St John's Church, Boxmoor facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St John's Church, Boxmoor
St John's Church viewed from the west
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Location	Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire
Country	England
Denomination	Church of England
Website	www.stjohnsboxmoor.co.uk
History
Dedication	St. John
Architecture
Heritage designation	Grade II listed
Architect(s)	Norman Shaw
Style	Gothic Revival
Years built	1874
Administration
Parish	Boxmoor
Deanery	Hemel Hempstead
Archdeaconry	St Albans
Diocese	St Albans
Province	Canterbury

The Church of St John the Evangelist is a historic church in Boxmoor, Hertfordshire, England. It is a Grade II listed church, which means it is an important building that needs to be protected. The church was officially opened in 1874. It was built on land bought from the Box Moor Trust.

Church Design and Style

St John's Church was designed by a famous architect named Norman Shaw. He designed it in the Gothic Revival style. This style brings back the look of old medieval churches.

The church is built with rough, uneven stones. It also has smooth, cut stones around its windows and doors. The roof is made of plain tiles. Above the main part of the church, called the nave, there is an eight-sided tower for bells. This is called a bellcote.

Inside the church, you can see tall, narrow windows with pointed tops. These are called lancet arches. They run along the sides of the nave and the upper walls, known as the clerestory. The arches inside the nave are supported by pillars that have a special four-leaf clover shape. This is called quatrefoil tracery. You can also see detailed stone patterns, called tracery, in the large windows. There are two big windows with five sections each, one on the south side and one on the east side of the church.

The church hall next to the church has a similar style. It also uses smooth, cut stones. It has two sections with windows that have three parts, separated by stone bars called mullions.

History of St John's Church

The very first St John's Church in Boxmoor was built in 1830. It was a smaller church that helped the main parish church, St Mary's, in Hemel Hempstead. People asked the Box Moor Trust for land to build this chapel in 1828. The land was bought for £71, and the chapel opened in May 1830. A new church was needed because many people moved to Hemel Hempstead after the railway from London was built.

The area around Boxmoor became its own church parish in 1844. Today, this parish has three churches. St John's is the main parish church. St Stephen's in Chaulden and St Francis’ in Boxmoor also serve the people living there. St Francis’ church has an Italianate style, which means it looks like buildings from Italy.

The interior of St John's Church. Some of the organ pipes can be seen on the right-hand side.

In 1865, a church leader named Revd A.C. Richings asked if a new church could be built on Roughdown Common. This idea did not happen. Later, a request was made to build a bigger church because the old chapel was too small for everyone. This request was approved. Builders started work in January 1873. The famous architect Norman Shaw designed this new church. It cost £4,400 to build.

More parts were added to St John's later. A church hall was built in 1881. In 1893, the church itself was made larger. This allowed it to hold up to 850 people. St John's was officially named a Grade II listed building in February 1977. This means it is a very important historical building.

In July 2002, the old church hall was replaced with a new one. This new hall is used for meetings and other church activities.

The Church Organ

St John's Church has a special Nicholson & Co Ltd pipe organ. It was put in place in 2011 and cost £400,000. The organ before this one was installed in 1906. It was rebuilt in 1936 and fixed up again in 1969. However, the building work for the new church hall in 2002 made the old organ even more unreliable. So, a new and modern organ was installed.

Inside the Church

The church has nine beautiful stained or painted glass windows. These windows were made between the 1800s and 1900s. There is also one window made of thick, colored glass pieces called dalle-de-verre. Behind the altar, there is a painting of The Last Supper from 1908. On the south wall of the main church area, there is a large modern brass plaque. It remembers the family of a lawyer named Edward Alfred Mitchell-Innes. His house, called 'Churchill', used to be north of the church.

See also

• Box Moor Trust