St John the Evangelist, Fernham
For several years the small congregation has struggled to support a full programme of worship, so agreement was reached with the Bishop of Dorchester at the end of 2021 to make St John a festival church. The main services are Christmas, Easter, Harvest and Remembrance, and other village and nationally significant events are also celebrated.
In a joint venture with the Fernham Village Trust, the church has been adapted so it can also be used as the Village Hall. It is now used regularly for village events and Annabelle’s nursery meets daily in term time.
The Church
Although 13th century gothic in style, St John's was in fact built in 1861 by the Gothic Revival architect JW Hugall to serve as a chapel of ease for Longcot.
It underwent a major re-ordering and refurbishment project between 2005 and 2010, which preserved the best of the church building including the font and some lovely stained glass, but added a beautiful new oak floor, a small but well appointed kitchen, a toilet, comfortable chairs and excellent IT facilities. This makes it a very versatile venue for village events, private hire and Benefice meetings.
