St John the Evangelist


Our Mission: To be a caring community to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ; sharing in the love of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit; and to love our neighbour, having the Eucharist at the centre of our worship.

The Church of St John the Evangelist was the first Church to be built in Derby after the Reformation and was consecrated on 19 August 1828.

It was originally designated as a Chapel of Ease to St Werburgh’s and it became a Parish Church with a separate Parish in 1847. The first incumbent from 1828 to 1847 was The Rev’d. Philip Gell, a member of the notable Derbyshire family of Hopton Hall.

The Church has a spacious interior with side galleries and was originally designed to accommodate 1,200 people.

The design is in the English gothic style and has seen very few changes from the 1828 building – the main ones being the extension of the chancel by 15’ in 1871, the west gallery removed in 1891 and the top half of the four turrets removed in 1901 when they were found to be unsafe.

The Church is Grade 2* listed due to its architectural significance with the extensive use of cast iron in the main columns and the windows on the south and north elevations.  These have recently been restored with the help of grants from English Heritage.

It has a fine Henry Willis organ originally built in 1875 and completely restored in 2010.

The Church also possesses a Richard Lipp Grand Piano which was acquired on the closure of the Queen’s Hall Methodist Mission.

The building has good acoustics and is an excellent concert venue, especially for choral and chamber music ensembles.

If you would like to organise a concert at St John’s please get in touch to discuss your requirements.