St John's Church, Bath
Encyclopedia
South Parade, Bath
South Parade in Bath, Somerset, England is a historic terrace built around 1743 by John Wood, the Elder. All of the houses have been designated as Grade I listed buildings....
in the southeast section of Bath City Centre, in the old Ham District where Georgian architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
John Wood the Elder had originally planned his forum. The decorative Gothic-styled spire dominates the city's skyline, which has irked some people such as noted architectural critic Nikolaus Pevsner
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...
who stated the church was "a demonstrative proof of how intensely the Gothicists hated the Georgians of Bath."
The structure was designed and built between 1861-3 by Charles Francis Hansom
Charles Francis Hansom
Charles Francis Hansom was a prominent Roman Catholic Victorian architect who primarily designed in the Gothic Revival style.-Career:...
, who was the brother of J. A. Hansom, the creator of the Hansom cab
Hansom cab
The hansom cab is a kind of horse-drawn cart designed and patented in 1834 by Joseph Hansom, an architect from York. The vehicle was developed and tested by Hansom in Hinckley, Leicestershire, England. Originally called the Hansom safety cab, it was designed to combine speed with safety, with a low...
. The brothers also prepared designs for Woodchester Mansion
Woodchester Mansion
Woodchester Mansion is an unfinished, Gothic revival mansion house located in Woodchester Park near Nympsfield in Woodchester, Gloucestershire, England...
in Nympsfield
Nympsfield
Nympsfield is a village and civil parish in the English county of Gloucestershire. It is located around six miles south-west of the town of Stroud. As well as Nympsfield village, the parish also contains the hamlet of Cockadilly....
, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, after A. W. N. Pugin had resigned from the project. For this reason, they are often quoted as being the second best Roman Catholic architects of their day, for their success in picking up commissions Pugin had passed over. Their executed designs in the Mansion's north service wing are also in this Gothic style.
The church's 222 foot (68 metre) spire was added in 1867 by Hansom. The baptistery was designed in 1871 by Edward Joseph Hansom
Edward Joseph Hansom
Edward Joseph Hansom was an English Victorian architect who specialised in ecclesiastical buildings in Gothic Revival style, including many Roman Catholic churches....
, the son of Charles Hansom.
The brothers considered the church to be one of their best works. Pevsner's typical terse description describes the church as follows: