Church of St John the Evangelist, Waterbeach

The Anglican Church of St John the Evangelist (also known as St John's Church) is the parish church of the village of Waterbeach in Cambridgeshire, England.[1][2] It is a grade II* listed building.[3]

St John's Church

History

The church dates from the 12th century,[3] and around 1160 priests were recorded.[4] In the early 13th century the tower was added to the small aisled church which had been built in the 12th.[3] The church was associated with Barnwell Priory until the dissolution of the monasteries.[4]

The condition of the church deteriorated in the 17th and 18th centuries and attendances fell.[4] The tower and spire were replaced after collapse in 1821.[3] Restoration and rebuilding of the chancel was undertaken in 1848,[4] and it underwent a Victorian restoration by W.M. Fawcett in 1871,[5] and John Ladds in 1878.[4]

In 2018 an event, entitled Waterbeach Thread[ed], was held in the church using a variety of clothing and textiles to "draw attention to the impact of clothing on the environment, human trafficking, church life, poverty, and consumerism".[6]

The parish is within the Diocese of Ely.[7]

Architecture

The limestone building has lead and tiled roofs. It has a chancel and three-bay aisle. The tower has a parapet and is supported by buttresses.[3] In the tower are five bells. The tenor bell is tuned to G# and weighs 7cwt.[8]

This church contains an electric pipe organ.[9] The Caen stone pulpit is inlaid with mosaics.[10]

In the churchyard is a stone cross which acts as a memorial to those from Waterbreach who perished in World War I and World War II.[11] It also 25 war graves related to the nearby RAF Waterbeach.[12]

References
  1. Cheason, Denis (1986). A short guide to the parish church of St John the evangelist, Waterbeach, in the county of Cambridgeshire. Waterbeach: The Church.
  2. Wright, A. P. M.; Lewis, C. P. (1989). A history of the county of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely, Vol 9: Chesterton, Northstowe, and Papworth hundreds. Published for University of London Institute of Historical Research by Oxford University Press.
  3. Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1127366)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  4. "Waterbeach: Church Pages 257-262 A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely: Volume 9, Chesterton, Northstowe, and Papworth Hundreds". British History Online. Victoria County History. Archived from the original on 29 October 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  5. "St. John The Evangelist Church, Waterbeach, England, 1871". The Building News. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  6. Williams, Hattie (2 February 2018). "Church draped in textiles to push mission and strengthen community ties". Church Times. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  7. "St John the Evangelist". A Church Near You. Church of England. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  8. "St John the Evangelist, Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire". Ely District of the Ely Diocesan Association of Church Bell Ringers. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  9. "Cambridgeshire Waterbeach, St. John [N03086]". The National Pipe Organ Register (NPOR) V2.20. Archived from the original on 17 June 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  10. "St John the Evangelist, Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire". Martin Nicholson's Cemetery Project. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  11. "Waterbreach". War Memorials Online. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  12. "Waterbeach Cemetery & Church". Biker Veterans Rides of Remembrance. Retrieved 12 March 2020.

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