OS grid reference TQ4818426977 Denomination Roman Catholic Opened 22 September 1897 Designated as world heritage site 31 December 1982 | Country United Kingdom Website PhilipandJohn.org Dedication John the Evangelist Architect Frederick Walters | |
 | ||
Location Heron's Ghyll, East Sussex Founder(s) James Hope, 1st Baron Rankeillour Architectural style Gothic Revival architecture Diocese Roman Catholic Diocese of Arundel and Brighton Province London Borough of Southwark | ||
St John's Church or St John the Evangelist Church is a Roman Catholic Parish Church in the Heron's Ghyll settlement of Buxted, East Sussex, England. It was built from 1896 to 1897 and designed by Frederick Walters. It is situated on the A26 road in the centre of Heron's Ghyll. It is a Gothic Revival church and is a Grade II listed building.
Contents
Foundation
In 1866, the first Catholic mission in the area started in the house of the poet Coventry Patmore. He became a Catholic in 1862, after the death of his first wife, and allowed Mass to be said in his house a year after remarrying. In 1875, he moved to Hastings and founded St Mary Star of the Sea Church there. In 1879, Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk bought the house. He purchased it for his widowed mother, Augusta Fitzalan-Howard, Duchess of Norfolk. In 1880, she was behind the building of a school where Mass could be said and a presbytery. These two buildings are currently to the southwest of the present church. She also paid for St Catherine's Church to be built in Littlehampton in 1862. In 1884, a temporary church building was constructed in Heron's Ghyll, it was made of iron. In 1886, she died. In 1891, her grandson, James Hope, 1st Baron Rankeillour bought the site from the Duchy of Norfolk and set about building a permanent church.
Construction
In 1895, Frederick Walters was commissioned to design the church. On 9 May 1896, the foundation stone was laid. Construction of the church cost £4,000. On 22 September 1897, the church was opened. By 1904, the debt of constructing the church had been fully paid, so on 7 September 1904, the church was consecrated by the Bishop of Southwark, Peter Amigo.
Parishes
The priest at St John's Church also serves the nearby parish of Our Lady Immaculate and St Philip Neri Church in Uckfield.
Our Lady Immaculate and St Philip Neri Church
Our Lady Immaculate and St Philip Neri Church was built in 1958 and designed by its parish priest Fr Cyril P. Plummer. It is situated next to St Philip's Catholic Primary School on New Town Road. Inside the church, Edgar Holloway designed the three panels situated behind the altar. The lettering on those panels was done by Alan Taylor, and Joseph Cribb designed the three altars and, outside, the statue of Our Lady above the entrance. The stained-glass windows were made by Aleksander Klecki. Cribb, Taylor and Holloway were all connected with The Guild of St Joseph and St Dominic, which was situated in nearby Ditchling.
Times
There is one Sunday Mass at St John's Church, at 11:30am. Our Lady Immaculate and St Philip Neri Church as two Sunday Masses, at 5:30pm on Saturday and at 9:30am on Sunday.