St. John’s Methodist Church, Amersham

Location/Address

St. John’s Methodist Church Woodside Road Amersham Buckinghamshire HP6 6AN

Type

Building

Roofed and walled permanent structures.

Description

‘Landmark’ mid-century modernist purpose designed & built Methodist Church, in Amersham-on-the-Hill, by a known architect.

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Statement of Significance

Asset type

Methodist Church specifically commissioned/ constructed for Amersham-on-the-Hill.

Age

Constructed in 1959, opened in 1960.

Rarity

The only Methodist Church in Amersham-on-the-Hill & certainly the only one in a much wider area exhibiting high quality post-war architecture.

Architectural and Artistic Interest

Architect was Alister Gladstone MacDonald, eldest son of first Labour Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald, who had connections to the area, as his parents had owned a weekend cottage in Chesham Bois when he was a child. Alister MacDonald also designed a retirement home for Clement Attlee in Great Missenden & other Methodist Churches. He was a proponent of unashamedly Modernist architecture, in the Post-War years. The site of St. John’s occupies a wide site on Woodside Road, also visible from the end of Chiltern Avenue, between a Public Footpath & the Fire Station, so is in a very prominent position. The main body of the Church is set to the left of the site, with a Church Hall further across to the right connected together by one enclosed & one open-sided covered walkways. There is a central courtyard garden. To the right of the Church Hall, is a car park accessed by 2 vehicular entry points with some additional spaces to the front. The roof is distinctive & of copper with a very noticeable Church spire projecting from the roofline almost at the front of the Church buildings which is also of Copper. The body of the Church is constructed out of brick, with the pair of entrance doors set into a modestly sized flat-roofed projection. The brickwork here is of stricter bond & the wooden doors are original. Above this, the brick facade rises much higher & is in Flemish Bond. There is a large cross, interlocking with a vertical fish, mounted to the front of the Church, which are believed to be original. To provide further relief, some of the bricks to either side of the cross project slightly in a symmetrical pattern. These emphasise the vertical height added by the spire, above. Immediately to the right, is an open walkway connecting the side of the Church to the Church Hall. Behind this is a courtyard garden, with further enclosed passageway behind linking the 2 buildings again. To the flank wall of the Church abutting the courtyard garden, there are 3 plaques inset at a low level into a small flat-roofed projection with a set of 4 little windows & at a higher level in the main side wall of the Church are 5 large vertical ‘slit’ windows each set into brickwork recessed slightly between projecting structural brickwork. The Church Hall replicates the Church more so, in the way that different finishes of brickwork are utilised deliberately to soften the overall effect of the visual impact of the building. There is also some tile-hanging to the size, as well as some windows set between projecting brick columns which again support the building. The roof is curved, with a felt covering. There is a very nice glass & metal enclosed entrance space serving the Church Hall, which is original.

Historic Interest

One of the three Churches in Amersham-on-the-Hill, which along with St. Michael’s (Church of England) & The Free Church, are all post-war developments of which St. John’s is arguably the best from a design perspective.

Landmark Status

Wide frontage to Woodside Road, close to the Town Centre. Also visible passing up towards the end of Chiltern Avenue & there is an adjacent Public Footpath.