St John the Evangelist's Church, St Leonards-on-Sea
Encyclopedia
St John the Evangelist's Church is the Anglican
parish church
of the Upper St Leonards area of St Leonards-on-Sea
, a town and seaside resort which is part of the Borough of Hastings
in East Sussex
, England. The present building—a "very impressive and beautifully detailed" church in the Gothic Revival style
, with a landmark tower—combines parts of Arthur Blomfield
's 1881 church, wrecked during World War II, and Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel
's 1950s rebuild. Two earlier churches on the site, the second possibly designed by Samuel Sanders Teulon
, were themselves destroyed earlier in the 19th century. The rich internal fittings include a complete scheme of stained glass
by Goodhart-Rendel's favoured designer Joseph Ledger and a 16th-century painting by Ortolano Ferrarese
. English Heritage
has listed the church at Grade II* for its architectural and historical importance.
in 1827. It was built on a sloping, well-wooded seafront location just to the west of the ancient port of Hastings
, and immediately became a fashionable resort and residential area—rivalling its larger neighbour by the mid-19th century. Burton founded a parish church
on the seafront in 1831 (St Leonard's Church), and another (St Mary Magdalene's Church
) opened in 1858. Both catered mainly for fashionable visitors and richer residents: pew
rents were charged, for example. The growing town's many artisans, manual labourers, shopkeepers and other working-class people, and the large number of workers brought in to build Burton's new town, had nowhere to worship unless they travelled to the Church in the Wood
in Hollington, several miles away.
Lady St John (Louisa Boughton), the widow of Sir John Vaughan
and St Andrew St John, 14th Baron St John of Bletso
, paid for a third church to be built in the town; sittings would be free, so poor people could attend. Christ Church
, on the main London Road, opened in 1860. Its new vicar from 1863, Rev. Charles Lyndhurst Vaughan, son of Lady St John, worked hard to advance its influence, and the church became so popular that it was often full. Meanwhile, more residential development was taking place to the north, in an area which became known as Upper St Leonards. As well as building a new, larger Christ Church, Rev. Vaughan founded another church at Gensing Farm in Upper St Leonards. The temporary structure, which cost £2,000 (£ as of ), was dedicated to St John the Evangelist and opened on 20 April 1865.
The iron building, known locally as "The Round Church", was severely damaged by a storm in October 1866 which destroyed the roof. Rev. Vaughan ensured that it was soon rebuilt, this time in brick: construction finished in July 1867 and a procession from Christ Church to the new building preceded its opening on 6 August 1867. Architect Samuel Sanders Teulon
, who built Holy Trinity Church
in central Hastings in 1857–59 and two other churches in Rye Harbour
and Icklesham
around the same time, has been suggested as the designer. This building only lasted 11 years, though: overnight on 30 November–1 December 1878, it caught fire and was destroyed. During the 1870s, worship took on a strongly High church
, Anglo-Catholic
character: Reservation of the Sacrament
was kept from 1874, and the Tenebrae
was celebrated in the same year.
The church was again rebuilt, this time to the designs of Arthur Blomfield
, a prolific and "distinguished" ecclesiastical architect who favoured the Gothic Revival
style. His other Sussex churches include the new Christ Church
itself; All Souls Church, Hastings; All Saints Church, Roffey
; the rebuilt Chapel Royal, Brighton
; St Andrew's Church, Worthing
; St Luke's Church, Queen's Park, Brighton
and St Barnabas' Church, Bexhill. Part of the nave of the 1867 was restored
and incorporated into the new building, on which work began in 1880. A year earlier, the link with Christ Church had been broken when the ecclesiastical parishes were separated.
Construction was largely complete in 1881, although some work continued until 1884. The final cost was £12,300 (£ as of ), and the third St John the Evangelist's Church was consecrated in 1883. The church continued to thrive in the new building, and like its former mother church it became noted for its music: a choir school operated between 1896 and 1927.
