Diameter: 17" Bell 1 of 1
Founded by John Taylor & Co 1906
Dove Bell ID: 60146 Tower ID: 23562 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Turnings: unturned Cracked: No
Southend-on-Sea: St John
Overview
Grid reference: TQ 885 851
Not only is the situation of the building reticent, but it is in itself an unassuming structure, low and rather spreading without so much as a bell-cote to introduce a vertical accent. So much alteration has taken place that it is very difficult to assess which parts belong to which building dates, since older walls were later refaced with new stonework and much the same style is employed for window openings and doorways throughout.
Visiting and facilities
Building is open for worship
Building
Ground Plan Description and Dimensions
Ground plan:
Nave of five bays with three-bay north and south aisles and west porch; transepts with entrance doors in their west walls; chancel with north chapel and south organ chamber resembling the north chapel; vestries added later further south.
Description of Archaeology and History
The original church was erected in 1841-2 to designs in a simple Gothic style by Thomas Hopper, and the building was consecrated on 6 October 1842. In 1869 north and south aisles were added (the architect is not known) and a chancel followed in 1872-3, to designs by Carpenter and Slater (i.e. probably Richard Herbert , the younger Carpenter, since William Slater died in 1872). In 1912 the chancel was extended by the same firm (by this time under the guidance of Benjamin Ingelow), the flanking chapels were added and the west porch was (probably) added. Very little, if anything, therefore remains to be seen of Hopper's original building.
Exterior Description
Not only is the situation of the building reticent, but it is in itself an unassuming structure, low and rather spreading without so much as a bell-cote to introduce a vertical accent. So much alteration has taken place that it is very difficult to assess which parts belong to which building dates, since older walls were later refaced with new stonework and much the same style is employed for window openings and doorways throughout. The cardinal walls of the nave and transepts are pierced by simple lancets - four in the west wall and the south transept gable and three in the north transept gable. There are also single lancets in each of the two aisleless bays at the west end of the nave. Below the west windows is a porch which seems, together with the vestry at the south-east corner, to constitute the latest addition to the building. The porch is of three bays with a two-centred arched doorway in the centre bay and three light windows in the outer bays. The north and south walls are pierced by two further doorways, now no longer used. The short nave aisles have paired lancets with a roundel above in their west walls (which have separate gables) and two-light windows with quatrefoils set in plate tracery in their north and south walls. The transepts have additional doorways in their west walls.
The chancel was originally built in 1872-3 and then doubled in length in 1912. It has a large five-light window in the east wall with geometrical tracery, and the flanking chapels have east windows of three lights in similar style but on a smaller scale. That on the north also has a two-light window in the north wall, and the sanctuary is provided with two two-light windows in the north and south walls. There are small buttresses at the angles of each part of the building and in the usual places, dividing the bays, elsewhere.
Building Fabric and Features
Stained Glass
c.1912
The east window has five lights with Christ the Saviour in the centre light surrounded by twenty-four Apostle, Prophets and Martyrs arranged in pairs and embowered in foliage as though they were supposed to be a Tree of Jesse; the subject is evidently the Te Deum; by C.E. Kempe and Company (i.e. Walter Tower), doubtless c. 1912. In the tracery the Holy Spirit in the form of a Dove and adoring angels.
Stained Glass
1928
North Chapel east: Epiphany, C.E. Kempe and Company.
Stained Glass
c.1920
North chapel North: two lights, St. Anne and the Blessed Virgin Mary with Our Lord and St. John the Baptist as Children; by C.E. Kempe and Company.
Stained Glass
1944
North transept east window: one lancet, showing St. George.
Stained Glass
1947
South transept south windows, three large lancets: St. John the Baptist with small scene of Christ in the Carpenter's Shop below; Christ the Light of the World and Christ the Bread of Life; St. John the Baptist (again) with The Baptism of Christ below; by James Powell and Sons (Whitefriars), Ltd.
Stained Glass
c.1900
North aisle I: two lights showing The Feeding of the Five Thousand.
Stained Glass
c.1897
North aisle II: two lights showing The Visitation.
