St Johns RC Church, Bath
St Johns RC Church Bath
RESTORATION
Built in 1863 St Johns is one of Bath's most significant High Victorian Gothic
Revival buildings; it admirably demonstrates how a roof can be such a delightful feature contrasting with the more familiar Georgian approach of concealing most of the roof slope behind parapets.
St Johns Church suffered a direct hit during the World War 2 bombing blitz. This took off most of the massive roof and damaged much of the stonework. With the support of generous grants from Bath & NE Somerset Council and English
Heritage we were able to reinstate the damaged stonework and the contrasting bands of grey and purple slates - a typical Victorian decorative feature that had been lost from the roofscape of Bath since the 1940's.
The slates were obtained from the same Welsh quarry as had been used by the Church's original architect, Charles Francis Hansom, brother of the inventor of the famous Hansom carriage).
The tall cross and 8 metre length of cast iron cresting over the chancel had also been destroyed in the blitz; whilst there were no reliable detailed records we were able to design a suitable replacement in consultation with the Bath's Listed Building Officers.
The new structure was fabricated by the Bath firm 'Ironart'.