The church suffered another setback in 1943 when it was bombed during the Luftwaffe
's raids during World War II. On 9 February 1943, a 1000 pounds (453.6 kg) bomb passed through the spire and tower and exploded in the aisle, destroying the building. Only the tall octagonal tower and parts of the west wall and baptistery
survived. In 1949, a hall built next to the ruins was put into use as a temporary church while another new building took shape behind the tower. Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel
, a "leading authority on Victorian Gothic architecture" who often adopted elements of other styles and took a free-thinking, unconventional approach to church design (as at his St Wilfrid's Church, Brighton
), was commissioned. His design, a free interpretation of the Gothic Revival style in red brick and "with rich ornament and many mannered details", was executed between 1950 and 1954. Most work took place between 1951 and 1952, and the first parts to be reconstructed were the transepts and nave. On 18 May 1951, Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) laid the foundation stone
, and dedication ceremonies were held for the new nave and chancel in 1952 and 1957 respectively. A side chapel and a vestry
were built in the 1960s. The original spire, damaged by the bombing of 1943, could not be restored and was removed; the top of the tower was altered and a "cap" added instead.
style, mostly in red brick with some Bath Stone
dressings. The arcade-flanked nave
had five and a half bays
—an arrangement also seen at Blomfield's St John the Evangelist's Church
in Preston Village, Brighton
—a clerestory
and a queen post
ceiling. The aisles on the north and south sides had brick arches and Bath Stone pillars. The chancel
had an organ chamber. The octagonal tower at the southwest corner (a local landmark) rose in four stages, the topmost of which had four bells. The church also had a baptistery
.
Only the tower and the west wall of the nave survived the bombing in 1943. These remains were incorporated into Goodhart-Rendel's redesigned church, which is also Early English Gothic Revival—albeit an inventive interpretation of that style (English Heritage described it as a "particularly eclectic mix"). Goodhart-Rendel "accepted every tenet of Gothic architecture except the pointed arch", and his design for this was closer to Gothic principles than any of his other postwar churches (of which a Sussex example is the Friary Church of St Francis and St Anthony, Crawley
). Red brick was the chosen building material inside and out, although yellow bricks were used in places as a contrast and diaper patterning
is used extensively. The nave still has five and a half bays, but Goodhart-Rendel extended the chancel and inserted transverse arches which were likened by Nairn
and Pevsner
to a "strange bridge" crossing it. The damaged spire on the tower was replaced with a low cap, but the pointed-arched louvres
with their decorative mouldings
and the castellated parapet
at the top (bell) stage remain. The entrance is in a porch in the lowest stage.
The body of the church is "powerfully massed" and "fortress-like", emphasised by its prominent brick buttress
es to the aisles. Between each buttress is a lancet window
. There are small transept
s with dormer
windows. The transept roofs are on the same level as the chancel roof and lower than that of the nave. A small bell-turret sits on top of the chancel roof.
Inside, the nave and chancel are separated by a round-headed double chancel arch which was to have been flanked by niches—an unrealised aspect of Goodhart-Rendel's plan. The double arch—"the interior's most powerful feature"—was intended to support both the vaulted roof and the organ, although the present organ stands in the north transept. It came from St Catharine's College, Cambridge
in 1974. The aisles are narrower and less substantial than those in Blomfield's church. The interior walls are mostly of stone coated with plaster and render, and the panelled chancel ceiling is painted. The chancel has a stone floor. Fittings include a 19th-century square-bowled font on a carved marble base, a lectern
of the same era, chandelier
s and an octagonal pulpit
. The stained glass
, featuring much white glass, was all designed by Joseph Ledger in 1952, apart from some "colourful" angels in the baptistery which were provided by a Miss Thompson. These were similar to some of the windows in the old church. Ledger met Goodhart-Rendel while in his 20s and became the architect's favoured stained glass designer. He later became a noted ceramic
ist. The church has a 16th-century painting of the Adoration of Jesus
by Ortolano Ferrarese
. Many internal fittings, such as the lectern
, choir stalls and fixtures from the Lady chapel
, came from Blomfield's church.
