Place Name
Originally St John’s Road. The name changed shortly after the Second World War. The Polish Church of St John the Evangelist is a Grade II listed Roman Catholic church. It was built in 1858, and the architect was Charles Lee. It was formerly an Anglican church. It was extended several times. In 1865 the tower and spire were enlarged, in 1888 the chancel and aisles were extended, in 1898 the vestry was extended, and in 1910 the south chapel and porch were added. The priest and writer A. C. Bouquet married here in 1910. It was badly damaged by aerial bombardment in 1944, towards the end of the Second World War. It was not re-opened until 1948. Francis H Spear replaced the stained glass. In 1977, the church was declared redundant. It was initially leased, and the freehold granted in 2007, to Polish Catholics who retained its name; the parish is run by the missionary Society of Christ Fathers. The proceeds of the lease (£80,000) went to rebuilding St Mary’s Putney after that church had been damaged in a fire. John the Evangelist (sometime around 8 AD – around 100 AD) is the name traditionally given to the author of the Gospel of John. Freemasons have celebrated his feats day of December 17 from the 18thCentury when it was used for the installation of Grand Masters. There is no apostrophe.
