St John the Evangelist's Church, Burgess Hill facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St John the Evangelist's Church |
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St John's parish church from the west
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| 50°57′26″N 0°08′00″W / 50.9573°N 0.1332°W | |
| Location | St John's Road/Lower Church Road, RH15 9AA Burgess Hill, West Sussex |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Website | stjohnsbh.org.uk |
| History | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Founded | 4 November 1861 |
| Dedication | John the Evangelist |
| Dedicated | June 1865 |
| Consecrated | June 1863 |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade II* |
| Designated | 22 April 1950 |
| Architect(s) | Thomas Talbot Bury |
| Style | Gothic Revival |
| Groundbreaking | October 1861 |
| Completed | June 1863 |
| Construction cost | £6,045.3s.3d. (£422,500 in 2021) |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Burgess Hill, St John |
| Deanery | Rural Deanery of Hurst |
| Archdeaconry | Horsham |
| Diocese | Chichester |
| Province | Canterbury |
St John the Evangelist's Church is a Church of England church in Burgess Hill, West Sussex, England. It was the first Church of England church built in the town. The church was finished in 1863 and is made of local bricks in a style called Gothic Revival. It has helped start other churches in the town over the years. St John's Church is a very important historical building, given a special Grade II* listing.
Contents
History of St John's Church
For a long time, the area where Burgess Hill now stands was open land shared by everyone. This changed in the mid-1800s. A law passed in 1828 allowed parts of this land to be divided up.
The town really started to grow after the London and Brighton Railway opened in 1841. The railway line went right through the area, and Burgess Hill railway station opened on the same day. This made it easier for people to move there and for local businesses, like the brickworks, to sell their products.
Building the First Church
By the 1840s, people started holding church services in a school building. As the town grew, more space was needed. In 1857, some land was set aside for a new church. However, this spot was too far from the growing town centre.
In 1861, a kind landowner offered two acres of land in the middle of town for free. Even with this generous offer, there was some disagreement about where to build. But in the end, the church was built on the donated land.
Thomas Talbot Bury was chosen to design the church. Building work began on November 4, 1861, when the Bishop of Chichester laid the first stone. The church was finished and officially opened in June 1863.
Early Years and Changes
For its first two years, St John's was a "chapel of ease." This meant it was a smaller church that helped the main churches in nearby villages. In June 1865, it became its own parish church and was named after John the Evangelist. It could hold about 700 people.
Not many big changes have happened to the church since it was built. A south aisle was added in 1875, and a room for the clergy (called a vestry) was added in 1889. A house for the vicar was built nearby in 1907. Later, in the 1980s, a part of the church was separated by a screen so it could be used for other activities.
An interesting fact is that Annie Mackintosh, the mother of the famous Antarctic explorer Aeneas Mackintosh, is buried in the churchyard. Her grave also has a memorial for her son, who disappeared in Antarctica in 1916.
Other Churches in Burgess Hill
As Burgess Hill continued to grow, especially in areas further from St John's, new places for worship were needed. This led to the creation of other churches.
St Alban's Mission Hall
The first "mission room" was St Alban's Mission Hall, built in 1885. It cost £324 to build and helped provide more space for church services in the western part of town. It was very popular and was made bigger in 1907. The building is still there today, used as a community centre.
World's End Mission Room
Two years later, in 1887, another mission hall was built in the northeastern part of town, an area known as World's End. This building had a reading room, a schoolroom, and space for churchgoers. It was later turned into shops after a new church was built nearby in 1899.
St Andrew's Church
In 1902, a new parish called St Andrew's was formed. Building a permanent church began soon after to replace the earlier iron church. St Andrew's Church was designed by Lacy W. Ridge. It is a red brick building in the Gothic Revival style. It was officially opened in 1908, though it wasn't fully completed until 1924.
St Edward the Confessor Church
St Edward the Confessor Church is located in the town's main cemetery. A small stone chapel was built there in the early 1900s. This chapel later became a place for Sunday worship, managed by St John the Evangelist's. A modern brick addition was built in 1968, and it became its own parish in 2000.
About the Church Building
Thomas Talbot Bury designed St John the Evangelist's Church in a style inspired by 13th-century Gothic architecture. It is built mostly of red bricks, with some yellow and black bricks, and stone details. The roof is tiled.
The church has a long main hall (called a nave), a special area for the altar (called a chancel), and side sections (aisles and transepts). It also has an entrance porch and a tall tower with a spire.
Windows and Interior
Many of the windows are shaped like three-leaf clovers, called trefoils. The tower has pairs of tall, narrow windows with trefoils above them. The large window at the front of the church has five trefoils.
Inside, the nave has an arched roof supported by eight-sided columns. The chancel roof is similar but more detailed.
The church has a beautifully carved oak pulpit, which is a raised stand where sermons are given. There is also an oak lectern, a stand for reading. Other features include a stone and marble altar, a decorative screen in front of the chancel, and an eight-sided font used for baptisms. The original wooden benches (pews) are still in place. Some of the colourful stained glass windows were designed by the Franz Mayer & Co. company.
Clock and Bells
The church spire has a clock with four faces, which was put in place in 1887 to celebrate Queen Victoria's 50 years as queen.
The tower also has eight bells, all made by John Taylor & Co. in Loughborough. Some of the bells were made in 1897 for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee (60 years as queen), and others were added in 1900 and 1904.
St John's Church Today
St John the Evangelist's Church has been a Grade II* Listed Building since April 22, 1950. This means it is a very important historic building. As of February 2001, it was one of 54 such buildings in the Mid Sussex area.
Today, St John's is one of three Church of England parishes in Burgess Hill. St Andrew's parish serves the east side of town, and St Edward the Confessor's parish serves the west side. St John the Evangelist's parish church now serves the central part of Burgess Hill.
The church holds services twice every Sunday morning and also on Wednesdays.
See also
