St. John's Church, originally a cathedral, was among the first public buildings erected by the East India Company after Kolkata (Calcutta) became the effective capital of British India.[1] It is located at the North-Western corner of Raj Bhavan, and served as the Anglican Cathedral of Calcutta till 1847, when the see was transferred to St. Paul's Cathedral. Construction of the building, modelled on St Martin-in-the-Fields of London,[2] started in 1784, with Rs 30,000 raised through a public lottery,[3] and was completed in 1787. It is the third oldest church in the city, next to the Armenian and the Old Mission Church.[4]
The land for the St. John's Church was donated by the Maharaja Nabo Kishen Bahadur, the founder of the Shovabazar Raj Family.The foundation stone was laid by Warren Hastings, the Governor General of India on 6 April 1784. Two marble plaques at the entrance mark the two historic events.
Built by architect James Agg, the St John's church is built with a combination of brick and stone and was commonly known as the "Pathure Girja"[4] (Stone Church). Stone was a rare material in the late 18th century Kolkata. The stones came from the medieval ruins of Gour, and were shipped down the Hooghly River. The minutes book in the church office tell in detail the story of how the ruins of Gaur were robbed to build St John's church.[2]
St John's Church Kolkata
The church is a large square structure in the Neoclassical architectural style. A stone spire 174 ft tall is its most distinctive feature. The spire holds a giant clock, which is wound every day.[3]
One of the driving forces behind the construction of the cathedral was Chaplain William Johnson, the husband of Begum Johnson.
Job Charnock Mausoleum
On 24 August 1690 an ambitious trader, Job Charnock, of the British East India Company landed in the village of Sutanuti (present day North Calcutta) never to return. Although Charnock died two years later, but he combined the three villages of Sutanuti, Govindopur & Kolikata to form the city of Calcutta.
The octagonal Moorish style tomb was erected by Charnock's son in law Charles Ayer. Built of stones brought all the way from Pallavaram near Chennai, which later came out to be known as Charnockite.[9]
The grave also contains the body of Charnock's wife and several other people, including the famous surgeon William Hamilton
The Epitaph of Charnok's grave is in latin. The English translation is: "In the hands of God Almighty, Job Charnock, English knight and recently the most worthy agent of the English in this Kingdom of Bengal, left his mortal remains under this marble so that he might sleep in the hope of a blessed resurrection at the coming of Christ the Judge. After he had journeyed onto foreign soil he returned after a little while to his eternal home on the 10th day of January 1692. By his side lies Mary, first-born daughter of Job, and dearest wife of Charles Eyre, the English prefect in these parts. She died on 19 February AD 1696–7.[10]"
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