We at EG are ecstatic to be working on such a historical landmark building as St Johns Church.
St Johns has undergone several repairs and renovation over the years. From originally being design by architect Francis Octavius Bedford in 1824 with Greek style influences. The Church gained critical appreciation mainly because of its fine spire which used classical details to build up a more traditional English Parish Church shape. In 1877 St Johns church yard was converted into a garden after following the advice of John Rennie the Younger.
In 1883 Lord Brabazon, the Chairman of the newly formed Metropolitan Public Gardens Association, gave a swing and giant stride as part of a children's playground; the MPGA itself provided parallel bars, a seesaw and six seats. In more recent years the garden had become neglected, but has since been restored.
Sadly, St Johns was struck by a bomb in1940, when the roof and much of the interior was destroyed. Services were then held in the crypt, and the church described itself as St Johns’-in-the-crypt. The church then stood open for ten years until it was restored and remodelled internally by Thomas Ford in 1950. A year after the restoration and remodel the church was rededicated as the Festival of Britain Church.
Thomas Ford removed the galleries and new decorative scheme was installed using Greek ornamental motifs, gilt and light pastel shades. A mural by Hans Feibusch was commissioned and replaced the damaged Victorian reredos. The overall effect is vastly different from the essentially Victorian interior that was previously existed.
During the construction of the Jubilee line, the structural stability of the church was closely monitored as the soil underneath the church began to dry out as a result of the building of the new London Underground line. Still supported bythe piles driven into the marshy soil in 1824, millions of gallons of water had to be pumped into the foundations of the church to prevent its collapse as a result.
The church is now undergoing a 10-month restoration and introducing the use of Solar PV. EG have been appointed to install a 30kWpsolar PV array which will produce 28,413kWh per annum of green renewable energy.
Not only will installing Solar help reduce the forever rising energy bills but reduced the co2 impact on the atmosphere. St Johns will be avoiding 13,343 kg/ per annum making the air cleaner and greener for us all.
The solar industry has come on leaps and bounds in the last 10 years. Meaning historical buildings such as St Johns are able to have solar panels install with no structural damage incurring. As the church has a standing seam roof, the mounting for the solar pv will clamp round the seams of the roof therefore having no penetration into the roof itself.
