St John the Evangelist's Church, Darlington is a

Grade II 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, H ...

former

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, ...

church on Neasham Road,

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

History

The church was designed by John Middleton and built between 1847 and 1849. The foundation stone was laid on 10 September 1847 by

George Hudson George Hudson (probably 10 March 1800 – 14 December 1871) was an English railway financier and politician who, because he controlled a significant part of the Railway Mania, railway network in the 1840s, became known as "The Railway King"—a ...

Esq M.P. The design included a spire projected to be high sitting on the tower, but this was never added. The church opened for worship on 3 January 1850. The debt took some time to pay off, but by 1853 the

Bishop of Durham The bishop of Durham is head of the diocese of Durham in the province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler (bishop), Paul Butler was the most recent bishop of Durham u ...

agreed to consecrate the church and it took place on 16 July 1853. The vestries were added in 1900 by W.S. Hicks. In December 2022, it was announced the church was to close due to declining congregation numbers and rising running costs, a final service was held on 5 February 2023.

Organ

Initially services were accompanied by a Seraphine. A pipe organ was presented in 1857 by Nathaniel Plews, which was second hand from Bedale church. However, this proved to be unsatisfactory and in 1865 a new organ was installed by Mr. Nicholson of Newcastle upon Tyne which included parts from the old organ. The cost was £150. This organ was replaced in 1890 when a 2 manual organ was built by H.S. Vincent and Company of Sunderland. The opening recital was given on 18 September 1890 by

Philip Armes Philip Armes (15 August 1836 – 10 February 1908) was an English organist, notably holding posts at Rochester, Chichester and Durham Cathedral. Musical career Armes was a chorister at the cathedral of his native city, Norwich, between 1846 and ...

, organist of

Durham Cathedral Durham Cathedral, formally the , is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Durham, England. The cathedral is the seat of the bishop of Durham and is the Mother Church#Cathedral, mother church of the diocese of Durham. It also contains the ...

. A specification of the current organ can be found on the

National Pipe Organ Register The British Institute of Organ Studies (BIOS) is a British organisation and registered charity which aims to promote study and appreciation of all aspects of the pipe organ. Further, it acts as a lobbying body to raise awareness of organ issue ...

. It has been awarded a Grade II* listing by the

British Institute of Organ Studies The British Institute of Organ Studies (BIOS) is a British organisation and registered charity which aims to promote study and appreciation of all aspects of the pipe organ. Further, it acts as a lobbying body to raise awareness of organ issue ...

Bells

The tower contains a ring of 8 bells. Five were installed in 1848 by Charles and George Mears. Three more were added in 1893 by Mears and Stainbank.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darlington, St John Church of England church buildings in County Durham Grade II listed churches in County Durham

St John Saint John or St. John usually refers to either John the Baptist or John the Apostle. Saint John or St. John may also refer to: People Saints * John the Baptist ( – ), preacher, ascetic, and baptizer of Jesus Christ * John the Evangelis ...