St John's Church is an Anglican church in

Jedburgh Jedburgh (; gd, Deadard; sco, Jeddart or ) is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and the traditional county town of the historic county of Roxburghshire, the name of which was randomly chosen for Operation Jedburgh in s ...

. It was founded by

Cecil Chetwynd Kerr, Marchioness of Lothian Cecil Chetwynd Kerr, Marchioness of Lothian (née Lady Cecil Chetwynd-Talbot; 17 April 1808 – 13 May 1877) was a British noblewoman and philanthropist who founded the Anglican Saint John's Church in Jedburgh and the Roman Catholic Saint David ...

. It is a category A listed building. From 2023 the church was part of the Presbytery of Lothian and Borders.

History

Lady Cecil Chetwynd Chetwynd-Talbot married

John Kerr, 7th Marquess of Lothian John William Robert Kerr, 7th Marquess of Lothian (1 February 1794 – 14 November 1841), styled Lord Newbottle until 1815 and Earl of Ancram from 1815 to 1824, was a Tory politician. He served briefly as Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard under ...

on 12 July 1831 and went to live in Scotland with her husband. Her favourite home was Monteviot House, but the family seat was

Newbattle Abbey Newbattle Abbey ( gd, Abaid a' Bhatail Nuaidh) was a Cistercian monastery near the village of Newbattle in Midlothian, Scotland, which subsequently become a stately home and then an educational institution. Monastery It was founded in 1140 by ...

. She moved to Monteviot in 1840 in order to attend her nearest Episcopal church which was in Kelso. Her husband died in 1841. She took an increasing interest in the religious Oxford Movement who argued that Anglicanism needed to reintroduce aspects of Roman Catholicism into their high church practices. The followers were known as Tractarians and her spiritual advisor

John Henry Newman John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English theologian, academic, intellectual, philosopher, polymath, historian, writer, scholar and poet, first as an Anglican ministry, Anglican priest and later as a Catholi ...

was a leading thinker in the group. left, She founded St John's church in Jedburgh Kerr funded the creation of this Episcopal church in Jedburgh because it was near to Monteviot. The church cost £4,000 and it could seat 200 people. It was designed by architect John Hayward with an interior attributed to

William Butterfield William Butterfield (7 September 1814 – 23 February 1900) was a Gothic Revival architect and associated with the Oxford Movement (or Tractarian Movement). He is noted for his use of polychromy. Biography William Butterfield was born in Lon ...

and a lychgate that was his work. The foundation stone was laid in July 1843. It was consecrated just a year later on 15 August 1844. The sermons on that day were continued on the next day and on the 18 August with contributions by

John Keble John Keble (25 April 1792 – 29 March 1866) was an English Anglican priest and poet who was one of the leaders of the Oxford Movement. Keble College, Oxford, was named after him. Early life Keble was born on 25 April 1792 in Fairford, Glouce ...

, Dr. W.F. Hook, William Dodsworth and

Robert Wilberforce Robert Isaac Wilberforce (19 December 18023 February 1857) was an English clergyman and writer. Early life and education He was second son of abolitionist William Wilberforce, and active in the Oxford Movement. He was educated at Oriel College, ...

. The consecration, involving a procession of four bishops, forty clergy and a robed choir from Edinburgh, gathered a good deal of critical attention. The new incumbent, Reverend William Spranger White, was encouraged to hold daily services, weekly communions and to make sure that the church was never locked. Two years later Newman became a Roman Catholic and in 1851 the church's founder Cecil Kerr converted to Catholicism. After she converted, Lady Cecil of Lothian went on to build a church,

St David's St Davids or St David's ( cy, Tyddewi, , "David's house”) is a city and a community (named St Davids and the Cathedral Close) with a cathedral in Pembrokeshire, Wales, lying on the River Alun. It is the resting place of Saint David, W ...

, for the Catholic population in Dalkeith. She never entered the church again but it did enjoy the support of her nephew

Bertram Arthur Talbot, 17th Earl of Shrewsbury Bertram Arthur Talbot, 17th Earl of Shrewsbury, 17th Earl of Waterford (11 December 1832 – 10 August 1856) was a British nobleman. Talbot was educated by private tutors. He succeeded his second cousin John as Earl of Shrewsbury and Waterford, an ...

and her son,

Schomberg Kerr, 9th Marquess of Lothian Schomberg Henry Kerr, 9th Marquess of Lothian, (2 December 1833 – 17 January 1900), styled Lord Schomberg Kerr until 1870, was a British diplomat and Conservative politician. He served as Secretary for Scotland under Lord Salisbury betwee ...

who was Secretary of State for Scotland. The church's founder died on a religious visit to Rome in 1877 and her body was buried in her Dalkeith church at the foot of the altar. From 1962 to 1967

John Habgood John Stapylton Habgood, Baron Habgood, (23 June 1927 – 6 March 2019) was a British Anglican bishop, academic, and life peer. He was Bishop of Durham from 1973 to 1983, and Archbishop of York from 18 November 1983 to 1995. In 1995, he was ma ...

was

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of St John's Church, Jedburgh. He would go on to be a bishop and a lord. On 1st January 2023 the church announced that the former presbytery of Jedburgh would be combining with three others to form the Presbytery of Lothian and Borders. The church is a category A listed building.

Parish

The church has Holy Communions on Sunday at 9 a.m. and Thursdays at 10. In 2019 the Priest in Charge was Andrew Cooper.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Johns Church Jedburgh Category A listed buildings in the Scottish Borders Churches in the Scottish Borders Anglo-Catholic church buildings in Scotland Gothic Revival church buildings in Scotland 1844 establishments in Scotland Jedburgh William Butterfield buildings

History

Parish

See also

References