St John-at-Hampstead | |
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Parish Church of St. John the Evangelist, Hampstead | |
51°33′19″N00°10′53″W / 51.55528°N 0.18139°W | |
Location | Church Row, Hampstead, London NW3 |
Country | United Kingdom |
Denomination | Church of England |
Churchmanship | Broad Church/Liberal Anglo-Catholic |
Website | hampsteadparishchurch.org.uk |
History | |
Dedication | St John the Evangelist |
Architecture | |
Heritage designation | Grade I listed [1] |
Designated | 11 August 1950 |
Architect(s) | Henry Flitcroft John Sanderson Robert Hesketh F. P. Cockerell Temple Moore |
Style | Classical |
Completed | 1747 |
Administration | |
Diocese | Diocese of London |
Parish | Hampstead |
St John-at-Hampstead is a Church of England parish church dedicated to St John the Evangelist (though the original dedication was only refined from St John to this in 1917 by the Bishop of London) in Church Row, Hampstead, London.
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Hampstead was granted to the Benedictine monks of Westminster Abbey by charter in 986. It is likely that they placed a church there soon afterwards, but the first records of one come from 1312 (when it was recorded that John de Neuport was its priest) and 1333 (through a mention of a Chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary). On the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the Abbey was replaced by the Bishop of Westminster, with its first and only holder Thomas Thirlby also serving as St John's rector. Thirlby appointed Thomas Chapelyne to be St John's vicar in 1545, but the see was abolished in 1551 by Edward VI, with the manor and benefice of Hampstead being granted to Sir Thomas Wrothe. The church of this era was part in stone and part in timber, and also had a minor wooden tower.
As Hampstead grew in popularity and size as an out-of-town health resort, the small existing church grew less and less adequate and derelict, being finally declared unusable by 1744. A new church was built on designs by Henry Flitcroft and John Sanderson, and dedicated on 8 October 1747 by the Bishop of Llandaff (as commissary of the Diocesan). However, by 1827 this was again too small, though initial plans by Lewis Vulliamy were rejected as too expensive and it took until 1843 for extension plans by Robert Hesketh to be agreed upon. This extended the church 30 ft westwards by means of transepts, adding 524 more seats. In 1853 the church had its first Willis organ built (it was replaced in 1883 and repaired in 1997), with Henry Willis himself employed as the organist, and in 1871 plans were mooted for 'beautifying and improving' the church. These plans originally involved the demolition of the tower, but this was shelved on protests from William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones, Holman Hunt, Ford Madox Brown, Anthony Trollope, George du Maurier, Coventry Patmore, F. T. Palgrave, George Gilbert Scott Jr. [2] and others, in favour of simple extensions westwards in 1877–78 designed by F.P. Cockerell (though these extensions moved the church's high altar to the geographical west end, rather than the more usual east end).
In 1911–12 the Vestries were improved by Temple Moore, who also added a Morning Chapel, whilst in 1958 the dark Victorian interior scheme was removed and the original lighter, whitewashed scheme reinstated. The building is Grade I listed. [1]
The church has a fine musical tradition stretching back as far as Henry Willis. Under the direction of Martindale Sidwell it developed a national and international reputation as being a centre of excellence for parish music, which it maintains today with a fully professional choir as well as a junior choir and regular high-profile concerts.
The early records of organs date from the middle of the 18th century. The current organ was installed by Henry Willis in 1884. Restoration and rebuilding work was undertaken by Harrison and Harrison in 1964, and Bower and Co in 2000. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register. [3] and on the parish website.
By virtue of the Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure 1956, parochial church councils are entitled to levy a voluntary rate and, in 1986, Hampstead Parish Church's PCC decided to supplement their millennium redecoration appeal by this means. [4] The levying of a voluntary rate on businesses and residents alike has now become a regular annual event.
Notable individuals buried in its churchyard include:
The churchyard contains 8 war graves, comprising 6 servicemen from World War I and 2 from World War II. [5]
George Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier was a Franco-British cartoonist and writer known for work in Punch and a Gothic novel Trilby, featuring the character Svengali. His son was the actor Sir Gerald du Maurier. The writers Angela du Maurier and Dame Daphne du Maurier and the artist Jeanne du Maurier were all granddaughters of George. He was also father of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies and grandfather of the five boys who inspired J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan.
Finding Neverland is a 2004 biographical fantasy film directed by Marc Forster and written by David Magee, based on the 1998 play The Man Who Was Peter Pan by Allan Knee. The film is about playwright J. M. Barrie and his relationship with a family who inspired him to create Peter Pan. The film earned seven nominations at the 77th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Actor for Johnny Depp, and won for Best Original Score. The film was the inspiration for the stage musical of the same name in 2012.
Peter Llewelyn Davies was the middle of five sons of Arthur and Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, one of the Llewelyn Davies boys befriended and later informally adopted by J. M. Barrie. Barrie publicly identified him as the source of the name for the title character in his 1904 play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up.
