St John the Baptist, Hoxton

St John the Baptist, Hoxton stands on New North Road in the London Borough of Hackney, one mile north of the City of London. It is an Anglican parish church built in 1826 to serve a growing population in London’s East End. The church replaced the ancient parish of Shoreditch and became its own parish in 1830. Nearby is Silicon Roundabout and Aske Gardens, named after Robert Aske, a major benefactor. The church was reunited with Christ Church in 1953, though it remains a separate entity. The church is worth visiting for its architectural and historical significance. Designed by Francis Edwards, a pupil of Sir John Soane, it is a fine example of a Regency church in classical style. It is also a grade II* listed building and the only one built to Edwards’s design. The painted ceiling was added in the early 20th century by Joseph Arthur Reeve. The church has strong ties to missionary work, with figures like Jabez Cornelius Whitley becoming missionaries in Africa and Asia. It also has a connection to the royal family through the marriage of John Goldsmith, a great-great-great-grandfather of Catherine, Princess of Wales. Inside, the church retains its original floor plan, galleries and décor. The pipe organ, built in 1915 by Thomas Sidwell Jones, sits in the choir gallery with its original late-Georgian wooden case. The church tower holds a ring of ten bells cast at the nearby Whitechapel Bell Foundry. The church is part of the HTB Network and has been featured on the BBC programme *Songs of Praise*. Its setting near Aske Gardens and Silicon Roundabout makes it a notable landmark in Hoxton.