St John-at-Hackney Church  History

 

 
INDEX
Welcome
Worship, Clergy & Officers
Noticeboard
Bells
Music
Children
Mission Action Plan
History of the Church
The present day Church
Friends of St John's
Churchyard Gardens
Contacts and other links

The information contained in this article is condensed from  "St John-at-Hackney, THE STORY OF A CHURCH" by David Mander. 
The complete book is available from us at £5.00 including UK postage.

Order from:
The Secretary, 27 Sutton Square,
London E9 6EQ, UK
Cheques should be made payable to
The Parish of St John-at-Hackney
 
Page updated 31 October 2007
<<  Sedgwick memorial tablet inside the church
WHAT'S IN A NAME?
It is possible that a church stood here, in this small but wealthy village just outside the City of London, before the Norman Conquest, but no records survive of any building before 1275. From the 14th century the church was dedicated to St Augustine of Hippo until, after 1660, it was rededicated to St John the Baptist, later becoming more commonly known as St John-at-Hackney. 

THE GROWING CONGREGATION
Hackney's proximity to the City of London and the court made it popular with courtiers, city merchants and businessmen, and for an increasing number of private schools which were established in some of the older houses. By 1789 the church capacity, with the addition of numerous galleries, had reached 1,000. This however was not enough.

  • 1779 surveyor Richard Jupp proposed a rebuilding to increase the capacity to 1,480, but no action was taken. 
  • 1788 a committee found that the population had increased so much that the church should seek to seat 3,000. 
  • Architect William Blackburn firmly rejected the idea of building on the old site, advising that a budget of £15,000 be created to buy land on which to construct a new church.
  • April 1789 the committee put the matter to a parochial vote, winning their case by 313 votes to 70. 
  • A Bill went to the House of Commons. 
  • The opposition undertook another survey with a proposal to rebuild on the old site. 
  • Compromise reached; the Bill became an Act empowering the Trustees to acquire, for £875, Church Field which lay to the northeast of the existing churchyard. The existing tenants, a butcher and cornchandler, were given three months to leave.
THE SOLUTION
A new  church, tower and vestry room would be built within three years of laying the foundation, and then the old church demolished. In the event the initial estimates of costs were badly out and two further Acts had to be passed through Parliament to allow extra money to be raised. 
  • William Blackburn died suddenly in November 1790; 
  • a month later James Spiller, influenced by and a friend of John Soane, was chosen from six architect candidates.
  • Hackney church was his largest project to date and remained his magnum opus. 
  • Believing that a building seating 3,000 would have poor acoustics, he persuaded the Trustees to allow him to reduce the capacity to 2,000, but remained convinced that the acoustics would not be good unless the church was full.
THE NEW CHURCH IS BUILT
  • Spring 1792 work starts, the main structure taking more than two years to complete. 
  • 15 July 1797 church consecrated, with a wooden box-like structure where the tower would later be added. 
  • Harry Sedgwick, a trustee, oversaw a subscription for planting the churchyard. 129 subscriptions enabled nearly 200 elms and horse chestnuts to be planted in avenues.
  • Sedgwick was buried in the churchyard; his planting achievement is commemorated on his tomb.
  • Sedgwick lost his only son in action in the Napoleonic War. The elaborate memorial to him inside the church is shown at the top of this page. 
  • March 1798 the body of the old church demolished; several of the tombs removed to the new church; the tower remained - left intact to hold the bells, as funds did not run to building a tower on the new church.
  • 1814 a tower added to the new church.
  • 1816 a stained glass east window installed behind the altar.
The old tower of St Augustine's Church remains standing to this day and plays a symbolic and ceremonial role in Hackney: It has adorned the masthead of the Hackney Gazette since its foundation in 1864 and is incorporated in the coat of arms of the London Borough of Hackney.

MAJOR FIRE DAMAGE

  • 18 May 1955 fire started in the church roof. 
  • The roof was destroyed along with many of the pews and the 1799 organ. 
  • Major reconstruction work required. 
  • Some reordering of the interior took place. 
    • A replacement organ came from St John's Ennismore Gardens, in southwest London; 
    • altar hangings designed for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey were donated; 
    • the east window replaced by a new one designed by Christopher Webb. 
  • St John's Day, June 1958 - the new church is reconsecrated.