The History of St. John's

OUR BEGINNINGS IN 1902

St. John’s Church was constructed in 1902 to serve as a mission of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Beverly. For years the Reverend E. J. V. Huiginn, rector of St. Peter’s from 1895 to 1927, traveled by horse and buggy to serve the Beverly Farms church. During the winter he conducted services there on Sunday afternoons at 3 p.m. During the summer visiting clergymen preached at 11 a.m. to a congregation enlarged by the addition of Beverly Farms, Prides Crossing, and Manchester summer colonists.

OUR GROWTH AS A PARISH IN 1912

Five years after its establishment as a mission, St. John’s sought to be recognized as an independent parish. The church-goers longed for a year-round Farms service at the conventional Sunday morning hour, and their own rector who could give his undivided attention to their needs. In 1907 the parishioners petitioned the Beverly congregation asking to become independent of St. Peter’s. Some St. John’s parishioners tried to hasten the separation by offering to compensate the mother church for the monetary loss that would result should St. Peter’s give up some of its wealthier subscribers. After five years of negotiation, in 1912, the Right Reverend William Lawrence, Bishop of the Diocese of Massachusetts, officially recognized St. John’s Church as a parish. From that year onward, St. John’s has been supported generously by its caring parishioners.

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Our Historic Building

The church building was designed by Henry Vaughan (1846-1917), an English architect noted for such contributions to the revival of Gothic architecture in America as the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Following Vaughan’s death in 1917, Ralph Adams Cram acted as the church’s consulting architect. In 1919 Charles J. Connick was hired to design and execute the stained-glass windows for St. John’s. We continue to enjoy the beautiful windows with his famed Connick blues. St. John’s continues to be a landmark of Beverly Farms.

The Journey Continues

Since its founding, St. John’s has been committed to supporting people on the margins both within our local community and beyond. We continue to minister to the spiritual lives of year-round residents of the North Shore and seasonal visitors, value our tradition of meaningful liturgy and music, and supporting our neighbors. Standing on the strong foundation of our church’s history, we are looking forward to embracing the bold changes that will bring us into our future.