St John the Divine, Kennington

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St John the Divine, Kennington, is an

The church stands on Vassall Road, Kennington, in Vassall Ward in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is near Oval tube station and the Oval Cricket Ground. The spire can be seen clearly for miles around.

Architecture

The church is regarded as a fine example of Victorian Gothic. The general construction is of red brick, but all parapets, window openings, doorways, etc. are dressed with stone. The upper part of the spire is entirely of stone. At over 260 feet, it is the tallest spire in south London and can be seen for miles around. The poet John Betjeman remarked that St John the Divine was "the most magnificent church in South London."^[1]

The original church interior was designed by

Much of the original stained glass was destroyed in the 1941 bombing, and it has been replaced with plain glass windows in the north and south aisles. Some original stained glass designed by Charles Eamer Kempe has survived, including the west window and two windows in the south aisle. The windows at the east end are also original.

During restoration, new windows designed and crafted by W. T. Carter Shapland were installed in the All Souls Chapel.

Murals

Behind the altar is a set of murals painted by

The Korean Icon

Above the North door hangs the 'Korean Icon'. Designed in the style of a

On the south side of the nave stands the Kelham Rood, a life-size bronze sculpture of Christ on the Cross together with free-standing figures of St John and the Virgin Mary. It is the work of sculptor Charles Sargeant Jagger (1885–1934), who also designed the Royal Artillery Memorial in London's Hyde Park Corner, and was completed in 1929.^[4]

The sculpture was originally commissioned by the Society of the Sacred Mission (SSM) for the Great Chapel at Kelham Hall in Nottinghamshire. The sculpture then stood in the SSM Priory in Willen (Milton Keynes), before being moved to St John the Divine.^[5]

The original plan to suspend the sculpture above the high altar was not put into effect. It has, instead, been placed at floor level in full and close view of the congregation (see pictures below).

• 
  The lectern
• 
  The main door
• 
  The spire, seen on Vassall Road
• 
  The High Altar in Ordinary Time
• 
  The Kelham Rood and the sanctuary
• 
  Jagger's Kelham Rood
• 
  A carving of Queen Elizabeth II, depicted holding a corgi
• 
  A carving of

  Prince Charles
• 
  The gargoyles on the spire, seen from below
• 
  The nave roof, decorated by

  GF Bodley

  in 1890

Worship

Since its foundation in 1871, St John the Divine has been affiliated with the Anglican high church. The second vicar, the Rev. Charles Edward Brooke, was associated with the Oxford Movement and its work in impoverished city parishes. At this time, ritualistic practices in the Church of England were limited by the Public Worship Regulation Act 1874.

The High Anglican style of worship is reflected in the design and decoration of the church, with the presence of devotional statues,

The Sisterhood of St. John the Divine, an Anglican religious order, is indirectly named after this church, for its foundress, Hannah Grier Coome found spiritual comfort in the parish during her residence in Britain.

Notable clergy

• Cyril Easthaugh, curate and vicar; later Bishop of Kensington and of Peterborough
• John Hall, curate; later Dean of Westminster

See also

• List of churches and cathedrals of London
• List of Anglo-Catholic Churches
• British and Irish stained glass (1811–1918)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to St John the Divine, Kennington.

• St John the Divine, Kennington
• Flickr group "sjdk"
• Details of the organ

51°28′39″N 0°06′23″W / 51.477584°N 0.106268°W / 51.477584; -0.106268