The building of St John’s Church commenced in 1344 on land, donated by Queen Isabella, situated by the watercourse called ‘Bablake’ and near the river Sherbourne and Fleet – hence its title ‘St John the Baptist, Fleet Street’. Over the years, the watery nature of its location has wrought havoc with the church’s foundations as water levels have risen and fallen. The result has been a severe distortion, which is now easily visible, to the pillars and clerestory on the south side and west end of the nave. Built mainly of local soft sandstone, the magnificent clerestory and much of the walls have flaked and crumbled and with the unstable foundations, many cracks have appeared in the masonry.
Gilbert Scott tastefully restored the church in the 19th century and this has continued on a regular basis since the 1950’s. The main task in the year 2000 is to stabilize the walls of the massive fourteenth and fifteenth century pillars of the nave, together with the west wall and those of the south and north aisles. Once the structure is underpinned and has become stable, repairs will be undertaken to the masonry of the southern clerestory and walls to the south aisle. However, due to the poor condition of the sandstone and with continual weathering, the restoration of this fine building will continue for many years.
During the underpinning, advantage is being taken to replace the heating system together with re-wiring.
Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund have been very generous and considered the church to be of sufficient importance to qualify for a grant of 75% of the cost of the underpinning. Estimates for the present stage of restoration and other associated works are in the region of £722,000 and this left the church with the task of raising £180,000, but due to a very generous bequest from a member of the congregation, this amount has now been met. This leaves little towards future restoration and the costs involved in the replacement heating and re-wiring.If you would like to help St John’s, there are a number of ways in which this can be done:-
· By giving a Gift Aid Donation if you are a UK taxpayer. (For every £1.00 given, a refund of 28p can be received from the Inland Revenue)
· By supporting the social; and cultural efforts of the Church.
· By letting others know of the importance and beauty of this ancient church.
· By your prayers for those involved in the care of this building built to the Glory of God.
Donations and requests for a Gift Aid form can be made by clicking on the email button.
Cheques should be payable to St John the Baptist, Coventry, Restoration Fund.
Click here to see some pictures of the progress of the restoration