Doors firmly closed

L3 Day15. A quick cycle ride avoiding Bushy Park where the car parks were full and so were closed at 10.30am. I passed St John the Baptist Church in Hampton Wick. Originally Hampton Wick was part of the Manor of Hampton Court and it was a long walk, about 2.5 miles, to St Mary’s Church at Hampton. About 1830 this church was opened as a “chapel-at-ease” for St Mary’s Hampton (a church building other than a parish church for attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently). The architect was Edward Lapidge who was the owner and donor of the land on which it was to be constructed. The cost ( equivalent of about £22m today) was met by a grant from the Church Commissioners. Edward Lapidge was also the architect of St Mary’s Hampton which was result about the same time in a similar Gothic style. St John’s soon became a full parish church as Hampton Wick was growing with the arrival of the railway. It was extended in 1887 but by 2005 the congregation had dwindled and the church closed. It was restored in 2010 and re-opened under the Church of England’s church planting scheme. This involved support from Holy Trinity Brompton and it is now part of a network of HTB plants. The church now has a big congregation and runs numerous workshops and groups in an adjacent building. But....today the doors were firmly closed although a service had been streamed at 10am. Today was a very grey day so the extra of the church is one I took back in May!