St John the Evangelist R C Church

St John’s tall steeple and spire is one of the landmarks
visible from the train as you go through Bath: at 222ft high, it is the tallest
in the city. This large church is a confident statement of
faith, and an equally emphatic lesson in the Gothic Revival in this otherwise
large Georgian city. The church was commissioned by the Benedictines and built in
1861 – 3 to the designs of Charles Francis Hansom (1817 – 1888) and his son Edward
Joseph Hansom (1842 – 1900). They adopted a flamboyant Decorated Gothic design,
almost French in character exemplified particularly in the rose windows in the transepts yet
the spire owes more to English precedents. The church is built of rough-​faced Bath stone,
and has a large aisled nave, with clerestory, transepts, an apsed chancel and
side chapels. The interior has pink Devon Granite piers with foliated capitals.
The decoration throughout is of high quality, with extensive use of
marble and alabaster. The glass and the impressive iron screen in front of the chancel are by Hardman. In the north-​west apse is a reliquary, also designed by
Charles Hansom, containing the relics of the martyr, St Justina, donated in
1871 after many years in the possession of the Borghesi family.