The Church of St John the Evangelist, also known as St John's, is a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

church, in the

Kates Hill Kates Hill, or Kate's Hill, is a residential area in Dudley, West Midlands, England. History Kates Hill was the scene of chaos in 1648 when parliamentarians used it as their base in the Civil War against King Charles I. As a result, many road ...

area of

Dudley Dudley is a large market town and administrative centre in the county of West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically an exclave of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the ...

, England. It opened in 1840 and closed in 2002 on safety grounds.St Johns Church Preservation Group
Retrieved 18 December 2016. The church reopened in 2016. It was

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

on 21 May 2009.

History

Two churches were built in Dudley at the same time and to similar designs by William Bourne; St John's and

St James's St James's is a central district in the City of Westminster, London, forming part of the West End. In the 17th century the area developed as a residential location for the British aristocracy, and around the 19th century was the focus of the de ...

, at

Eve Hill Eve Hill is a residential area of Dudley in the West Midlands of England. It was part of Worcestershire until 1966 and briefly part of Staffordshire until 1974. History The development of Eve Hill as a residential area began in the mid-19th cen ...

. It was built when Kates Hill was still a relatively rural area, although it was soon a dense residential area following the construction of houses occupied by workers employed in local industry during the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

. The area became even more built up during the 1920s and 1930s when

council housing Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council estates, council housing, or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011 when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in so ...

was built nearby. In the years after the church's closure, "St John's Church Preservation Group", whose patron is local historian Professor

Carl Chinn Carl Steven Alfred Chinn, MBE (born 6 September 1956) is an English historian, writer and broadcaster whose working life has been devoted to the study and popularisation of the city of Birmingham. He broadcast a programme on the BBC from the mid ...

, campaigned for the church to be repaired and reopened. The St John's Church Preservation Group became leaseholders of the church on 27 July 2016, and in August it was opened to the public for the first time since 2002. It was announced that the church would be open daily from 12 September 2016, so that visitors can see the restoration work take place.Group's delight after church doors are opened
Dudley News. Retrieved 18 December 2016. On 27 July 2018, the first service in the church in 15 years was held, led by the Rector of Dudley, Rev Robert Barlow.St John's Church holds first service in 15 years
Dudley News, 30 July 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2019.

Graveyard

The church's

graveyard A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

is the burial place of the boxer

William Perry William Perry may refer to: Business * William Perry (Queensland businessman) (1835–1891), businessman and politician in Queensland, Australia * William H. Perry (businessman) (1832–1906), American businessman and entrepreneur Politics and ...

, known as 'The Tipton Slasher', who was champion of England, 1850–5; also of

Marion Richardson Marion Elaine Richardson (9 October 1892 – 12 November 1946) was a British educator and author of books on penmanship and handwriting. Biography Marion Richardson was born on 9 October 1892 in Ashford, Kent, the second daughter of Walter Marsh ...

(1892–1946), educator and author of books on penmanship and handwriting.

References

External links

St Johns Church Preservation Group
Church of England church buildings in the West Midlands (county) St John's Church Churches completed in 1840 1840 establishments in England Grade II listed churches in the West Midlands (county) {{UK-struct-stub