George Llewelyn Davies was the eldest son of Arthur and Sylvia Llewelyn Davies. Along with his four younger brothers, George was the inspiration for playwright J. M. Barrie's characters of Peter Pan and the Lost Boys. The character of Mr. George Darling was named after him. He was killed in action in the First World War. He was the first cousin of the English writer Daphne du Maurier.
Sir Gerald Hubert Edward Busson du Maurier was an English actor and manager. He was the son of author George du Maurier and his wife, Emma Wightwick, and the brother of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies. In 1903, he married the actress Muriel Beaumont, with whom he had three daughters: writers Angela du Maurier (1904–2002) and Dame Daphne du Maurier (1907–1989), and painter Jeanne du Maurier (1911–1997). His popularity was due to his subtle and naturalistic acting: a "delicately realistic style of acting that sought to suggest rather than to state the deeper emotions". His Times obituary said of his career: "His parentage assured him of engagements in the best of company to begin with; but it was his own talent that took advantage of them."
John Llewelyn Davies was the second eldest of the Llewelyn Davies boys befriended by Peter Pan creator J. M. Barrie, and one of the inspirations for the boy characters in the story of Peter Pan. He served in the Royal Navy during World War I. He was the first cousin of the English writer Daphne du Maurier.
Nicholas "Nico" Llewelyn Davies was the youngest of the Llewelyn Davies boys, who were the inspiration for J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan and the Lost Boys. He was only a year old when Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up hit the stage in 1904, and as such was not a primary inspiration for the characters of Peter and the Lost Boys. However he was eight years old when the novel adaptation Peter and Wendy was published, and in later editions of the play, the character Michael Darling's middle name was changed to "Nicholas". He was the first cousin of the English writer Daphne du Maurier.
Doncaster Minster, formally the Minster and Parish Church of St George, is the Anglican minster church of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It is a grade I listed building and was designed by architect designer George Gilbert Scott. The church was built in 1854–1858 to replace an earlier building destroyed by fire. It is an active place of worship and has a Schulze organ, a ring of eight bells, and a celebrated clock by Dent. The church is one of two parish churches to have minster status in South Yorkshire. The other is the minster church of Rotherham.
The church rate was a tax formerly levied in each parish in England and Ireland for the benefit of the parish church. The rates were used to meet the costs of carrying on divine service, repairing the fabric of the church and paying the salaries of the connected officials.
Henry Willis, also known as "Father" Willis, was an English organ player and builder, who is regarded as the foremost organ builder of the Victorian era. His company Henry Willis & Sons remains in business.
The Davies boys were the inspiration for the stories of Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie, in which several of the characters were named after them. They were the sons of Sylvia (1866–1910) and Arthur Llewelyn Davies (1863–1907). Their mother was a daughter of French-born cartoonist and writer George du Maurier and sister of actor Gerald du Maurier, whose daughter was author Daphne du Maurier. Their father was a son of preacher John Llewelyn Davies, and brother of suffragist Margaret Llewelyn Davies.
Arthur Llewelyn Davies was an English barrister of Welsh origin, but is best known as the father of the boys who were the inspiration for the stories of Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie.
St Matthew's Church is in the village of Stretton, Cheshire, England. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Great Budworth. Its benefice is combined with that of St Cross, Appleton Thorn.
Angela Busson du Maurier was an English actress and novelist who also wrote two volumes of autobiography, It's Only the Sister (1951) and Old Maids Remember (1965). Her sister was the novelist Daphne du Maurier, and her grandfather was George du Maurier, a writer and cartoonist.
Holy Trinity Church, Coventry, is a parish church of the Church of England in Coventry City Centre, West Midlands, England.
St Mary's Church, formerly St Mary's Chapel, is a Grade II* listed Roman Catholic church in Hampstead, London, UK.
Christ Church, Hampstead, is a Church of England church in Hampstead, London. It is a church with particular connections to the old village of Hampstead and the Heath.
Finding Neverland is a musical with music and lyrics by Gary Barlow and Eliot Kennedy and a book by James Graham adapted from the 1998 play The Man Who Was Peter Pan by Allan Knee and its 2004 film version Finding Neverland. An early version of the musical made its world premiere at the Curve Theatre in Leicester in 2012 with a book by Allan Knee, music by Scott Frankel and lyrics by Michael Korie. A reworked version with the current writing team made its world premiere in 2014 at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Following completion of its Cambridge run, the production transferred to Broadway in March 2015.
Jeanne du Maurier was an English artist. She was the third daughter of Sir Gerald du Maurier and Muriel Beaumont, and sister of writers Daphne and Angela du Maurier.
St Robert of Newminster Church is a Roman Catholic parish church in Morpeth, Northumberland, England. It was built from 1848 to 1849 in the Early English Gothic style. It is located on Oldgate in the town, overlooking the River Wansbeck. It is a Grade II listed building.
In 1986 (Hampstead's Millennium year) our church raised a voluntary rate towards the appeal for redecorating the interior of our Georgian building. The response was so good and the feedback so positive that we have continued to raise this rate every year since. We do, however, only make the appeal for the benefit of the maintenance of the building. It has never been suggested that money so raised, from people of other faiths and none, should be used for the running costs of the Parish.