking the North Downs. Later, in 1867, side sections called aisles were added.

How the Church Changed Over Time

A big change happened in 1889 when a famous architect named John Loughborough Pearson was asked to redesign the church. He replaced the main part of the church (the nave and chancel) but kept the aisles from 1867. In 1895, he added a new steeple on the southwest side. Pearson's work used brick with stone details, which looks different from the flint stone used in the older aisles.

Pearson's design for St John's is similar to his other major churches, like St Stephen, Bournemouth and All Saints, Hove. The main part of the church has five sections with arches and a clerestory (a high section with windows). The entrance at the west end has a stone arched ceiling. The wooden roof inside is supported by stone arches.

The chancel, which is the area around the altar, is narrower. It has walkways on the sides that separate it from a chapel and an organ room.

The Church's Tall Steeple

The southwest steeple of the church is very tall, reaching 185 feet! It has small supports called buttresses and a short, eight-sided spire at the top. This spire has small corner spires and single windows called lucarnes. The church has eight bells, made in 1895, and they were rehung in 1972.

Inside the Church: Art and Details

The inside of the church is completely covered in stone. The windows feature beautiful stained glass art, mostly installed by Clayton & Bell under Pearson's guidance. There's a lovely three-part altarpiece, called a triptych reredos, designed by Pearson in 1898. It has small paintings in a fancy gold frame and has recently been cleaned and re-gilded.

You'll also see a fine iron screen from 1910 that separates the chancel. The organ, built in 1897, was rebuilt in 1968. The marble pulpit, which shows a scene of Lazarus being raised from the dead, and the font (a basin for baptisms) shaped like a kneeling angel, both date from 1882. The churchyard wall, made of chipped flints, was built in 1867.

The Vestry and Other Rooms

The vestry, a room used by the clergy and choir, was built after Pearson's death, but likely following his plans. It's next to the organ room. The vestry has a section for the choir and another for the clergy. There's also a small extension that houses the boiler room.