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| HER Number | MWB20207 |
|---|
| Record Type | Monument |
|---|
| Name | Site of first St John the Evangelist's Church, Newtown Road, Newbury |
|---|
Summary
Location of a parish church consecrated in 1860 but destroyed by a German bomb dropped in 1943
Associated Legal Designations or Protected Status
- Conservation Area: Newbury Town Centre
Monument Type(s):
- PARISH CHURCH (Mid to Late 19th century to Second World War - 1860 AD? to 1943 AD)
Full Description
St John the Evangelist was a 19th century church built on the east side of Newtown Road <1>. Its ecclesiastical parish was created in 1859 from portions of Newbury and Greenham and the church was consecrated in 1860 <2><3>. It was designed by William Butterfield and erected by a Miss Hubbard in memory of her parents. It was described as being of brick and stone, with a chancel, north chapel, nave of four bays and a bellcote <2><3>. A plan of the Butterfield church can be seen online <4>.
The church was one of several buildings hit by bombs dropped from a German plane in February 1943 <5>. This attack killed several in the nearby St Bartholomew's almshouses and Newbury Council School, and demolished the church, leaving only the altar standing. A new church was subsequently built in 1955-57 but not on the same footprint.
West Berkshire Museum has a photograph showing the church and the Old London Apprentice around 1915; also photographs showing the bomb damage in 1943 <10>.
Sources and further reading
| <01> | Landmark. 1880-81. Digital OS Mapping Epoch 1, 1:500 - Newbury Town Plan. Digital. 1:500. Marked 'St John's Church (Seats for 500)'. [Map / SWB146990] |
| <02> | Money, W. 1905 & 1972. A Popular History of Newbury (also Walter Money's History of Newbury). p151. [Monograph / SWB11278] |
| <03> | Page and Ditchfield (eds). 1924. Victoria County History (VCH) Berks IV 1924. Vol 4. p150-1. [Monograph / SWB10281]
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/berks/vol4 (Accessed 24/09/2015) |
| <04> | Church Plans On-Line Project Team. 2001-. Church Plans On-line. ICBS 05456 - Plan. [Website / SWB148102]
https://images.lambethpalacelibrary.org.uk/luna/servlet (Accessed 08/11/2023) |
| <05> | Philpott, B. 1989. The Bombing of Newbury. [Monograph / SWB13977] |
| <06> | Newbury Weekly News. 18/02/1943. Newbury Weekly News 18/02/1943. [Article in serial / SWB148616] |
| <07> | Newbury Town Council. 2007. Newbury Town Council Conservation Area Draft Appraisal - Newtown Road. 2017 WBC Network. [Unpublished document / SWB148259] |
| <08> | Dils, J and Yates, M (ed). 2012. An Historical Atlas of Berkshire (2nd Edition). p116-117 Anglican church building in nineteenth century Berkshire. [Monograph / SWB148708] |
| <09> | Berkshire Archaeological Society. 1943. Berkshire Archaeological Journal 1943 47. 47. In ADS Journals. 10.5284/1000017. p23 in The Church Bells of Berkshire. [Article in serial / SWB8792]
http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/berks_bas_2007/journal.cfm?volume=47 (Accessed 10/08/2016) |
| <10> | Museum Curator. Newbury Museum Accession Records (West Berkshire Museum since 1998). 2022 WBC Network. NEBYM:1987.135.17; 1999.11.2-3; 1999.11.37; 2000.20.85. [Unpublished document / SWB14452] |
| <11> | Borough of Newbury. 1946. Souvenir Programme - Victory Celebrations 8th, 9th, 10th June 1946. p15. [Unpublished document / SWB149259] |
Related Monuments
| MWB18296 | 28 St John's Road, Newbury (formerly the Vicarage of St John's Church) (Building) |
| MWB20208 | Site of Newbury Council Schools, Newbury (Monument) |
| MWB20206 | Site of St Bartholomew's Almshouses, Newtown Road, Newbury (Monument) |
| MWB21093 | Site of St John's Infant School, Newtown Road, Newbury (Monument) |
| MWB15966 | St John the Evangelist Church, Newbury (Building) |
| MWB20036 | St John's Memorial Garden, Newbury (Landscape) |
Associated Excavations and Fieldwork
None recordedIf you have any comments or new information about this record, please email us.
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