St John's Downshire Hill facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St John's Church, Downshire Hill
St John's Downshire Hill, Hampstead
51°33′21″N 00°10′11″W / 51.55583°N 0.16972°W / 51.55583; -0.16972
Country	United Kingdom
Denomination	Church of England
Churchmanship	Conservative evangelical
History
Dedication	St John
Architecture
Heritage designation	Grade I listed
Completed	1823
Administration
Parish	St Stephen with All Hallows
Deanery	North Camden
Archdeaconry	Hampstead
Diocese	Diocese of London

St John's Downshire Hill, Hampstead, is a special church in London. It's part of the Church of England but works a bit differently from most churches. It's located in Hampstead, a lovely area in London. People often call it St John's Church, but it's officially known as a "proprietary chapel". It's important not to mix it up with another church nearby called St John-at-Hampstead!

History

Building the Church

In the early 1800s, many new homes were being built in the area. People thought a new church was needed for the community. In 1812, a group bought the land for the church on Downshire Hill. They passed it to three people in 1817: a minister named James Curry, a builder named William Woods, and a lawyer named Edward Carlisle.

Mr. Curry offered to pay for the church if he could be its minister. The church was named after St John. This might mean it was meant to be a "chapel of ease." A chapel of ease is a smaller church built to help the main parish church, which was St John-at-Hampstead.

First Services and Ministers

The church building was finished in 1823. The very first service was held on October 26, 1823. The first minister was William Harness, who was a friend of the famous poet Lord Byron. Sadly, James Curry became ill and died soon after the church opened.

After Mr. Harness left in 1825, several ministers stayed for only short times.

Mid-1800s to Early 1900s

In 1835, a new minister named John Ayre took over. He stayed until 1855, becoming the longest-serving minister for many years.

By 1862, the church's land ownership was fully secured. More people were coming to church, so a bigger church was needed. In 1863, St John's was suggested to become the main parish church. But it was too small, even though 1,370 people once attended a service there!

Because St John's was too small, a new, larger church was built nearby. This new church was called St. Stephen's. The minister of St John's at the time, Joshua Kirkman, became the first vicar of St. Stephen's.

From 1889 to 1903, a clever scholar named Robert Baker Girdlestone was the minister of St John's.

1916 to Today

During the First World War, the church faced money problems. In 1916, Mr. Albert Leslie Wright bought the church. His father, Rev. Henry Wright, had been a minister there earlier. Leslie Wright then let the church use the building for a very small rent.

In his will, Leslie Wright made sure the church would keep going. He chose trustees who would ensure the church continued to follow its evangelical beliefs. He died in 1938. The church kept operating this way until 2003, when the congregation bought the building from his trustees.

St John's Church has always had strong connections to Christian missions overseas. From the late 1800s, donations to missionary groups were a big part of the church's spending. Several ministers from St John's also worked in missions abroad. For example, Douglas Butcher worked in the Middle East, and Kenneth Howell was the first Bishop of Chile, Bolivia, and Peru.

Today, Tom Watts is the senior minister of St John's. He started in January 2018. The church follows a "conservative evangelical" tradition. This means they have certain beliefs, like not having women as church leaders or ordained ministers. They receive special guidance from the Bishop of Ebbsfleet, who is currently Rob Munro.

The Church Building

The church building is very important and is listed as Grade I listed. This means it's a building of exceptional interest. It has a beautiful cream-colored front that looks like it's made of stucco.

Some special parts of the building include its Doric porch, which is a fancy entrance with columns. It also has a portico (a covered entrance) and a cupola (a small dome on the roof). Inside, there's a double staircase leading to the entrance hall. The main part of the church, called the nave, has five sections. There are also galleries on three sides, which are like balconies for more seating.

The church doesn't have a separate area for the altar, which is called a chancel. Instead, it has special panels with writings. There's also a border with Bible verses written in gold letters. These features show that the church focused a lot on preaching when it was first built.

The original wooden "box pews" are still in the church. These are like individual wooden boxes for families to sit in. During renovations in 2003-2004, these pews were moved to the sides of the church.

The window at the east end of the church has an eagle design. The eagle is a symbol for St John and the Bible's Gospel. In the west gallery, there's an organ made by Bevington & Sons in 1873 and installed in 1880. The clock on the front of the building was made in 1823 by John Moore and Son.

The church building has been repaired and updated many times. Major renovations happened in 1896, 1950 (after it was damaged in a war), 1973, 1982, and 2004. During the 2003-2004 renovations, new foundations were put in, and a basement area was built underneath.

A Unique Church in London

In the 1800s, there were more than 50 "proprietary chapels" in London. But today, St John's Downshire Hill is the only one left in the Diocese of London. It's one of only a few in all of England!

Being a proprietary chapel means it's financially independent. It doesn't give money to the Diocese (the church's local area organization), and it doesn't receive money from them either. The people who attend St John's pay for all the church's running costs. This includes paying staff and keeping the building in good shape.

Images for kids

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  A view of St John's from Keats Grove