on 14 September 1976. This defines it as a "particularly important" building of "more than special interest". As of February 2001, it was one of 13 Grade II* listed buildings, and 535 listed buildings of all grades, in the borough of Hastings. It is one of several listed churches in St Leonards-on-Sea. Christ Church
, its former mother church, is also listed at Grade II*, as is St Peter's Church
in the Bohemia area of the town; and St Leonard's Anglican church, St Leonard's Baptist Church
, the Greek Orthodox
St Mary Magdalene's Church
, the Roman Catholic Church of St Thomas of Canterbury and English Martyrs
and a former United Reformed Church
each have Grade II status.
The church serves an area of St Leonards-on-Sea known as Upper St Leonards. Most of the parish lies north of the railway line between St Leonards Warrior Square
and West St Leonards
stations; the line forms part of the southern and western boundaries. The A2102 London Road, Springfield Road and Sedlescombe Road South form other boundaries with neighbouring parishes.
Worship has a High church
"Open Catholic" character. Two services are held on Sunday mornings; morning or evening prayer sessions take place six days a week; and morning services take place on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
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....
of the Upper St Leonards area of St Leonards-on-Sea
St Leonards-on-Sea
St Leonards-on-Sea is part of Hastings, East Sussex, England, lying immediately to the west of the centre. The original part of the settlement was laid out in the early 19th century as a new town: a place of elegant houses designed for the well-off; it also included a central public garden, a...
, a town and seaside resort which is part of the Borough of Hastings
Hastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
in East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
, England. The present building—a "very impressive and beautifully detailed" church in the Gothic Revival style
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
, with a landmark tower—combines parts of Arthur Blomfield
Arthur Blomfield
Sir Arthur William Blomfield was an English architect.-Background:The fourth son of Charles James Blomfield, an Anglican Bishop of London helpfully began a programme of new church construction in the capital. Born in Fulham Palace, Arthur Blomfield was educated at Rugby and Trinity College,...
's 1881 church, wrecked during World War II, and Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel
Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel
Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel was an English architect and writer, also a musician.-Life:He was educated at Eton College, and read music at Trinity College, Cambridge. He worked shortly for Sir Charles Nicholson, and then set up his own architectural practice...
's 1950s rebuild. Two earlier churches on the site, the second possibly designed by Samuel Sanders Teulon
Samuel Sanders Teulon
Samuel Sanders Teulon was a notable 19th century English Gothic Revival architect.-Family:Teulon was born in Greenwich in south-east London, the son of a cabinet-maker from a French Huguenot family. His younger brother William Milford Teulon also became an architect...
, were themselves destroyed earlier in the 19th century. The rich internal fittings include a complete scheme of stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
by Goodhart-Rendel's favoured designer Joseph Ledger and a 16th-century painting by Ortolano Ferrarese
Ortolano Ferrarese
Ortolano Ferrarese was an Italian painter of the Ferrara School, active in the Renaissance period. Ticozzi cites his birth as ca. 1480.-Biography:...
. English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
has listed the church at Grade II* for its architectural and historical importance.
History
St Leonards-on-Sea was founded as a new town by builder and speculator James BurtonJames Burton (1761–1837)
James Burton was a builder and developer, responsible for large areas of Bloomsbury and the houses around Regent's Park in London. He later founded the new town of St Leonards-on-Sea, which is now part of the built-up area of Hastings...
in 1827. It was built on a sloping, well-wooded seafront location just to the west of the ancient port of Hastings
Hastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
, and immediately became a fashionable resort and residential area—rivalling its larger neighbour by the mid-19th century. Burton founded 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....
on the seafront in 1831 (St Leonard's Church), and another (St Mary Magdalene's Church
St Mary Magdalene's Church, St Leonards-on-Sea
St Mary Magdalene's Church is a Greek Orthodox place of worship in St Leonards-on-Sea, a town and seaside resort which is part of the Borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England...
