St John on Bethnal Green is an early 19th-century church near

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common la ...

, London, and stands on the

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

itself. It was constructed in 1826–1828 to the design of the architect Sir

John Soane Sir John Soane (; né Soan; 10 September 1753 – 20 January 1837) was an English architect who specialised in the Neoclassical architecture, Neo-Classical style. The son of a bricklayer, he rose to the top of his profession, becoming professor ...

(1753–1837). It is an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

church in the

Diocese of London The Diocese of London forms part of the Church of England's Province of Canterbury in England. It lies directly north of the Thames, covering and all or part of 17 London boroughs. This corresponds almost exactly to the historic county of ...

. The church is near

Bethnal Green tube station Bethnal Green () is a London Underground station in Bethnal Green, London, England. It is on the Central line between Liverpool Street and Mile End stations, and is located in Travelcard Zone 2. It is open 24 hours on a Friday and Saturday ...

, on Bethnal Green Road and Roman Road. It is a

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

building. The

belfry The belfry /ˈbɛlfri/ is a structure enclosing bells for ringing as part of a building, usually as part of a bell tower or steeple. It can also refer to the entire tower or building, particularly in continental Europe for such a tower attached ...

provides an exhibition space for artists.

The Stations of the Cross

In 2000, the painter

Chris Gollon Chris Gollon (1953–2017) was a British artist. Born in London, England, Chris Gollon was a technically innovative painter, bringing both Old Master techniques and printmaking methods into the medium of acrylic. Until his death in 2017, he had ...

gained a major commission from the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

for fourteen

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Via Dolorosa, Way of Sorrows or the , are a series of fourteen images depicting Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and acc ...

paintings for the church. Gollon was a controversial choice, since he is not a practising

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

. In order to carry out the commission, and for consultation on theological matters, he collaborated with Fr Alan Green, rector of the church.

The pipe organ

The pipe organ in the church's west gallery was installed in 1950. It was made by the London firm of Rest Cartwright. The organ case was designed by

Martin Travers Howard Martin Otho Travers (19 February 1886 – 25 July 1948) was a leading English church artist and designer. Travers was born in Margate, Kent, educated at Tonbridge School, entered the Royal College of Art in 1904, and was awarded its Dipl ...

.London, Greater, Bethnal Green, St. John on Bethnal Green, Cambridge Heath Road, [R00941
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''National Pipe Organ Register''. Online resource, accessed 2 May 2025]. File:St John at Bethnal Green, Bethnal Green Road - West end - geograph.org.uk - 3157682.jpg File:St John at Bethnal Green, Bethnal Green Road - Organ loft - geograph.org.uk - 3157690.jpg

References

Churches completed in 1828 1828 establishments in England 19th-century Church of England church buildings

Diocese of London Grade I listed churches in London Grade I listed buildings in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets John Soane buildings Bethnal Green {{London-Anglican-church-stub