St John's Wood Church Bell Tower - Lord's Roundabout, St Johns Wood, London, UK
N 51° 31.826 W 000° 10.093
30U E 696412 N 5712615
This small bell tower sits over the entrance to the church. Just within the main entrance doors to the church, on the left hand side, is the rope connected to the bell in the tower.
Waymark Code: WMF031
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 07/31/2012
Views: 5
The church, a former chapel, is a Grade II* listed building.
The entry at the English Heritage website (visit
link) mentions the bell tower:
"Church of St John the Baptist (St John's Wood 10.9.54
Chapel) G.V. II* Church. 1813-14 by Thomas Hardwick built as chapel of ease for
the developing Portman and Eyre Estates in this area. Portland stone front and
stone dressed stock brick sides; leaded roof. Simple rectangle with narrower,
lower, shallow chancel. Chaste neo-classical chapel design dressed with
tetrastyle portico surmounted by columned cupola-bellcote.2 storeys (for
galleries). 5 bay south (ritual west) front. Central corniced doorway flanked by
niches; outer bays with plain square headed doorways (to gallery stairs) and
semicircular arches. 1st floor windows recessed for 1 order. Plinths, sill band
crowning cornice and parapet. The centre screened by Ionic giant portico with
entablature and pediment containing clock face. The small stone domed cupola
rises from octagonal case and with detached pairs of Doric columns carrying
breaks in the entablature on the diagonals.
Elegant original interior with
Tuscan columns carrying gallery above which "Tower of the Winds" columns rise to
slightly curved ceiling; white painted box pews and good collection of early C19
Grecian wall monuments; etc. St John's was designed at the same time as
Hardwick's initial chapel of ease scheme at St Mary's, Marylebone Road q.v.
which it closely resembled before the elaboration of the latter's final
form."
The tower appears to contain only one
bell and the rope pull can be seen just inside the main doors on the left side.
The rope can be seen disappearing upwards towards the bell and this may indicate
that the bell is still in use.