St John the Evangelist Church, Oxford facts for kids
St John the Evangelist Church is a special church located on Iffley Road in Oxford, England. It was originally built for a religious group called the Society of St. John the Evangelist (SSJE), also known as the Cowley Fathers. Since 1980, it has also been used as one of the chapels for St Stephen's House, Oxford, which is a college.
This beautiful church was designed by an architect named G. F. Bodley. He designed it in a style called Decorated Gothic. The church was built between 1894 and 1896. It has special features like aisles and a chancel with pointed supports called flying buttresses. A tall, castle-like tower was added to the west side in 1902. The church's windows have amazing stained glass artwork. These windows were designed by C. E. Kempe around 1900.
The church is also home to a series of 14 paintings called the "Stations of the Cross." These were created by a famous artist named Edward Arthur Fellowes Prynne. He believed the church offered a "unique opportunity" for his art. He felt it was a "great pleasure and high privilege" to create these works for the church. The paintings were finally put in place in 1921. One of the paintings, "Jesus Christ Condemned to Death," was based on an earlier work by the artist.
In 1980, the Society of St John the Evangelist moved its main activities to London. At that time, St Stephen's House, Oxford moved into the SSJE's old buildings in Oxford. These buildings were perfect for a theological college, which is a place where people study to become priests. The church, along with other buildings like the Mission House, became part of St Stephen's House. The architect G. F. Bodley also designed the nearby cloister, college buildings, and chapel. Today, Sunday services are held in the church during the academic year.
St John the Evangelist Church is considered a very important historic building. It was renovated and restored in 2008, and even got underfloor heating! Since 2012, a group called SJE Arts Oxford has been holding music and art events in the church.
The church is located right across from the Roger Bannister running track. This track is famous because Roger Bannister was the first person to run a mile in under four minutes there on May 6, 1954. He actually used the St George's flag on top of the church tower to check if the wind was calm enough for his record-breaking run!
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