) opened in 1858. Both catered mainly for fashionable visitors and richer residents: pew
Pew
A pew is a long bench seat or enclosed box used for seating members of a congregation or choir in a church, or sometimes in a courtroom.-Overview:Churches were not commonly furnished with permanent pews before the Protestant Reformation...
rents were charged, for example. The growing town's many artisans, manual labourers, shopkeepers and other working-class people, and the large number of workers brought in to build Burton's new town, had nowhere to worship unless they travelled to the Church in the Wood
Church in the Wood, Hollington
Church in the Wood, officially known as St Leonard's Church and originally as St Rumbold's Church, is an Anglican church in the Hollington area of the town and borough of Hastings, one of six local government districts in the English county of East Sussex...
in Hollington, several miles away.
Lady St John (Louisa Boughton), the widow of Sir John Vaughan
John Vaughan (puisne judge)
Sir John Vaughan PC was an English judge.Vaughan was born at Leicester, the third but second surviving son of Dr. James Vaughan a physician at Leicester, and his wife, Hester née Smalley. He was called to the bar in June 1791. In 1816 he became King's Serjeant and in 1827 he became Baron of...
and St Andrew St John, 14th Baron St John of Bletso
St Andrew St John, 14th Baron St John of Bletso
St Andrew St John, 14th Baron St John of Bletso PC FRS was an English politician who sat in the British House of Commons from 1780 until 1806 when he inherited a peerage....
, paid for a third church to be built in the town; sittings would be free, so poor people could attend. Christ Church
Christ Church, St Leonards-on-Sea
Christ Church is an Anglican church in the town and seaside resort of St Leonards-on-Sea, part of the Borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England...
, on the main London Road, opened in 1860. Its new vicar from 1863, Rev. Charles Lyndhurst Vaughan, son of Lady St John, worked hard to advance its influence, and the church became so popular that it was often full. Meanwhile, more residential development was taking place to the north, in an area which became known as Upper St Leonards. As well as building a new, larger Christ Church, Rev. Vaughan founded another church at Gensing Farm in Upper St Leonards. The temporary structure, which cost £2,000 (£ as of ), was dedicated to St John the Evangelist and opened on 20 April 1865.
The iron building, known locally as "The Round Church", was severely damaged by a storm in October 1866 which destroyed the roof. Rev. Vaughan ensured that it was soon rebuilt, this time in brick: construction finished in July 1867 and a procession from Christ Church to the new building preceded its opening on 6 August 1867. Architect Samuel Sanders Teulon
Samuel Sanders Teulon
Samuel Sanders Teulon was a notable 19th century English Gothic Revival architect.-Family:Teulon was born in Greenwich in south-east London, the son of a cabinet-maker from a French Huguenot family. His younger brother William Milford Teulon also became an architect...
, who built Holy Trinity Church
Holy Trinity Church, Hastings
Holy Trinity Church is an Anglican church in the centre of Hastings, a town and borough in the English county of East Sussex. It was built during the 1850s—a period when Hastings was growing rapidly as a seaside resort—by prolific and eccentric architect Samuel Sanders Teulon, who was "chief among...
in central Hastings in 1857–59 and two other churches in Rye Harbour
Rye Harbour
Rye Harbour is a village located on the East Sussex coast in southeast England, near the estuary of the River Rother: it is part of the civil parish of Icklesham. Rye Harbour is located some two miles downstream of the town of Rye....
and Icklesham
Icklesham
Icklesham is a village and civil parish in the Rother District of East Sussex, England. The village is located about six miles east of Hastings, on the main A259 Hastings to Rye road....
around the same time, has been suggested as the designer. This building only lasted 11 years, though: overnight on 30 November–1 December 1878, it caught fire and was destroyed. During the 1870s, worship took on a strongly High church
High church
The term "High Church" refers to beliefs and practices of ecclesiology, liturgy and theology, generally with an emphasis on formality, and resistance to "modernization." Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term has traditionally been principally associated with the...
