St. John"s Church is one of the oldest churches in oldest Kolkata. St John"s Church and its complex stretch a vast place including the graves of the most prominent citizens of Kolkata at that time.
Establishment of St. John"s Church
St. John"s Church is originally a cathedral, and among the first building of colonial Kolkata erected on public finance basis by British East India Company. The land where St John Church was established was donated by Maharaja Naba Krishna of Shobhabazar Rajbari. The foundation stone was laid by the Governor General of Bengal, Warren Hastings. The funds for the construction of St. John Church were raised through public lottery system at that time.
Opening of St. John Church
St John"s Church was opened to public in 1787. It was designed by James Agg of Bengal Engineer. It served as the Anglican Cathedral of Kolkata till 1847, when the new cathedral of St. Paul`s was constructed.
Architecture of St. John"s Church
St. John"s Church was established with the plundering done by early British. St. John`s Church has its 174 feet high clock tower. St. John`s Church was built with a mixture of brick and stone. The stones of St John"s Church were a rare material in the flood plains of ancient Bengal. The stones used in the church, were shipped from the medieval architectural splendour of Gaud of Malda District, West Bengal.
Interior of St. John`s Church
St. John"s Church has the tall columns frame building on both sides. The entrance point of St John"s Church is a curved entryway underneath a stately porch. The floor of this church is very interesting. It is a rare mixture of blue and grey marbles brought from Gour. The main altar contains intricate and minute mosaic works and behind the altar is a semi-circular dome. To the left of the altar of the Church hangs the painting of Last Supper drawn by Johann Zoffany, which is known as the Indianised version of Last Supper.
Complex of St John Church
Inside the complex of St John"s Church, there are Job Charnock"s Mausoleum, Black Hole of Calcutta Monument, Second Rohilla War Memorial, Charlotte Canning, Countess Canning Memorial, Francis (Begum) Johnson"s grave, graves of the Judges of Supreme Court of India, now called as High Court of Calcutta and the grave of Lord Braboune.