Stained Glass
1962
North aisle III: part of one light filled with a shield of arms of the United States of America, presented in 1962 by Christ Episcopal Church, Nashville Tennessee; by Willet Glass.
Stained Glass
1898
South aisle I: Christ Saving St. Peter.
Stained Glass
1888
South aisle II: The Raising of Jairus' Daughter.
Stained Glass
1927
West nave lancets: four lights showing St. Stephen, The Annunciation (The Angle Gabriel in one light and the Blessed Virgin Mary in the other) and St. John the Baptist, by C.E. Kempe and Company.
Interior
Interior Description
The interior of the church has been altered by the blocking of the arches of the north and south arcades to provide two meeting rooms, thus returning the church to something like its original cruciform proportions so far as the nave is concerned. The arches have double chamfers and carved foliate capitals above round pillars. The floor is of parquet blocks under the pew and red tiles in the alleys. The roofs throughout the church are panelled to form timber vaults and are of the same height in nave, crossing and transepts. The transepts have been cleared of pews and the floors are laid with green carpets and provided with stacking chairs, to allow for more varied use of these areas. The floor at the west end of the nave has also been cleared of pews and slopes slightly up towards the west door which forms the main entrance to the building.
The chancel arch is narrower than the nave or crossing, but still wide enough to allow an uninterrupted view of the chancel, long though it is. The arch has plain mouldings carried on attached shafts against the responds and is spanned by a curved rood beam bearing a cross but no figures. A small arch in the east wall of the north transept opens into a chapel and a similar arch on the south side opens into a similar chapel now filled by the organ, behind which is access to the choir and clergy vestries. The chancel is three steps above the level of the nave and is also floored with red tiles and wood blocks, with steps of white marble. There are organ cases set in arches on both north and south sides. The 1912 addition doubled the length of the chancel, and the eastern part forming the sanctuary is slightly embellished with attached shafts and rosettes at the intersections of the roof ribs gilded to give the impression of a ceilure. The east window and the windows in the north and south walls have shafted jambs and moulded arches.
Fixtures and fittings
Altar
c.1912
The altar is of oak, with a panelled front carved with the Agnus Dei and blind tracery.
Reredos
1912
The reredos is of alabaster, large and prominent, given in 1912. It has panels carved with the symbols of the Four Evangelists on each side of a taller central niche under a gablet which frames a virtually free-standing figure of Christ the Saviour flanked by two kneeling angels. On pedestals above this are two musician angels and there are further angels with censers at each end. The cornice is carved with vine trail and wheat commemorating the elements of the Eucharist.
Pulpit
The pulpit is of stone, large and octagonal on plan with blind panels in each face terminating in trefoiled arches which are open. The body stands on a solid stone base with attached colonettes at the corners. A wooden cornice and reading desk appear to have been added in c.1950.
Lectern
1875
The lectern is a brass pedestal of 1875 with the sacred monogram pierced in the front of the desk and the usual ringed shaft stem.
Font (object)
1905
The font is of marble and alabaster, octagonal on a drum and eight colonettes with a cross incised in a circle on the east face.
Organ (object)
The organ is a three-manual instrument with detached console and electric action rebuilt by Hill Norman and Beard in 1966; twenty-seven speaking stops.
Bells
Churchyard
Grid reference: TQ 885 851
Burial and War Grave Information
It is unknown whether the building is consecrated.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has been used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard is used for burial.
The churchyard has war graves.
National Heritage record for England designations
There are no records of National Heritage assets within the curtilage of this site.
Environment
Ancient, Veteran & Notable Trees
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
There are no records of Ancient, Veteran or Notable Trees within the curtilage of this site.
Renewables
| Renewable | Installed |
|---|---|
| Solar PV Panels | No |
| Solar Thermal Panels | No |
| Biomass | No |
| Wind Turbine | No |
| Air Source Heat Pump | No |
| Ground Source Heat Pump | No |
| Ev Charging | No |
Species summary
There are no records of species within the curtilage of this site.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
'Seek advice' Species
More information on species and action to be taken upon discovery.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
Further information
Quinquennial Inspections
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