In the 1870s, the London conurbation was steadily expanding into the rural county of Surrey and new suburban houses were built in the area of modern Upper Norwood, with dwellings ranging from houses for the more affluent businessmen to modest workers' housing being built over the former ancient Surrey woodland. A large, temporary iron church was built to provide a place of worship for the new area, which in October 1875 was moved to the site of the present church in Auckland Road. The Priests-in-charge were Rev Philip Kingswood and Rev Thomas Helmore.[2]
Early in 1876 it became a parish church and the first vicar was Rev William Fairbairn La Trobe-Bateman, who began an initiative to clear the church's debts and raise funds to build a permanent church to replace the iron structure. The fundraising was supplemented by a memorial fund set up in memory of the vicar's wife, who died unexpectedly in 1878 from tuberculosis.[2]
The parish engaged the services of John Loughborough Pearson, an eminent ecclesiastical architect who had already designed a number of churches in the Gothic Revival style which was at the height of fashion in Victorian Britain, including his most recent project in North London, the large-scale St Augustine's, Kilburn which he had completed in 1877.[3] Pearson was to draw up plans for a building to seat 1000 people at Upper Norwood. The Foundation stone was laid on 6 May 1878 in a field, but building work could not commence until enough funds had been raised. The Church Commissioners contributed an additional £1000 on the condition that the building plans included a tower. In 1881, after a total of £7,156, 17 shillings and six-and-a-half pence had been raised, construction began; after six years of construction the building was consecrated on 30 April 1887. Church Commissioners' conditions were never met due to financial difficulty and the church to this day does not have a spire.[2]
Architecture
The High altar and stone reredos
Pearson's design is a plain red brick exterior with two turrets at the west end which Pevsner describes as "typically Pearsonian". The 160-foot (49 m)-long church is cruciform, and the south transept was originally designed to carry a 208-foot (63 m)-high tower, which has yet to be completed.[4] Above the nave is a tall clerestory.[5]
The interior of the building is stock brick with arcades and brick rib vaulting. Most striking is the large stone rood screen across the chancel, which features five gothic arches topped by four statues, and the large carved stone reredos.[5]
The church was damaged by the bombing during the Second World War and restoration work was carried out by the conservation architects Caroe & Partners between 1946 and 1951. The stained glass designed by Clayton & Bell was lost during the bombing, but a large rose window has survived which is the work of Ninian Comper, a renowned late Gothic Revival designer who lived in Upper Norwood on Beulah Hill.[5][6]
The building is suffering from the effects of subsidence which has required the reconstruction of the rood screen and has threatened the structure of the south aisle. Phase one works to secure the structure have now been completed with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund and other donors. Work is now underway to restore the interior features damaged by the subsidence.[1]
Music
The 1882 Lewis Organ
Since the incumbency of Thomas Helmore, the Church of St John the Evangelist has maintained a strong tradition of music in Christian worship. The organ was originally built by Thomas Christopher Lewis in 1882 during the construction of the church, when only the chancel had been completed. The instrument was of an unusual design; while the organ itself was situated in the north transept, the console was placed on the other side of the church in the south choir aisle. This led to technical problems and the organ underwent several rebuilds in 1912, 1947 (following wartime bomb damage) and most recently in a restoration project undertaken in 1997-98 by Harrison & Harrison.[7][8]
The church is situated on the corner of Auckland Road and Sylvan Road, approximately 0.6 miles (0.97 km) to the south of Crystal Palace Park and 0.2 miles (0.32 km) north-east of the Croydon transmitter. The nearest railway stations are Crystal Palace and Anerley.
Notable clergy
Among the previous incumbent priests have been:
Thomas Helmore (1873-1874), a noted authority on plainsong and English choral music
Cecil Horsley, vicar from 1934 until 1938, later Bishop of Colombo in the Church of Ceylon and Bishop of Gibraltar[12]
Bev Mason, vicar from 2005 to 2012, later Bishop of Warrington
Other notable clergy include:
John Taylor Smith, Bishop of Sierra Leone 1897–1901, had been curate at Upper Norwood 1885–1890[13]
Kenneth Mackenzie, who was Bishop of Brechin in the Scottish Episcopal Church from 1935 to 1943, served his curacy at St John the Evangelist 1903-05[14]
^"The Lewis Organ". St John the Evangelist parish website. Archived from the original on 2 June 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
^Adams, Adrian (July 1999). "The Lewis Organ at Upper Norwood". The BIOS Reporter. XXIII (3). The British Institute of Organ Studies. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
^"Music at St John's". St John the Evangelist parish website. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
^Sanctus by Libera (Songs of Praise, 1999; solo: Steven Geraghty); LiberaUSA, 2006 (Youtube).
^"Vicars of St John's". St John the Evangelist parish website. Archived from the original on 13 October 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
^Holmes, Michael Snape ; with a foreword by Richard (2008). The Royal Army Chaplains' Department, 1796-1953 : clergy under fire. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell Press. p. 175. ISBN9781843833468.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Bertie, David M., ed. (2000). Scottish episcopal clergy, 1689 - 2000. Edinburgh: Continuum. p. 352. ISBN9780567087461.