, Anglo-Catholic
Anglo-Catholicism
The terms Anglo-Catholic and Anglo-Catholicism describe people, beliefs and practices within Anglicanism that affirm the Catholic, rather than Protestant, heritage and identity of the Anglican churches....
character: Reservation of the Sacrament
Reserved sacrament
During the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the second part of the Mass, the elements of bread and wine are considered, in some branches of Christian practice, to have been transubstantiated into the veritable Body and Blood of Jesus Christ...
was kept from 1874, and the Tenebrae
Tenebrae
Tenebrae may refer to:* Tenebrae, a Christian worship service held during Holy Week * Tenebrae , a horror film by Dario Argento* Tenebrae , soundtrack album for the Dario Argento film...
was celebrated in the same year.
The church was again rebuilt, this time to the designs of Arthur Blomfield
Arthur Blomfield
Sir Arthur William Blomfield was an English architect.-Background:The fourth son of Charles James Blomfield, an Anglican Bishop of London helpfully began a programme of new church construction in the capital. Born in Fulham Palace, Arthur Blomfield was educated at Rugby and Trinity College,...
, a prolific and "distinguished" ecclesiastical architect who favoured the Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
style. His other Sussex churches include the new Christ Church
Christ Church, St Leonards-on-Sea
Christ Church is an Anglican church in the town and seaside resort of St Leonards-on-Sea, part of the Borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England...
itself; All Souls Church, Hastings; All Saints Church, Roffey
All Saints Church, Roffey
All Saints Church is the Anglican parish church of Roffey, in the Horsham district of the English county of West Sussex. The present church, built to serve the Victorian suburb of Roffey—part of the ancient market town of Horsham—replaced a schoolroom in which religious services had been held...
; the rebuilt Chapel Royal, Brighton
Chapel Royal, Brighton
The Chapel Royal is an 18th-century place of worship in the centre of Brighton, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. Built as a chapel of ease, it became one of Brighton's most important churches, gaining its own parish and becoming closely associated with the Prince Regent and...
; St Andrew's Church, Worthing
St Andrew's Church, Worthing
St Andrew's Church is an Anglican church in Worthing, West Sussex, England. Built between 1885 and 1886 in the Early English Gothic style by Sir Arthur Blomfield, "one of the last great Gothic revivalists", the church was embroiled in controversy as soon as it was founded...
; St Luke's Church, Queen's Park, Brighton
St Luke's Church, Queen's Park, Brighton
St Luke's Church is an Anglican church in the Queen's Park area of Brighton, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. Occupying a large corner site on Queen's Park Road, it was designed in the 1880s by Sir Arthur Blomfield in the Early English style, and has been given listed building status...
and St Barnabas' Church, Bexhill. Part of the nave of the 1867 was restored
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
and incorporated into the new building, on which work began in 1880. A year earlier, the link with Christ Church had been broken when the ecclesiastical parishes were separated.
Construction was largely complete in 1881, although some work continued until 1884. The final cost was £12,300 (£ as of ), and the third St John the Evangelist's Church was consecrated in 1883. The church continued to thrive in the new building, and like its former mother church it became noted for its music: a choir school operated between 1896 and 1927.
