St John's was originally conceived as a chapel of ease to the parish church of St Mary at Hampton[3] about 2+1⁄2 miles away,[4] but following its completion, the district assigned to it was made a separate parish.[3] The Church Commissioners funded its construction on the condition that the parish church should also be enlarged at the same time. The cost of the church and the enclosure of the site was about £4,500. The first stone was laid on 7 October 1829, and the building was completed by 8 November 1830.[4]
The building's architect Edward Lapidge also donated the land for it, and paid for the enclosure of the site on one side. Lapidge had been born in Hampton Wick, and designed the present Kingston Bridge nearby.[4]
It was built in a plain Gothic Revival style, faced with Suffolk brick and Bath stone. As originally constructed, the church was 65 feet (20 m) long and 43 feet (13 m) wide, with galleries on three sides, and a recessed window at the east end. It was intended to seat 800 people, half the accommodation being free (i.e. not subject to pew rent).[4] A chancel was added in 1887 and the church was restored in 1880 and 1911.[5]
In 2010, after five years of closure, the church re-opened its doors under the Church of England's church planting scheme. Services were resumed in December 2010.
In 2024 St John's Hampton Wick partnered with St Mark's, Teddington(the church they used to share a parish with). They are now moving towards a shared vision, uniquely expressed in each location.
Rev Jerry Field is now the Vicar of both St Mark’s and St John’s and Rev Tom Simpson is Minister-in-Charge at St Mark’s whilst remaining part of the team at St John’s. [6]
Services
Services are held twice on Sunday mornings (9:00am & 10:30am) plus on Sunday evenings (6:00pm). The church describes its services as "informal, modern and family friendly’' within the Church of England.[7]
