St John the Evangelist, Middlesex

Historical Description

John the Evangelist, St, a parish in Westminster union, Middlesex. The parish is part of Westminster city, was formed out of St Margaret Westminster, extends from Victoria Tower, along the Thames, opposite Lambeth, past Vauxhall Bridge; has post, money order, and telegraph offices under London, SW; contains Vincent Square, the Grenadier Guards' Hospital, the Coldstream Guards' Hospital, and the Scots Fusilier Guards' Hospital, and is ecclesiastically divided into St John, Holy Trinity, St Matthew, St Mary, Tothill Fields, St James-the-Less, and part of St Stephen, Rochester Row. Acreage, 210; of St Margaret and St John the Evangelist, 813; population of St John, 34, 106; of St Margaret and St John, 55, 539. Millbank Prison, which formerly stood adjacent to the Thames, immediately below Vauxhall Bridge, occupied upwards of 16 acres, very little above the river's level; was built in 1799-1816, after designs by Jeremy Bentham, at a cost of about £500, 000; comprised a central house for the governor and six piles of building, radiating from that house, and terminating externally in towers, with external or boundary walls in the form of an irregular octagon. It was pulled down in 1893, and a National Picture Gallery has been erected on a portion of its site by Mr Tate for the reception of the valuable collection which he presented to the nation, and for the works of other British artists. St John's Church was built in 1721-28, after designs by Vanbrugh, and has N and S porticoes, and four comer towers or belfries. The living of St John is a rectory, gross value, £560 with residence, in the gift of the Crown; Holy Trinity is a vicarage, net value £460 with residence, in the gift of the Dean and Chapter of Westminster; St James-the-Less is a vicarage, net value, £500, also in the gift of the Dean and Chapter of Westminster; St Mary, Tothill Fields, is a vicarage, gross value. £500 with residence, in the gift of the Rector of St John's; St Matthew is a vicarage, gross value, £560, also in the gift of the Rector of St John's-all the livings being in the diocese of London.

Land and Property

A full transcript of the Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Middlesex is online.