The church suffered another setback in 1943 when it was bombed during the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
's raids during World War II. On 9 February 1943, a 1000 pounds (453.6 kg) bomb passed through the spire and tower and exploded in the aisle, destroying the building. Only the tall octagonal tower and parts of the west wall and baptistery
Baptistery
In Christian architecture the baptistry or baptistery is the separate centrally-planned structure surrounding the baptismal font. The baptistry may be incorporated within the body of a church or cathedral and be provided with an altar as a chapel...
survived. In 1949, a hall built next to the ruins was put into use as a temporary church while another new building took shape behind the tower. Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel
Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel
Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel was an English architect and writer, also a musician.-Life:He was educated at Eton College, and read music at Trinity College, Cambridge. He worked shortly for Sir Charles Nicholson, and then set up his own architectural practice...
, a "leading authority on Victorian Gothic architecture" who often adopted elements of other styles and took a free-thinking, unconventional approach to church design (as at his St Wilfrid's Church, Brighton
St Wilfrid's Church, Brighton
St Wilfrid's Church is a former Anglican church in Brighton, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. Designed and built in the 1930s to replace a temporary building in the densely populated Elm Grove area, its unusual design—not conforming with architectural norms of the era—was widely...
), was commissioned. His design, a free interpretation of the Gothic Revival style in red brick and "with rich ornament and many mannered details", was executed between 1950 and 1954. Most work took place between 1951 and 1952, and the first parts to be reconstructed were the transepts and nave. On 18 May 1951, Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) laid the foundation stone
Cornerstone
The cornerstone concept is derived from the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.Over time a cornerstone became a ceremonial masonry stone, or...
, and dedication ceremonies were held for the new nave and chancel in 1952 and 1957 respectively. A side chapel and a vestry
Vestry
A vestry is a room in or attached to a church or synagogue in which the vestments, vessels, records, etc., are kept , and in which the clergy and choir robe or don their vestments for divine service....
were built in the 1960s. The original spire, damaged by the bombing of 1943, could not be restored and was removed; the top of the tower was altered and a "cap" added instead.
Architecture
Arthur Blomfield's church of 1881 was built in his preferred Early English Gothic RevivalGothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
style, mostly in red brick with some Bath Stone
Bath Stone
Bath Stone is an Oolitic Limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate. Originally obtained from the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England, its warm, honey colouring gives the World Heritage City of Bath, England its distinctive appearance...
dressings. The arcade-flanked nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
had five and a half bays
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
—an arrangement also seen at Blomfield's St John the Evangelist's Church
St John the Evangelist's Church, Preston Village, Brighton
St John the Evangelist's Church is an Anglican church in the Preston Village area of Brighton, in the English city of Brighton and Hove. The Grade II listed building, designed by Sir Arthur Blomfield, was started in 1901 but did not take its present form for another quarter of a century...
in Preston Village, Brighton
Preston Village, Brighton
Preston Village is a suburban area of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex to the north of the centre. Originally a village in its own right, it was eventually absorbed into Brighton with the development of the farmland owned by the local Stanford family, officially becoming a parish of the town in 1928...
—a clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
and a queen post
Queen post
A queen post is a supporting post designed to span longer openings than a king post. A king post uses one central supporting post, whereas the queen post uses two.-Architecture:...
ceiling. The aisles on the north and south sides had brick arches and Bath Stone pillars. 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...
had an organ chamber. The octagonal tower at the southwest corner (a local landmark) rose in four stages, the topmost of which had four bells. The church also had a baptistery
Baptistery
In Christian architecture the baptistry or baptistery is the separate centrally-planned structure surrounding the baptismal font. The baptistry may be incorporated within the body of a church or cathedral and be provided with an altar as a chapel...
.
Only the tower and the west wall of the nave survived the bombing in 1943. These remains were incorporated into Goodhart-Rendel's redesigned church, which is also Early English Gothic Revival—albeit an inventive interpretation of that style (English Heritage described it as a "particularly eclectic mix"). Goodhart-Rendel "accepted every tenet of Gothic architecture except the pointed arch", and his design for this was closer to Gothic principles than any of his other postwar churches (of which a Sussex example is the Friary Church of St Francis and St Anthony, Crawley
Friary Church of St Francis and St Anthony, Crawley
The Friary Church of St Francis and St Anthony is a Roman Catholic church in Crawley, a town and borough in West Sussex, England. The town's first permanent place of Roman Catholic worship was founded in 1861 next to a friary whose members, from the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, had been invited...
