The church of St John the Baptist, Leenside, Nottingham was opened in 1844 as a parish church in 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, ...

. It was destroyed in 1941.

History

The foundation stone for the church of St John the Baptist was laid by

Charles Pierrepont, 2nd Earl Manvers Charles Herbert Pierrepont, 2nd Earl Manvers (11 August 1778 – 27 October 1860) was an English hereditary peer and naval officer. Early life and education Charles Pierrepont was the second son of Charles Pierrepont, 1st Earl Manvers and his ...

on 9 August 1843 and an address was delivered to the onlookers by Archdeacon George Wilkins. It was created out of the parish of

St Mary's Church, Nottingham The Church of St Mary the Virgin is the oldest parish churchDomesday Book: A Complete Translation (Penguin Classics) of Nottingham, in Nottinghamshire, England. The church is Grade I listed by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Spo ...

. The architects were

George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), largely known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he ...

and William Bonython Moffatt. The Church Building Commission gave a grant of £800 towards the cost of its construction. The church was dedicated by Rt. Revd. John Kaye,

Bishop of Lincoln The Bishop of Lincoln is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury. The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of Nort ...

on 5 November 1844. It had seating for 800 people and cost £4,400. (equivalent to £ in ), It was built in the

Early English Period English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed a ...

style in Bulwell stone. The dressings were from quarries at

Cromford Cromford () is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England, in the valley of the River Derwent between Wirksworth and Matlock. It is north of Derby, south of Matlock and south of Matlock Bath. Cromford is first mentioned in the 11t ...

Coxbench Horsley is a small village in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, roughly 5 miles north of the City of Derby, England, with a population of 973 at the 2011 Census. The parish church of St Clement and St John, which dates from the 13th c ...

and

Duffield, Derbyshire Duffield () is a village in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, north of Derby. It is nucleated village, centred on the western bank of the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent at the mouth of the River Ecclesbourne. It is within the ...

. The pier capitals were from

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of the Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area and the second largest settlement in Nottinghamshire (following the city ...

. The parsonage house was built in 1850–51 to the designs of local architect Francis Williamson. The first incumbent was William Howard 1840 – 1853. Afterwards he became Rector of

St Peter's Church, Nottingham St Peter's Church, formally The Church of St Peter with St James, is an Anglican parish church in the city centre of Nottingham, England. It is part of the parish of All Saints', St Mary's and St Peter's, Nottingham. The church is Grade I lis ...

. Howard was succeeded by John Montague Valpy in 1853. During the incumbency of Valpy, St John's was the first church in Nottingham to introduce a surpliced choir and choral and week-day celebrations of the Eucharist. Although it was designed for the poor working-class people in the Leenside area of Nottingham, its

High Church A ''high church'' is a Christian Church whose beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, Christian liturgy, liturgy, and Christian theology, theology emphasize "ritual, priestly authority, ndsacraments," and a standard liturgy. Although ...

churchmanship soon attracted a more wealthy middle class congregation from

the Park Estate The Park Estate is a private residential housing estate to the west of Nottingham city centre, England. It is noted for its Victorian architecture, although many of the houses have been altered, extended or converted into Apartment, flats. The e ...

. In 1911 the extra-parochial area of

St James' Church, Standard Hill St. James' Church, Standard Hill was a Church of England church in Nottingham. History In 1807, an Act of Parliament sanctioned the erection of a new church. It was opposed by the three clergy of the existing parishes of Nottingham, but the la ...

was added to it. It was bombed in a

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

air raid during the

Nottingham Blitz The Nottingham Blitz was an attack by the Nazi German ''Luftwaffe'' on Nottingham during the night of 8–9 May 1941. Defence preparations Nottingham was the first city in Britain to develop an ARP (Air Raid Precautions) network. It was devel ...

on 8–9 May 1941 and later demolished. The parish was joined with that of St George in the Meadows, Nottingham.

Organ

The organ was built by Lloyd and Dudgeon of Nottingham and installed in 1865. It was replaced by an organ by Bishop of London in 1896. It comprised 3 manuals and pedals with 23 speaking stops. It was destroyed in the

in 1941.

Official history via Southwell Diocese

Further details of the history of this church, as well as a graphic picture of the aftermath of its tortuous end, can be found via th
Churches of Southwell official web portal

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint John the Baptist's Church, Leenside, Nottingham Former Church of England church buildings Buildings and structures in the United Kingdom destroyed during World War II Demolished buildings and structures in Nottingham Churches bombed by the Luftwaffe in Nottingham George Gilbert Scott buildings Churches completed in 1844 19th-century Church of England church buildings Nottingham St. John Nottingham, St John Former churches in Nottinghamshire Destroyed churches in England

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...