Jerusalem E9

St John of Jerusalem, London E9

 

The church of St John of Jerusalem in Hackney, east London, UK; a nineteenth-century engraving of the north side.
The church of St John of Jerusalem in Hackney, east London, UK; a nineteenth-century engraving of the south side.
The church of St John of Jerusalem in Hackney, east London, UK; c.2016 the west facade.
The church of St John of Jerusalem in Hackney, east London, UK; c.2016 the north side.
The church of St John of Jerusalem in Hackney, east London, UK; c.2016 the west door.

Back in June of this year I had the chance to visit the rather lovely early Victorian church of St John of Jerusalem in Hackney, east London. The ‘Jerusalem’ in the name relates to the area’s historic links with the Order of St John of Jerusalem, which owned land and property in Hackney before the English Reformation (mid 16th century).

 

The church of St John of Jerusalem in Hackney, east London, UK; c.2016 the nave looking east
The church of St John of Jerusalem in Hackney, east London, UK; c.2016 the chancel.
The church of St John of Jerusalem in Hackney, east London, UK; c.2016 the nave looking east
The church of St John of Jerusalem in Hackney, east London, UK; c.2016 the nave looking east
The church of St John of Jerusalem in Hackney, east London, UK; c.2016 the nave looking east
The church of St John of Jerusalem in Hackney, east London, UK; c.2016 the nave looking east
The church of St John of Jerusalem in Hackney, east London, UK; c.2016 the chancel.

The parish dates from about 1810 and the current church was built in 1848. As the pictures show it is a rather lovely building, and the area around the church is much gentrified of late.

 

The church of St John of Jerusalem in Hackney, east London, UK; c.2016 the west gallery.
The church of St John of Jerusalem in Hackney, east London, UK; c.2016 the west gallery.
The church of St John of Jerusalem in Hackney, east London, UK; c.2016, Wyvern ST60 console.
The church of St John of Jerusalem in Hackney, east London, UK; c.2016, the nave, looking west.

Sadly the large and imposing west-gallery pipe organ (by the firm of Gray & Davidson c.1873) was removed in the early 1980s; only the facade pipe-display remains. It was replaced with one of the world’s first “dual specification” electronic analogue organs, the Wyvern ST60. Then cutting-edge, but now more than 30 years on a fine example of left-behind technology. In this age of advanced digital sound it does not sound good,  although we can be impressed by the quality of the workmanship that ensures it still works.

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