St John-at-Hampstead

St John-at-Hampstead
St John-at-Hampstead
Parish Church of St. John the Evangelist, Hampstead
Style	Classical
Completed	1747
Administration
Diocese	Diocese of London
Parish	Hampstead

St John-at-Hampstead is a

St John the Evangelist (though the original dedication was only refined from St John to this in 1917 by the Bishop of London) in Church Row, Hampstead

, London.

History

Hampstead was granted to the Benedictine monks of

Edward VI

, with the manor and benefice of Hampstead being granted to Sir Thomas Wrothe. The church of this era was part in stone and part in timber, and also had a minor wooden tower.

As Hampstead grew in popularity and size as an out-of-town health resort, the small existing church grew less and less adequate and derelict, being finally declared unusable by 1744. A new church was built on designs by

F.P. Cockerell

(though these extensions moved the church's high altar to the geographical west end, rather than the more usual east end).

In 1911–12 the Vestries were improved by

Grade I listed.^[1]

Music

The church has a fine musical tradition stretching back as far as Henry Willis. Under the direction of Martindale Sidwell it developed a national and international reputation as being a centre of excellence for parish music, which it maintains today with a fully professional choir as well as a junior choir and regular high-profile concerts.

Organ

The early records of organs date from the middle of the 18th century. The current organ was installed by

Harrison and Harrison in 1964, and Bower and Co in 2000. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.^[3]

and on the parish website.

Organists

Samuel Reay 1854–56
James Shaw 1874-95
George Aitken 1894–1942
Martindale Sidwell 1947–92
Simon Lawford 1993–94
Lee Ward 1994–2012
James Sherlock 2012–2017
Peter Foggitt 2018–2021
Geoffrey Webber 2021–present

Voluntary rate

By virtue of the Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure 1956, parochial church councils are entitled to levy a voluntary rate and, in 1986, Hampstead Parish Church's PCC decided to supplement their millennium redecoration appeal by this means.^[4] The levying of a voluntary rate on businesses and residents alike has now become a regular annual event.

Churchyard

Notable individuals buried in its churchyard include:

Eliza Acton, food writer
George Atherton Aitken, author and biographer
Herbert Beerbohm Tree, actor and theatre-manager
Walter Besant, novelist and historian
John Constable, romantic painter
Elizabeth Rundle Charles
, author
Peter Cook, writer and comedian
Henry Cort, ironmaster and inventor
Eleanor Farjeon, author
Penelope Fitzgerald, author, daughter of E.V. Knox
Hugh Gaitskell, Labour Party leader from 1955 until 1963
Dora Gaitskell, Baroness Gaitskell, widow of Hugh and Labour life peer
Eva Gore-Booth and Esther Roper, suffragists and social justice campaigners
John Harrison, inventor of the marine chronometer
C. E. M. Joad, philosopher
Kay Kendall, actress, film star of the 1950s
E.V. Knox
, poet and satirist, editor of Punch (1932-1949)
E.V. Knox
J M Barrie and whose children inspired Peter Pan

Jack and Peter Llewelyn Davies (children of the above) in the same grave as their parents and their brother Michael, in a separate grave
John Llewelyn Davies, preacher and theologian, father of Arthur Llewelyn Davies and Margaret Llewelyn Davies
George du Maurier, author and cartoonist, father of Gerald du Maurier and Sylvia Llewelyn Davies
Gerald du Maurier, actor and manager, father of Daphne du Maurier, novelist, and brother of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies
Temple Moore
, architect
Nicholas Parsons, actor and radio and television presenter
Langford Reed, scriptwriter and director
Sir Giles Gilbert Scott and Adrian Gilbert Scott
, all also architects

Richard Norman Shaw, Architect
Evelyn Underhill, Anglo-Catholic writer
Anton Walbrook, Austrian actor
Alec Waugh, writer, brother of Evelyn Waugh

The churchyard contains 8 war graves, comprising 6 servicemen from World War I and 2 from World War II.^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b Historic England. "Church of St John (Grade I) (1271918)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
^ Remarks upon the proposed destruction of the tower of the Parish Church of St. John, Hampstead at Project Gutenberg
^ "St John-at-Hampstead". The National Pipe Organ Register. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
^ "Raising a Voluntary Church Rate". Hampstead: The Parish Church of St John-at-Hampstead. Retrieved 30 May 2012. In 1986 (Hampstead's Millennium year) our church raised a voluntary rate towards the appeal for redecorating the interior of our Georgian building. The response was so good and the feedback so positive that we have continued to raise this rate every year since. We do, however, only make the appeal for the benefit of the maintenance of the building. It has never been suggested that money so raised, from people of other faiths and none, should be used for the running costs of the Parish.
^ [1] CWGC Cemetery Report. Breakdown obtained from casualty records. Accessed 16 September 2012.

External links

Official website

[NHLE-1] Historic England. "Church of St John (Grade I) (1271918)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 January 2015.

[2] Remarks upon the proposed destruction of the tower of the Parish Church of St. John, Hampstead at Project Gutenberg

[3] "St John-at-Hampstead". The National Pipe Organ Register. Retrieved 6 September 2020.

[4] "Raising a Voluntary Church Rate". Hampstead: The Parish Church of St John-at-Hampstead. Retrieved 30 May 2012. In 1986 (Hampstead's Millennium year) our church raised a voluntary rate towards the appeal for redecorating the interior of our Georgian building. The response was so good and the feedback so positive that we have continued to raise this rate every year since. We do, however, only make the appeal for the benefit of the maintenance of the building. It has never been suggested that money so raised, from people of other faiths and none, should be used for the running costs of the Parish.

[cwgc-5] [1] CWGC Cemetery Report. Breakdown obtained from casualty records. Accessed 16 September 2012.

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