Heritage Fund grant awarded to help secure St John's for the next 200 years
We are delighted to announce that St John's Hoxton has been awarded a grant of £180,861 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
This exciting award comes during our bicentenary year and marks the beginning of an important new chapter in the life of our church.
For 200 years St John's has stood at the heart of Hoxton. Generations of local people have worshipped here, celebrated here, found support here and built community here. As Hoxton has changed and evolved, St John's has remained a place of welcome, stability and hope.
Today, our church continues to be used by thousands of people every year. Alongside regular worship, our building hosts community groups, youth activities, support groups, choirs, sports projects, cultural events and partnerships that serve some of the most vulnerable members of our community.
Yet this remarkable building faces significant challenges.
Our Grade II* listed church is currently included on Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register because of serious deterioration to its historic stonework and other parts of the building. While important emergency repairs have been carried out in recent years, a long-term solution is urgently needed if this important heritage asset is to survive and flourish.
This Heritage Fund grant will enable us to undertake the essential planning and development work needed before a major programme of repairs and renewal can begin.
Over the coming months we will:
Carry out detailed conservation surveys and planning
Develop a strategy for major repairs to the building
Explore how our spaces could be used more effectively for worship, community activities and income generation
Investigate ways to improve environmental sustainability
Consult widely with local residents, users and partners
Research and share the social history of St John's and Hoxton
Develop partnerships that could support future phases of the project
Importantly, this project is not just about preserving a historic building.
It is about ensuring that St John's can continue to serve Hoxton well into the future. We want to understand how our community would like to use and experience this space. We want to tell the stories of the people and communities who have shaped this part of London over the last two centuries. And we want to create a sustainable future that enables St John's to continue its mission for generations to come.
As part of the project we will be inviting local people to contribute ideas, memories and perspectives as we explore what the next chapter of St John's should look like.
Revd Graham Hunter said:
"For 200 years this church has served the people of Hoxton. While the building itself is of great historic significance, its greatest value lies in the countless lives that have been shaped here over the last two centuries.
"This project is an opportunity not only to safeguard the future of a remarkable heritage asset, but also to listen carefully to our community and work together to help future members of our church continue to be ‘a beacon of hope for Hoxton. "
We are enormously grateful to The National Lottery Heritage Fund for making this work possible.
As we celebrate 200 years of ministry in Hoxton, we look forward with confidence to what God might do through St John's in the centuries ahead.
