St John the Evangelist is an Anglican church on

Friern Barnet Friern Barnet is a suburban area within the London Borough of Barnet, north of Charing Cross. Its centre is formed by the busy intersection of Colney Hatch Lane (running north and south), Woodhouse Road (taking westbound traffic towards North ...

Road in north London. It is a late example of the

Gothic Revival Style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

by Victorian architect

John Loughborough Pearson John Loughborough Pearson (5 July 1817 – 11 December 1897) was a British Gothic Revival architect renowned for his work on churches and cathedrals. Pearson revived and practised largely the art of vaulting, and acquired in it a proficiency ...

, begun in 1890-91 and completed after his death by his son

Frank Loughborough Pearson Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Cur ...

.''The Buildings of England - London 4: North'', Bridget Cherry & Nicolaus Pevsner, 1998; p. 131

History

Originating in 1883 as a chapel-of-ease to Friern Barnet parish church it was initially a temporary iron structure on the north side of Friern Barnet Road and known as the school-church of St John, on account of classes being kept there by the

Friern Barnet Grammar School The Friern Barnet Grammar School was a small independent day school for boys located on Friern Barnet Road, North London. It was later absorbed into the co-educational Woodside Park School foundation which was later renamed The North London Int ...

."Friern Barnet: Churches", in: ''A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 6: Friern Barnet, Finchley, Hornsey with Highgate'', 1980; pp. 29-32, Available from www.british-history.ac.uk In 1890 it was replaced by an iron nave on the opposite side of the road on land granted to the Anglican Church Board by G. K. Smith, who, with his son Charles William Smith, contributed substantially towards building costs. Although the chancel was consecrated in October 1892 by the Bishop of London

Frederick Temple Frederick Temple (30 November 1821 – 23 December 1902) was an English academic, teacher and churchman, who served as Bishop of Exeter (1869–1885), Bishop of London (1885–1896) and Archbishop of Canterbury (1896–1902). Early life ...

DD,''Novum Repertorium Ecclesiasticum Parochiale Londinense'', Rev George Hennessy urate of St Peter’s Muswell Hill (Chapel of Ease to Friern Barnet) 1898; p. 159 building was delayed by a lack of funds, the nave being built in two stages and finally consecrated in 1911. Building of the eastern section was executed by Edward Abley of Salisbury.

Architecture

The church is crafted entirely of stone to an elaborate plan and modelled on a

Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...

chapel. The east end was inspired by the German Cistercian church of

Heisterbach Heisterbach Abbey (Kloster Heisterbach; also Petersthal, formerly Petersberg) was a Cistercian monastery in the ''Siebengebirge'' near Oberdollendorf in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Petersberg The tradition of its origin is that a knight name ...

on the request of the vicar, the Reverend Frederick Hall, who had formerly been curate at

St. Augustine's, Kilburn Saint Augustine's, Kilburn, is a Church of England church in the area of Kilburn, in North London, United Kingdom. Because of its large size and ornate architecture, it is sometimes affectionately referred to as "the Cathedral of North London", ...

, another of Pearson's celebrated works. The church comprises an

apsidal In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

with

ambulatory The ambulatory ( la, ambulatorium, ‘walking place’) is the covered passage around a cloister or the processional way around the east end of a cathedral or large church and behind the high altar. The first ambulatory was in France in the 11th ...

and south chapel, two north

vestries A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquially ...

, an aisled and clerestoreyed

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

, and a western

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex ...

baptistery In Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned structure surrounding the baptismal ...

of one bay. In an early Gothic style, it is vaulted throughout and originally seated 500. The nave was completed over 1899–1901. The west end being finished to only a modified design in 1911. The projected north-east tower and spire were not built. The pulpit dates to c. 1920. The stained-glass panels are by specialist firm

Clayton and Bell Clayton and Bell was one of the most prolific and proficient British workshops of stained-glass windows during the latter half of the 19th century and early 20th century. The partners were John Richard Clayton (1827–1913) and Alfred Bell (1832 ...

- the east windows depicting the adoration of the lamb, the south picturing angels, bishops and St Paul preaching, and the north Protestant worthies. The chancel windows are also a memorial to the Reverend Prebendary Frederick Hall, rector of Friern Barnet, by whom the building was commissioned. A depiction of the architect, Pearson, with a scroll of the plans, is included. The church has since been afforded Grade II* architectural status by the English Heritage foundation, by which it is deemed a building of particular (national) importance and one of more than special interest.

Current status

The church now serves as the parish church of Friern Barnet, the former parish church of St James the Great in Friern Barnet Lane now being leased to the local

Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek language, Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the Eastern Orthodox Church, entire body of Orthodox (Chalced ...

community. The church has long been linked to local education; there has been a St John's school in Friern Barnet since 1886, now (as of 2015) St John's CofE Primary School

Curates

List of curates: *1884-87 Robert Bettison Barber AKC *1887-89 Bernard Day Douglas Shaw AKC *1889-92 Frederick Voight After which time the rector of Friern Barnet resumed charge. The Rev Frederick Hall was rector from 1892 to 1902, and his son the Rev Edward Gage Hall from 1902 to 1940."Friern Barnet: Churches"
''A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 6: Friern Barnet, Finchley, Hornsey with Highgate'', 1980 Available from www.british-history.ac.uk The Rev'd

John Trillo Albert John Trillo (London, 4 July 1915 – 2 August 1992, Wenhaston, Suffolk) was a Church of England bishop. John Trillo (as he was generally known) grew up in Cricklewood, North London, and was educated at the Quintin School and King's Colleg ...

was rector during the 1950s.

References and sources

;References ;Sources *National Archives: Saint James the Great, Friern Barnet DRO/012/I/G8

External links

Friern Barnet & District Local History Society

Friern Barnet Parish
{{DEFAULTSORT:Friern Barnet, Saint John Grade II* listed churches in London Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Barnet 19th-century Church of England church buildings Church of England church buildings in the London Borough of Barnet Diocese of London Friern Barnet