St John the Evangelist's Church, Weston

St John the Evangelist's Church, Weston
St John's Church from the southwest
St John the Evangelist's Church, Weston Location in Cheshire
Coordinates: 53°19′08″N 2°44′20″W / 53.3190°N 2.73885°W / 53.3190; -2.73885
OS grid reference	SJ 509,805
Location	Weston, Runcorn, Cheshire
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	St John's, Weston
History
Dedication	Saint John the Evangelist
Architecture
Status	Parish church
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II*
Designated	5 April 1990
Architect(s)	Douglas and Fordham
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic Revival
Groundbreaking	1897
Completed	1900
Specifications
Length	88.5 ft (27.0 m)
Nave width	25 ft (7.6 m)
Other dimensions	Chancel width 18.5 ft (5.6 m)
Materials	Red sandstone ashlar Welsh slate roofs
Administration
Parish	St John, Weston, Runcorn
Deanery	Frodsham
Archdeaconry	Chester
Diocese	Chester
Province	York
Laity
Reader(s)	Lee Johnson
Churchwarden(s)	David Redhead, Betty Clarke

St John the Evangelist's Church is in Weston, once a separate village and now part of the town of Runcorn, Cheshire, England. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Frodsham. Its design has been described as "bold and original".

The church was built between 1897 and 1898 to a design by Douglas and Fordham at a cost of over £5,000 (equivalent to £500,000 in 2015). It was initially a chapel of ease to Runcorn parish church. To raise funds to build the church, its choirboys wrote thousands of letters to choristers and choirboys of churches and cathedrals throughout the country. This initiative aroused the interest of many people, and over 5,000 donations were received from people in all walks of life. Because of this, it is sometimes known as "the choirboys' church". The tower was added in 1900 at a cost of approximately £700 (equivalent to £70,000 in 2015). A clock costing about £60 made by J. B. Joyce of Whitchurch was added to the tower in 1901. St John's became a separate parish in 1931. In 1998 an automated winding system was added to the clock, also made by Messrs. Joyce, costing £3,250.

The church is built from local red sandstone with Welsh slate roofs. Its plan consists of an embraced west tower, a four-bay nave with a narrow north aisle, a south porch approached by a flight of steps, and a chancel which is higher than the nave. The organ chamber is to the north of the chancel and underneath the chancel are vestries. It has a "very short, very powerful west tower with short broach spire", with one set of lucarnes. The church has two massive west buttresses and a shallow buttress to the south. On the west side is a two-light window above which is a clock face. On each side are two-light bell openings.