Church of St John the Evangelist, Brentford

Introduction

The Church of St John the Evangelist in Brentford, within the Archdiocese of Westminster, was founded in 1856 and consecrated in 1866. This mid-Victorian brick church was built in 1866 to designs by a Mr Jackman. The church contains remnants of early work by JF Bentley.

History

The mission was founded in 1856 to serve the spiritual needs of Irish railway construction workers. Initially the former Baptist chapel at Market Place was used until the present church was built in 1866. At some stage in the mid twentieth century the decoration on the walls was painted out. Investigative work by Howell and Bellion, under Anthony Delarue Associates, revealed vestiges of at least two phases of former decorative schemes in the sanctuary.

Architecture and furnishings

The roof is slated, and the walls are of buff stock brick with polychrome detailing. Internally, the nave arcade is of cast iron. The plan comprises a nave with north aisle, accessed by a narthex which is reached by a later south porch. The original entrance was located in the tower, which sits at the north-west corner.

The sanctuary is three-sided, and the sacristy is located to the south-east. A box-like projection to the south contains confessionals. The most distinctive and attractive feature is the tower, which is squat, sitting flush with the west gable, and having a slight batter. On the west face sits a pointed-arched niche containing a statue of St John the Evangelist, beneath a trefoil-pierced timber gablet which breaks the eaves line.

The sanctuary is lit by a trefoil window, set into a steep gablet with timber bargeboards. The sanctuary has been reordered and has a woodblock floor inlaid with geometric patterns. A glazed and timber screen at the west end between the narthex and nave by J F Bentley, of a somewhat conventional Perpendicular design, has been restored. Stained glass in the north aisle dates from 1883-84 and appears the work of Lavers and Westlake.

Bentley designed the window nearest the Lady altar, depicting St John administering communion to the Virgin at her Coronation; the painter was N H J Westlake, as indicated by an inscription along the lower panel. The trefoil in the east window, showing St John, is by Paul Woodroffe, possibly of 1903.

Visiting

The parish runs groups for prayer, social action, Sacramental preparation, youth work and support of others. The building exhibits an interesting use of cast-iron, in both a decorative and structural capacity, which is relatively uncommon in church architecture. Entry is via the west porch into a narthex, which contains a cast-iron spiral staircase to the gallery. The narthex is separated from the nave by a panelled timber screen.