). Red brick was the chosen building material inside and out, although yellow bricks were used in places as a contrast and diaper patterning
Diapering
Diaper is any of a wide range of decorative patterns used in a variety of works of art, such as stained glass, heraldic shields, architecture, silverwork etc. Its chief use is in the enlivening of plain surfaces.-Etymology:...
is used extensively. The nave still has five and a half bays, but Goodhart-Rendel extended the chancel and inserted transverse arches which were likened by Nairn
Ian Nairn
Ian Nairn was a British architectural critic and topographer.He had no formal architecture qualifications; he was a mathematics graduate and a Royal Air Force pilot...
and Pevsner
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...
to a "strange bridge" crossing it. The damaged spire on the tower was replaced with a low cap, but the pointed-arched louvres
Louver
A louver or louvre , from the French l'ouvert; "the open one") is a window, blind or shutter with horizontal slats that are angled to admit light and air, but to keep out rain, direct sunshine, and noise...
with their decorative mouldings
Molding (decorative)
Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...
and the castellated parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
at the top (bell) stage remain. The entrance is in a porch in the lowest stage.
The body of the church is "powerfully massed" and "fortress-like", emphasised by its prominent brick buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es to the aisles. Between each buttress is a lancet window
Lancet window
A lancet window is a tall narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural motif are most often found in Gothic and ecclesiastical structures, where they are often placed singly or in pairs.The motif first...
. There are small transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
s with dormer
Dormer
A dormer is a structural element of a building that protrudes from the plane of a sloping roof surface. Dormers are used, either in original construction or as later additions, to create usable space in the roof of a building by adding headroom and usually also by enabling addition of windows.Often...
windows. The transept roofs are on the same level as the chancel roof and lower than that of the nave. A small bell-turret sits on top of the chancel roof.
Inside, the nave and chancel are separated by a round-headed double chancel arch which was to have been flanked by niches—an unrealised aspect of Goodhart-Rendel's plan. The double arch—"the interior's most powerful feature"—was intended to support both the vaulted roof and the organ, although the present organ stands in the north transept. It came from St Catharine's College, Cambridge
St Catharine's College, Cambridge
St. Catharine’s College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1473, the college is often referred to informally by the nickname "Catz".-History:...
in 1974. The aisles are narrower and less substantial than those in Blomfield's church. The interior walls are mostly of stone coated with plaster and render, and the panelled chancel ceiling is painted. The chancel has a stone floor. Fittings include a 19th-century square-bowled font on a carved marble base, a lectern
Lectern
A lectern is a reading desk with a slanted top, usually placed on a stand or affixed to some other form of support, on which documents or books are placed as support for reading aloud, as in a scripture reading, lecture, or sermon...
of the same era, chandelier
Chandelier
A chandelier is a branched decorative ceiling-mounted light fixture with two or more arms bearing lights. Chandeliers are often ornate, containing dozens of lamps and complex arrays of glass or crystal prisms to illuminate a room with refracted light...
s and an octagonal pulpit
Pulpit
Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...
. The stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
, featuring much white glass, was all designed by Joseph Ledger in 1952, apart from some "colourful" angels in the baptistery which were provided by a Miss Thompson. These were similar to some of the windows in the old church. Ledger met Goodhart-Rendel while in his 20s and became the architect's favoured stained glass designer. He later became a noted ceramic
Ceramic
A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling. Ceramic materials may have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, or may be amorphous...
ist. The church has a 16th-century painting of the Adoration of Jesus
Nativity of Jesus in art
The Nativity of Jesus has been a major subject of Christian art since the 4th century. The artistic depictions of the Nativity or birth of Jesus, celebrated at Christmas, are based on the narratives in the Bible, in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, and further elaborated by written, oral and...
by Ortolano Ferrarese
Ortolano Ferrarese
Ortolano Ferrarese was an Italian painter of the Ferrara School, active in the Renaissance period. Ticozzi cites his birth as ca. 1480.-Biography:...
