St John the Evangelist

Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 2RN

In the Diocese of Ely

Church buildings and decorations

St Johns was built in various stages. The original plan was for a church that is largely of the size you can see in these photographs. However, the initial building programme begun in 1897 (see the foundation stone below) was only able to reach half way down the nave, and it would be another 32 years before the church was completed (1928). In 1905 the choir and vicar's vestry were added. The first community room was created in 1982, and extended to form the current set of community rooms in 1996.

The church is in traditional gothic style, with large East and West windows. The East Window is particularly notable for its portrait of the last supper.

	View towards the West end. This shows the basic shape and style of the church: a red-brick building in decorated Gothic style, with nave and chancel. The large oak doors were the main entrance until the buidling of the community rooms; the modern doors to the right of the church are now the main entrance.
	The entrance area to the church and the community rooms. This area displays the anniversary tapestry, and is a bright airy open space.
	View inside the church looking towards the East end with the large stained-glass window and altar. The traditional style can be seen in the use of large stone pillars supporting the clerestory level. For anyone interesting in points of detail, note that the nearest column in this photograph appears to be whiter than the other columns. Read on to undestand why!
	Here is the full East window in all its glory. The centre piece is a stained glass reproduction of da Vinci's last supper, which is reproduced in larger size at the bottom of this page.
	This column appears to be darker on one side (right) than the other, similar to that seen in the photograph above. This is the point at which the original 1896 building reached back, and the church has a rough-brick end wall. In 1928 the church was finally extended to the originally intended length. Clearly the dark side belongs to the older building, and the white side to the extension. But why hasn't the stone on the left coloured over the years to match the original stonework? The answer is that the original building was lit by gas lights, and the stone work has been stained by the fumes. By the time of the extension, lighting was powered by electricity.
	The foundation stone of the original building, dated May 4th 1896.
	Foundation stone on the first extension: the choir and vicar's vestry, built in 1905.
	You may or not like our stone pulpit, but I love it, with its delightful gothic ogee curves and decoration in the upper layer.
	View across the front of the nave, showing the pulpit and the lecturn, and the form of the arches in the arcade.
	One of the stained glass windows seen in the photograph above. This was caught on a bright summer afternoon with the light pouring through the window.
	Memorial chapel, dedicated to the memory of those in the parish who lost their lives in the two world wars. The door on the left leads to the choir vestry. The cross is from Taize.
	View into the extension from the courtyard.
	Finally, so high that quite possibly he goes unnoticed by most visitors to the church, is our own statue of St John the Evangelist. See if you can find him in any other photographs!
	The South aisle as a small chapel area, with the focus on this painting of the Transfiguration.
	St Johns has a fine collection of kneelers that are being added to regularly. They are made by members of the church, and some are dedicated in memory of loved ones.

The church is open each day from 9 am to 5 pm for visitors and for quiet prayer and meditation.