St John the Evangelist Church is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire ...

, Oxfordshire, England. It was built from 1835 to 1838 in 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 ...

with parts of it designed by

Augustus Pugin Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin ( ; 1 March 181214 September 1852) was an English architect, designer, artist and critic with French and, ultimately, Swiss origins. He is principally remembered for his pioneering role in the Gothic Revival st ...

. It is located on the corner of South Bar Street and Dashwood Road south of the town centre. It is a

Grade II listed building 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 Ir ...

History

Foundation

After the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, Catholics could go to a chapel in

Warkworth Castle Warkworth Castle is a ruined medieval castle in Warkworth in the English county of Northumberland. The village and castle occupy a loop of the River Coquet, less than a mile from England's north-east coast. When the castle was founded is unc ...

to celebrate

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

. It was home to the Holman family and then the Eyre family. In 1806, the castle was demolished and a chapel was built in

Overthorpe, Northamptonshire Overthorpe is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in West Northamptonshire, about east of Banbury in Oxfordshire and southeast of junction 11 of the M40 motorway. Overthorpe is in the east of nshire, and its western boundary ...

. In 1828, a

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

was started in Banbury by the priest at Overthorpe, Abbé Pierre Hersent.

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked wit ...

Banbury - St John the Evangelist
''Taking Stock'', retrieved 9 June 2022

Construction

Abbé Pierre Hersent bought the site of the current church, the old Calthorpe Manor House. He died in 1833, and the church was built by his successors, Fr Joseph Fox and Dr William Tandy. Building lasted from 1835 to 1838. The church was designed by Oxford-based architects, Charles Randall Hickman and John Macduff Derick. Derick also designed

Holy Trinity Church, Chipping Norton Holy Trinity Church is a Roman Catholic Parish church in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England. It is situated on the London road in the centre of the town. It was built in 1836 and is a Grade II listed building. History It was built in 1836, se ...

John Talbot, 16th Earl of Shrewsbury John Talbot, 16th Earl of Shrewsbury, 16th Earl of Waterford (18 March 1791 – 9 November 1852) was a British peer and aristocrat. Sometimes known as "Good Earl John", he has been described as "the most prominent British Catholic of his day ...

provided the stone for the construction of the church, the organ, and the tower clock, originally made by W. Allam of London in 1762. In 1839, Dr William Tandy paid

to design the presbytery,

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 ...

and its fittings, and stained glass.

Developments

In 1847, Dr William Tandy invited the

Sisters of Saint Paul of Chartres The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres (SPC) is a Roman Catholic religious apostolic missionary congregation of pontifical right for teaching, nursing, visiting the poor and taking care of orphans, the old and infirm, and the me ...

to create a community in Banbury, buying St John's Priory for them.Call to England
from SistersofStPaulSellyPark.org.uk, retrieved 10 June 2022 The community became the

motherhouse A motherhouse is the principal house or community for a religious institute A religious institute is a type of institute of consecrated life in the Catholic Church whose members take religious vows and lead a life in community with fellow memb ...

of the sisters in the UK until it moved to St Paul's Convent in

Selly Park Selly Park is a Residential area, residential suburban district in south-west Birmingham, England. The suburb of Selly Park is located between the Bristol Road (A38 road, A38) and the Pershore Road (A441 road, A441). Toponymy Selly Park is name ...

. In 1933, the original tower clock was replaced. In June 1938, a refurbishment was completed, with statues added to the church designed by

Richard Lockwood Boulton Richard Lockwood Boulton (c. 1832–1905) was an English sculptor who founded the firm Messrs R. L. Boulton & Sons. It was centred in Cheltenham, England, and built monuments made of iron and stone in the United Kingdom.

Parish

St John the Evangelist Church is its own

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

and works with the nearby parish of St Joseph the Worker Church in

Bretch Hill Neithrop is an inner housing estate and part of the greater 'Neithrop ward' of Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. It is one of the oldest areas in Banbury, having first been first recorded as a hamlet in the 13th century. Neithrop, Woodgreen and Br ...

and St Thomas of Canterbury Church in

Wroxton Wroxton is a village and civil parish in the north of Oxfordshire about west of Banbury. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 546. Wroxton Abbey Wroxton Abbey is a Jacobean country house on the site of a former Augustinian ...

. St John the Evangelist Church has three Sunday Masses at 4:00pm on Saturday and at 8:45am and 11:15am on Sunday. St Joseph the Worker Church also has three Sunday Masses at 6:00pm on Saturday and at 10:00am and 5:30pm on Sunday.Churches
from

Archdiocese of Birmingham The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham is one of the principal Latin-rite Catholic administrative divisions of England and Wales in the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. The archdiocese covers an area of , encompassing Staffordshir ...

, retrieved 9 June 2022

Interior

St John the Evangelist Church chancel, Banbury by Stephen Craven geograph 7088190.jpg,

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 ...

St John the Evangelist Church organ, Banbury by Stephen Craven geograph 7088193.jpg, Organ

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint John the Evangelist Church, Banbury Banbury Roman Catholic churches in Oxfordshire Grade II listed churches in Oxfordshire Grade II listed Roman Catholic churches in England Gothic Revival church buildings in England Gothic Revival architecture in Oxfordshire 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom 1835 establishments in England Roman Catholic churches completed in 1838 Religious organizations established in 1835