St John the Evangelist's Church, Derby

St John the Evangelist’s Church, Derby
St John the Evangelist’s Church, Derby
52°55′32.93″N1°29′16.77″W / 52.9258139°N 1.4879917°W / 52.9258139; -1.4879917
OS grid reference	SK 34518 36612
Location	Derby, Derbyshire
Country	England
Denomination	Church of England
History
Dedication	St John the Evangelist
Architecture
Heritage designation	Grade II* listed
Architect(s)	Francis Goodwin
Groundbreaking	14 September 1826
Completed	1828
Administration
Diocese	Diocese of Derby
Archdeaconry	Derby
Deanery	Derby North
Parish	St John the Evangelist, Derby

St John the Evangelist's Church, Derby is a Grade II* listed parish church in the Church of England in Derby. ^{[1] [2]}

History

The church before 1833

The architect for the church was Francis Goodwin. The foundation stone was laid on Thursday 14 September 1826. ^[3]

It is a Gothic box shape with four tall corner turrets. The interior has galleries on each side, and the apsidal chancel dates is a later addition from 1871. ^[4]

In 1891 the chancel was extended by 10 feet, and the floor of the chancel raised to give those in the galleries a better view. ^[5] The heating and lighting were also improved at the same time. A new stained glass window by Ward and Hughes was installed, and the organ was improved by Charles Lloyd of Nottingham. The cost of the works was around £1,820 (equivalent to £251,064in 2023). ^[6]

In 1902 further works were carried where the exterior was repaired, and the upper stonework was taken down and adjusted. The interior of the building was cleaned and painted. ^[7]

Organ

The church contains an organ dating from 1875 by Henry Willis. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register. ^[8] In 1836 Gray and Davison supplied a second hand organ for £177 local legend has it that this organ came from the Theatre Royal Dury Lane, the theatre did hire an "oratorio organ from Gray and Davison until 1834 so may be true(presumably the one referred to above as improved by Lloyd and Dudgeon)

Organists

• J. Norton ca. 1838, ca. 1846
• W. H. Orme
• Charles Drew 1868 - 1886
• Thomas Archer 1886 - 1923
• H.E Oldfield ca. 1928 ca. 1940
• Frederick J. Stevenson 1944 ^[9] - ca. 1952 (formerly organist at St James' Church, Derby)
• John Gold..??
• Hedley Taylor until 1962
• Christopher Lyndon-Gee c.1965
• Terry Worroll ca. 1968 - 1970
• TMN Whitehall 1970 - 1973 (Martyn R Warsop assistant)
• David S Johnson 1973 - ca. 1984
• Andrew Storer from 1995 ^[10]

See also

• Grade II* listed buildings in Derby
• Listed buildings in Derby (northern area)

References

1. The Buildings of England. Derbyshire. Nikolaus Pevsner. p.171. Second Edition. 1978. Penguin Books Limited
2. Historic England. "Church of St John the Evangelist (1215810)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 11 March 2025.
3. Derby Mercury. Wednesday 20 September 1826. p.3. St John’s Church, Bridge Street, Derby
4. Derby Mercury. Wednesday 21 June 1871. p.8. Opening of the New Chancel of St John’s Church, Derby
5. Derby Daily Telegraph. Monday 30 November 1891. p.2. The Re-opening of St John’s Church, Derby
6. UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth . Retrieved 7 May 2024.
7. Derby Daily Telegraph. Tuesday 9 September 1902. p.2. Reopening of St John’s Church, Derby
8. "NPOR V00086". National Pipe Organ Register. British Institute of Organ Studies. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
9. "Organist for 26 years" . Derby Daily Telegraph. England. 24 March 1944. Retrieved 8 June 2017– via British Newspaper Archive.
10. "Andrew Storer marks 25 years as organist at St John's in Derby". Derby Evening Telegraph. 27 October 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2017.