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 ...

, 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 ...

church on Kew Road, in

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

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, 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 17 ...

in the Early

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

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 Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion and resurre ...

and

St Matthias Matthias (; Koine Greek: , , from Biblical Hebrew, Hebrew ; ; died ) was, according to the Acts of the Apostles, chosen by God through the Twelve Apostles, apostles to replace Judas Iscariot following the latter's betrayal of Jesus and his s ...

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 (building), 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 com ...

, 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 of a parish in England, Wales and some English colony, English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spen ...

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 (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.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'' (195 ...

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 (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

, south chapel and

vestries A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government of a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spent nearly one-fi ...

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

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

ceiling with illustrations of the

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation, also known as the Book of the Apocalypse or the Apocalypse of John, is the final book of the New Testament, and therefore the final book of the Bible#Christian Bible, Christian Bible. Written in Greek language, Greek, ...

, chapter 14, and created the

triptych A triptych ( ) is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided into three sections, or three carved panels that are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all m ...

behind the

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

. Westlake also painted the

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 ...

, 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-craftsma ...

carved the stonework on the triptych and over the

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christianity, 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 us ...

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 (building), church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular a ...

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, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

and an

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

professor. A regular broadcaster on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Third Programme The BBC Third Programme was a national radio station produced and broadcast from 1946 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 3. It first went on the air on 29 September 1946 and became one of the leading cultural and intellectual forces ...

in the 1950s, he served on the committee that produced the 1957 Wolfenden report which recommended that "homosexual behaviour between consenting adults in private should no longer be a criminal offence". Report of the Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution (1957). London:

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Worship

The church's style of worship is described as "modern/liberal Catholic".

Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...

is celebrated at 11.00 am on Sundays and 7:00 pm on Tuesdays.

Photo gallery

File:West front of St John the Divine - geograph.org.uk - 1954866.jpg, The West façade of the church File:Church of St John the Divine - geograph.org.uk - 1954863.jpg, The spire viewed from above the trees File:Richmond, St John the Divine, sanctuary.jpg, The Sanctuary File:Richmond, St John the Divine, triptych.jpg, The Triptych by Nathaniel Westlake File:Richmond, St John the Divine, ceiling 1.jpg, The chancel ceiling by Westlake File:Interior of the church of St John the Divine, Kew Road, Richmond (geograph 1954871).jpg, Interior view File:Richmond, St John the Divine, The Lady chapel.jpg, The recently restored Lady Chapel, restored in the 21st century File:Richmond, St John the Divine, Calvary sculpture.jpg, Calvary sculpture on the East end exterior by Richard Garbe (1876–1957) File:Richmond, St John the Divine, Stations of the Cross XII.jpg, Stations of the Cross by

References

External links

Official website

Diocese of Southwark listing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint John the Divine, Richmond 1830s establishments in England 19th-century Church of England church buildings

Churches completed in 1836

Gothic Revival church buildings in England Grade II listed churches in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Richmond, London