St John the Divine, Richmond, in the

Anglican Diocese of Southwark The Diocese of Southwark is one of the 42 dioceses of the Church of England, part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The diocese forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. It was created on 1 May 1905 from part of the ancient Dio ...

, is a

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 ...

church on Kew Road, in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, near Richmond railway station. Built in 1836, and a parish in its own right since 1838, it was designed by

Lewis Vulliamy Lewis Vulliamy (15 March 1791 – 4 January 1871) was an English architect descended from the Vulliamy family of clockmakers. Life Lewis Vulliamy was the son of the clockmaker Benjamin Vulliamy. He was born in Pall Mall, London on 15 March 179 ...

in the Early

Gothic Revival 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 ...

architectural style. Since 1996 St John the Divine has been part of the Richmond Team Ministry, which also includes the churches of St Mary Magdalene and St Matthias.

History

Richmond grew rapidly during the 18th and early 19th centuries. By the 1820s, Richmond's original

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, ...

, St Mary Magdalene, was too small., quoted in Having recognised the need for another chapel, the

vestry 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 colloquiall ...

commissioned new construction by 1831. The new building, St John the Divine, was completed in 1836., quoted in It was built from 1831 to 1836 on a site provided by local resident and landowner, William Selwyn (1775–1855); the architect was Lewis Vulliamy.

Bridget Cherry Bridget Cherry OBE, FSA, Hon. FRIBA (born 17 May 1941) is a British architectural historian who was series editor of the Pevsner Architectural Guides from 1971 until 2002, and is the author or co-author of several volumes in the series.

and

Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (1 ...

criticise Vulliamy's "craziest W spire and senseless flying buttresses from the W porches up to the nave" but describe Grove's east end (added in the early 20th century) as "a fine composition". In 1838 it became a parish church in its own right.

Organ

The organ, built by Beale and Thynne, was dedicated in December 1896. Described as "a virtually unaltered work of Victorian artistry", it has been fully restored.

20th-century additions

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 ...

, south chapel and

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 ...

were added in 1904–1905; they were designed by Arthur Grove. In 1908,

Nathaniel Westlake Nathaniel Hubert John Westlake FSA (1833–1921) was a 19th-century British artist specialising in stained glass. Career Nathaniel Westlake was born in Romsey in 1833. He began to design for the firm of Lavers & Barraud, Ecclesiastical Design ...

painted the

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...

ceiling with illustrations of the

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of R ...

, chapter 14, and created the

triptych A triptych ( ; from the Greek language, Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) t ...

behind the

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

. Westlake also painted the

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The station ...

, which are now missing; they were replaced between 1955 and 1970 by reliefs in Nabresina stone carved by

Freda Skinner Freda Nellie Skinner (31 January 1911 – 19 July 1993) was a British sculptor and woodcarver who was head of sculpture at Wimbledon School of Art from 1945 to 1971. Skinner was born in Warlingham, Surrey, where her father, Norman, had a farm; ...

Eric Gill Arthur Eric Rowton Gill, (22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was an English sculptor, letter cutter, typeface designer, and printmaker. Although the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' describes Gill as ″the greatest artist-cra ...

carved the stonework on the triptych and over the

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually located ...

door. The Calvary sculpture on the east end facing St John's Road was carved by Richard Garbe. The church hall, in brick, was built in 1911. In 1980–1981 adaptations were made to the church to enable it be used occasionally for concerts and to provide a meeting room, toilet facilities and residential accommodation. The architects were Dry Hastwell Butlin Bicknell, a partnership of David Dry (1934–2011), Vince Hastwell, George Butlin and Roger Bicknell.

21st-century restoration

The

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular architecture, for ex ...

in the Lady Chapel was restored in the early 21st century by Howell and Bellion.

People

Vigo Auguste Demant (1893–1983), vicar at St John the Divine from 1933 to 1942, became a Canon of

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

and an

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

professor. A regular broadcaster on the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

History

Organ

20th-century additions

21st-century restoration

People

Worship

Photo gallery

References

External links