St John's Chapel, Tower of London
| The Chapel of St John the Evangelist | |
|
London, Middlesex | |
|---|---|
 Apsidal end of the Chapel of St John | |
| Church of England | |
| (Royal peculiar) | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TQ33638054 |
| Location: | 51°30’29"N, 0°4’33"W |
| Address: | The Tower of London |
| History | |
| Built 1080 | |
| Castle chapel | |
| Norman | |
| Information | |
The Chapel of St John the Evangelist, commonly known as St John's Chapel, is an 11th-century chapel within the White Tower of the Tower of London in Middlesex. Built in 1080, St John's is the oldest surviving complete chapel from the early Norman period.
The chapel functions today as a chapel royal. It is overseen by the Canon of the nearby castle church the Church of St Peter ad Vincula, who is the chaplain of the Tower.
Services are held in the chapel periodically during the year.
History
St John's Chapel was built as part of the original layout of the White Tower, which was constructed in 1077–97 as a keep or citadel, being the oldest part of William the Conqueror's powerful fortress. Constructed from Caen stone imported from France, St John's has a tunnel-vaulted nave with groin-vaulted aisles and an east apse, above and around which curve the gallery. Thick, round piers support unmoulded arches, notable for their simplicity, with simple carvings of scallop and leaf designs providing the only ornament.
The programme of decoration was expanded by King Henry III, under whose orders three stained glass windows were installed in 1240.
From 1100 to about 1312, Knights of the Bath were inducted by the purification ceremony of taking a ritual bath, and held vigil here the night before a royal coronation. The knights would then escort the King from the Tower to Westminster Abbey the following day. The ceremony was likely later observed in the larger church, St Peter ad Vincula, when that was established in the Tower ward.[1]
During the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, a mob gained access to the tower and found Archbishop of Canterbury and Chancellor of England, Simon Sudbury, at mass in the chapel. They dragged him outside to Tower Hill to kill him.[1]
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about St John's Chapel, Tower of London) |
Outside links
- The Chapels Royal in the Tower of London: St John The Evangelist