. Many internal fittings, such as the lectern
Lectern
A lectern is a reading desk with a slanted top, usually placed on a stand or affixed to some other form of support, on which documents or books are placed as support for reading aloud, as in a scripture reading, lecture, or sermon...
, choir stalls and fixtures from the 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...
, came from Blomfield's church.
The church today
St John the Evangelist's Church was listed at Grade II* by English HeritageEnglish Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
on 14 September 1976. This defines it as a "particularly important" building of "more than special interest". As of February 2001, it was one of 13 Grade II* listed buildings, and 535 listed buildings of all grades, in the borough of Hastings. It is one of several listed churches in St Leonards-on-Sea. Christ Church
Christ Church, St Leonards-on-Sea
Christ Church is an Anglican church in the town and seaside resort of St Leonards-on-Sea, part of the Borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England...
, its former mother church, is also listed at Grade II*, as is St Peter's Church
St Peter's Church, St Leonards-on-Sea
St Peter's Church is an Anglican church in the Bohemia area of the town and seaside resort of , part of the Borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England. Founded in 1883 in response to the rapid residential growth of this part of St Leonards-on-Sea, the "outstanding late Victorian church" was...
in the Bohemia area of the town; and St Leonard's Anglican church, St Leonard's Baptist Church
St Leonard's Baptist Church, St Leonards-on-Sea
St Leonard's Baptist Church is the Baptist place of worship serving St Leonards-on-Sea, a town and seaside resort which is part of the Borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England...
, the Greek Orthodox
Greek Orthodox Church
The Greek Orthodox Church is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity sharing a common cultural tradition whose liturgy is also traditionally conducted in Koine Greek, the original language of the New Testament...
St Mary Magdalene's Church
St Mary Magdalene's Church, St Leonards-on-Sea
St Mary Magdalene's Church is a Greek Orthodox place of worship in St Leonards-on-Sea, a town and seaside resort which is part of the Borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England...
, the Roman Catholic Church of St Thomas of Canterbury and English Martyrs
Church of St Thomas of Canterbury and English Martyrs, St Leonards-on-Sea
The Church of St Thomas of Canterbury and English Martyrs is the Roman Catholic church serving St Leonards-on-Sea, a town and seaside resort which is part of the Borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England...
and a former United Reformed Church
St Leonards-on-Sea United Reformed Church
St Leonards-on-Sea United Reformed Church is a former United Reformed church in St Leonards-on-Sea, part of the town and borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England...
each have Grade II status.
The church serves an area of St Leonards-on-Sea known as Upper St Leonards. Most of the parish lies north of the railway line between St Leonards Warrior Square
St Leonards Warrior Square railway station
St Leonards Warrior Square railway station is one of four railway stations serving Hastings in East Sussex, England. It is on the Hastings Line and the East Coastway Line, and train services are provided by Southeastern and Southern.- History :...
and West St Leonards
West St Leonards railway station
West St Leonards railway station is on the main London - Tunbridge Wells - Hastings line in East Sussex, United Kingdom, and is one of four stations that serve Hastings...
stations; the line forms part of the southern and western boundaries. The A2102 London Road, Springfield Road and Sedlescombe Road South form other boundaries with neighbouring parishes.
Worship has a High church
High church
The term "High Church" refers to beliefs and practices of ecclesiology, liturgy and theology, generally with an emphasis on formality, and resistance to "modernization." Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term has traditionally been principally associated with the...
"Open Catholic" character. Two services are held on Sunday mornings; morning or evening prayer sessions take place six days a week; and morning services take place on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.