St John the Baptist, Kentish Town

St John the Baptist in Kentish Town is a Grade II listed church building at 23 Highgate Road in the London Borough of Camden. Today it is home to the Christ Apostolic Church, but its story reaches back to the 15th century and follows the growth of Kentish Town from a small hamlet into a busy part of north London.

What is St John the Baptist in Kentish Town?

It is a historic church in north London, listed at Grade II, which means it is regarded as a building of special architectural or historic interest. The congregation that uses it now belongs to the Christ Apostolic Church, so the building is still a place of worship. The site is found on Highgate Road, a main route running between Kentish Town and Highgate.

How old is the church?

The history of the site begins in 1449, when a small chapel was built for the hamlet of Kentish Town. It stood along the road towards St Albans and served local residents for more than three centuries. The chapel was a chapel-of-ease, a smaller place of worship created for people who lived far from the parish church. Kentish Town belonged to the wider parish of St Pancras, so the chapel spared residents a long journey.

In the 1780s the old chapel was replaced by a new church designed by the architect James Wyatt. Sources give slightly different dates for this work, usually 1783 or 1782 to 1784.

Who rebuilt it in the 19th century?

As the population of the area grew, the church was enlarged. Between 1843 and 1845 the architect J. H. Hakewill rebuilt and extended it, keeping the original nave walls and the apse. This mid-19th-century phase gives the building the Gothic Revival character, with Norman-style touches, that is usually described in architectural accounts.

Kentish Town was given its own separate parish in 1868, and the church became the parish church of the district under the name St John the Baptist.

What happened to it later?

In 1993 the Church of England declared the building redundant, a common fate for urban churches as congregations shrank in the 20th century. It did not stay empty for good. It was later taken over by the Christ Apostolic Church, a Pentecostal denomination, and worship resumed within its walls.

Is it worth visiting?

For visitors interested in London architecture and local history, the church is a good stop on a walk through Kentish Town. It shows several layers of the city's past in a single site: a medieval roadside chapel, a Georgian rebuilding and a Victorian enlargement. The Wikidata entry places it at about 51.5525 N, 0.1425 W, close to the Kentish Town and Tufnell Park areas, and it is easy to combine with a visit to nearby streets and parks.

Keep in mind that this is an active place of worship rather than a museum, so the interior is open according to the congregation's own schedule. Seeing the exterior from Highgate Road is possible at any time.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the church? At 23 Highgate Road, Kentish Town, London, in the borough of Camden.

Is it a listed building? Yes, it is listed at Grade II.

Who uses it today? The Christ Apostolic Church holds worship in the building.

Who designed it? The 18th-century church was designed by James Wyatt, and J. H. Hakewill rebuilt and extended it in 1843 to 1845.

When did the original chapel appear? A small chapel was built on the site in 1449.