St. John's Church, Oakfield, Ryde is a parish church

Parish church

A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....

 in the Church of England

Church of England

The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

 located in Ryde

Ryde

Ryde is a British seaside town, civil parish and the most populous town and urban area on the Isle of Wight, with a population of approximately 30,000. It is situated on the north-east coast. The town grew in size as a seaside resort following the joining of the villages of Upper Ryde and Lower...

, Isle of Wight

Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...

.

History

The church was built in 1842-43 by Charles Langdon & Co. to a design by the architect Thomas Hellyer.

The church was consecrated on 18 July 1843 by Charles Richard Sumner

Charles Richard Sumner

Charles Richard Sumner Charles Richard Sumner Charles Richard Sumner (22 November 1790 - 15 August 1874, born at Kenilworth, was an English bishop.-Life:Sumner was educated at Eton and at Trinity College, Cambridge and graduated BA in 1814, MA in 1817. Later on he was ordained deacon and priest...

 the Bishop of Winchester

Bishop of Winchester

The Bishop of Winchester is the head of the Church of England diocese of Winchester, with his cathedra at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire.The bishop is one of five Church of England bishops to be among the Lords Spiritual regardless of their length of service. His diocese is one of the oldest and...

. Successive enlargements to the building were made in following years as the local population grew, and on 3rd December 1870 the enlarged church was re-consecrated. At the same time St John's became a parish

Parish

A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...

 church, until that time having been a chapel-of-ease in the parish of St Helens

St Helens, Isle of Wight

St. Helens is a village and civil parish located on the eastern side of the Isle of Wight. The village is based around village greens. This is claimed to be the largest in England but some say the Village Green is the second largest. The greens are often used for cricket matches during the summer...

.

A Lady chapel

Lady chapel

A Lady chapel, also called Mary chapel or Marian chapel, is a traditional English term for a chapel inside a cathedral, basilica, or large church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary...

 was added in 1914 in memory of the 7th Lord Calthorpe whose family lived at nearby Woodlands Vale, and were regular worshippers at the church. The chancel

Chancel

In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...

of the church was enlarged in 1954.

In 1970 a church hall was added as an extension of the church building, the previous hall having been situated some distance away at the junction of St John's Hill and St John's Avenue. The 1970 hall now houses the Park Centre.

Organ

A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register.

List of organists

• J. Heaton-Bailey 1886 - 1890
• Walter Brennand Smith ????
• Sidney L. Torr 1910 - ca. 1912 - ????
• R. H. Toogood. ca. 1921
• Dudley Teague ca. 1967
• Jeanette Richards ca. 1980