St John the Baptist, Hoxton

St John's Hoxton
St John the Baptist
with Christ Church, Hoxton

West door of St John's Hoxton
Location Hoxton,
London Borough of Hackney
Country United Kingdom United Kingdom
Denomination Church of England
Website stjohnshoxton.org.uk
History
Founder(s) The Haberdashers' Co.
Architecture
Architect(s) Francis Edwards
Style Neoclassical
Administration
Parish St John the Baptist with
Christ Church, Hoxton[1]
Diocese London
Province Canterbury
Clergy
Bishop(s) Richard Chartres
(Bishop of London)
Adrian Newman
(Suffragan Bishop of Stepney)
Vicar(s) Graham Hunter
Archdeacon Rachel Treweek
(Archdeacon of Hackney)[2]

The Church of St John the Baptist, Hoxton, usually known as St John's Hoxton, is an English urban Anglican parish church in Hoxton which is within the London Borough of Hackney.[3]

Nearby the church are Silicon Roundabout[4] and Aske Gardens,[5] which are named after the parish's major benefactor, City alderman and haberdasher Robert Aske.

St John's Church ceiling

History

Architecture

Completed in 1826, St John's is a Georgian church in the Classical style and is the only one built to the design of Francis Edwards,[6] Sir John Soane's foremost pupil. The building is a large example of a Commissioners' church, retaining its floor plan intact as well as its galleries and its décor is notable,[7] particularly for its spectacular painted ceiling. It was executed by the prominent architect Joseph Arthur Reeve in the early 20th century.

Pipe organ

Built and installed by the firm of Thomas Sidwell Jones[8] in 1915, the organ is situated in the Choir gallery and retains its original fine late Georgian wooden case with an elaborate façade displaying the arms of King William IV.

Last restored in 1934 by Henry Speechly & Son,[9] St John's organ is specified as follows:

Choir
Gamba 8'
Dulciana 8'
Lieblich Gedact 8'
Viol d'Orchestre 8'
Flute 4'
Piccolo 2'
Clarinet 8'
Great
Bourdon 16'
Open Diapason No. 1 8'
Open Diapason No. 2 8'
Clarabella 8'
Dulciana 8'
Principal 4'
Harmonic Flute 4'
Twelfth 2.2/3'
Fifteenth 2'
Mixture 3'
Trumpet 8'
Swell
Double Diapason 16'
Open Diapason 8'
Lieblich Gedact 8'
Salicional 8'
Voix Celeste 8'
Principal 4'
Mixture 3'
Cornopean 8'
Oboe 8'
Pedal
Open Diapason 16'
Bourdon 16'
Bass Flute 8'

Parish history

Dedicated to St John the Baptist, its name preserves the memory of a local priory dissolved by King Henry VIII.[10]

In Victorian London the parish's work was recognised by social campaigners, such as the philanthropist Charles Booth, for its welfare work in a deteriorating inner-city environment.[11] To give opportunities to the "local poor",[12] the first vicar founded what became London's largest savings bank[13] and St John's National Schools[14] which still thrive. Many members of the church[15] became missionaries in Africa and Asia, among them the first Bishop of Chota Nagpur, the Rt Revd Jabez Cornelius Whiteley, whose father was Chaplain to the Haberdashers' Aske's Hospital School formerly located in Pitfield Street.[16][17]

Robert Aske's legacy still benefits the parish and associated primary school,[18] while Haberdasher Street[19] like Aske Gardens,[20] remain in the memory of his original generosity.[21]

"Amazing Grace"
(music pub. 1847)

One of the 18th-century residents of Hoxton Square,[22] the Revd John Newton, composed the popular hymn "Amazing Grace".[23] Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–97), the writer and philosopher, was born in Hoxton. John Mander, an organ builder, lived at Hoxton and one of his sons, Noel Mander, founded Mander Organs.[24]

The maternal great-great-great-grandfather of Kate Middleton (now the Duchess of Cambridge), John Goldsmith, was married to Esther Jones at St John's Church in 1850.[25]

The present vicar is the Revd Graham Hunter.

See also

Arms of St John the Baptist, Hoxton
Notes
Confirmation of Grant of Arms and Crest by Robert Cooke, Clarenceux King of Arms, 8 November 1570 (Haberdashers' Co.)
Crest
On a wreath Argent and Azure issuing from Clouds two naked Arms embowed holding a Laurel wreath all Proper
Escutcheon
Barry wavy of six Argent and Azure on a bend Gules a Lion passant guardant Or
Supporters
On either side a Goat of India Argent flecked Gules membered Or
Motto
"Serve and Obey"
Symbolism
Armorial bearings of the Patron of the advowson of St John the Baptist with Christ Church: The Haberdashers' Company.

References

Districts within the
London Borough of Hackney.
  1. ↑ www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
  2. ↑ www.london.anglican.org
  3. ↑ www.achurchnearyou.com
  4. ↑ www.hoxtonmix.com
  5. ↑ www.hackney.gov.uk/aske-gardens
  6. ↑ www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
  7. ↑ www.funpalaces.co.uk
  8. ↑ www.organ-biography.info
  9. ↑ www.organ-biography.info
  10. ↑ www.british-history.ac.uk
  11. ↑ www.booth.lse.ac.uk
  12. ↑ www.lse.ac.uk
  13. ↑ National Savings Bank
  14. ↑ www.brunel.ac.uk
  15. ↑ www.familysearch.org
  16. ↑ www.chronicleworld.org
  17. ↑ www.cnisynod.org
  18. ↑ www.st-john.hackney.sch.uk
  19. ↑ www.london-footprints.co.uk: Hoxton rpoute
  20. ↑ www.hackneycitytennisclubs.co.uk
  21. ↑ www.british-history.ac.uk
  22. ↑ www.visionofbritain.org.uk
  23. ↑ www.oxforddnb.com
  24. ↑ www.mander-organs.com
  25. ↑ New England Historic Genealogical Society

External links

South aspect of St John's Hoxton

Notes

Media related to St John the Baptist Church, Hoxton at Wikimedia Commons

Coordinates: 51°31′50″N 0°5′0″W / 51.53056°N 0.08333°W