Description

DUDLEY

726/0/10070 ST JOHN'S ROAD
21-MAY-09 Church of St John The Evangelist

II
A church of 1838-40 designed by William Bourne and built by J.& W. Holland of Dudley, to which substantial additions and alterations were made by Davies and Middleton in 1872-3. The building is of limestone rubble with Gornal sandstone dressings and has a machine-tile roof. The church has a nave with aisles and galleries, a chancel and vestry and organ chamber. There are staircases to access the galleries at either side of the western tower.

EXTERIOR: The tower has a western door with hood mould, above which is a blocked lancet. To the belfry stage are paired lancets with louvred openings to each side. The tower formerly had a battlemented parapet for which a plain parapet has been substituted. At either side of the west face of the tower are enclosed staircases leading to the galleries. These both have ranks of lancet windows which rise diagonally in line with the flights of stairs. Both staircases have external doorways, to allow direct access to the galleries, and the southern staircase also has an internal doorway from the rear of the nave. Both flanks of the aisle have lancet windows and the bays are divided by ashlar buttresses with offsets. The later clerestory level above this has two quatrefoil lights to each bay. The later chancel has a lower roofline than the nave and an eastern window of three lancet lights. To either flank are single lancets and the lean-to vestry to the south and organ chamber to the north, the vestry having a doorway at left.

INTERIOR: The nave has seven bays marked by arcades of stone piers with heavily carved capitals, of 1872-3, which support the clerestory. The gallery fronts have a miniature arcade added at this same time. The central roof has simple trusses with arched braces. Above the galleries are half-trusses with cusped timbers and angled struts, adapted from the earlier roof of 1838-40. There are fixed pews to the nave with incised quatrefoils to their ends. The pulpit has carved figures of the evangelists and the font was added in 1905 to the designs of Thomas Grazebrook. The chancel has painted choir stalls with arcaded decoration and a piscina, sedilia with three seats, altar rails and reredos, all with carved decoration. There is stained glass to the east window and the lateral lancets and a wrought iron screen added in 1888. To the nave is a font designed by Thomas Grazebrook in 1905. There are encaustic tiles throughout the nave and chancel areas except on the altar steps, where they have been removed. At the time of survey [February 2009] the altar and some panels of stained glass showing episodes from the life of the St John the Evangelist, by James Powell & sons, had been removed from the building for safekeeping.

HISTORY: Two churches were built in Dudley at the same time and to similar designs by Bourne; St John the Evangelist and St. James's, Eve Hill. Joint fundraising for both churches included a Grand Bazaar lasting two days in July 1837, in the grounds of Dudley Castle. The Parochial Church Council has an undated engraving which showed the former internal appearance of the church. This shows a gallery to the sides, supported by metal columns and with a plain panelled front, no clerestory and a roof with wide, queen post trusses with cusped timbers.

SOURCES: Tim Bridges, Churches of the Black Country (2008); Nikolaus Pevsner, Buildings of England, Staffordshire (1974), 121.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: The Church of St John the Evangelist, Dudley is listed for the following principal reasons:

* Both building campaigns, of 1838-40 and 1872-3. are well represented in the fabric.
* The earlier material accounts for much of the fabric, including the galleries with their box pews and iron brackets and the roof trusses to each aisle, as well as the tower and flanking walls of the aisles with their lancet windows.
* The later work includes substantial nave arcades and a fully furnished chancel with well-designed fittings of quality, including a piscina, sedilia, reredos, stained glass windows, altar rails and iron screen.

Reasons for Listing

The Church of St. John the Evangelist, Kate's Hill, Dudley is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* Both building campaigns, of 1838-40 and 1872-3. are well represented in the fabric.
* The earlier material accounts for much of the fabric, including the galleries with their box pews and iron brackets and the roof trusses to each aisle, as well as the tower and flanking walls of the aisles with their lancet windows.
* The later work includes substantial nave arcades and a fully furnished chancel with well-designed fittings of quality, including a piscina, sedilia, reredos, stained glass windows, altar rails and iron screen.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• St John's Church, Dudley at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q7593545

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

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