Church of St. John the Baptist, Winterslow

This chapel of ease was built in 1860 when the population of Winterslow Common was growing – even before the Land Court project began. It is speculated that the chapel may also have represented an attempt to counter the growth of Methodism whose presence on the Common had taken tangible form with the construction of the first Methodist chapel in 1810.

From its inception it was planned that the chapel would be a place of worship on Sundays, but a school on weekdays; it was invariably referred to as the ‘Chapel School’.

Land for the construction of St. John’s was given by Robert Cooper of Coopers Farm.
Francis Thomas Egerton contributed approximately 25 per cent of the building cost of £444 5s. 8d. In its original form the chapel had no porch but it did have a bell turret at its western end and seating provision was for 120 people.

St. John’s was dedicated on 4 June 1860 by the Bishop of Salisbury. The ceremony and following celebrations were described in the Salisbury Journal of 9th June 1860.