Pipe Organs of England - Pipedreams - American Public Media

SATURDAY, 19 MAY PAGE 77The ChurchThe mission of St. John the Evangelist was established in 1839 only tenyears after the act of Parliament of 1829 had granted a decree of “CatholicEmancipation”. The architect J. J. Scoles was asked to design a newbuilding on some land acquired by Dr. Griffiths, the Vicar Apostolic of theLondon District. Even before the church was opened it was involved incontroversy when the famous architect A. W. N. Pugin attacked the designof the church. He believed in building churches with pointed, “Christian”,arches and Scoles’ design was with rounded arches in the “Anglo-Norman”style. At the time of opening the two towers planned were not built. In1850, a convert clergyman, Frederick Oakeley, was appointed to the parish.Oakeley was noted for his interest in music and the liturgy, and heestablished a reputation for the parish in these areas, which would last forover 100 years. His concern for people in prison and the poor of the parishwould also cause officials to alter policies and change public attitudes.When Oakeley eventually had the towers completed he changed Scoles’original plans and had them smaller and not matching, something ofwhich Pugin would have greatly approved.