St John-at-Hampstead Church — Attraction in London

Modern mid-19th century Anglican church in the heart of Hampstead village at the end of 'Church Row' a fabulous historic street with an uninterrupted row of 'listed heritage' Georgian terraced town houses together with classic street furniture of the era displayed in street lamps, railings and bollards.

The church is a formal Anglican design on the site of several earlier churches dating back to the 10th century. The somewhat underwhelming redbrick exterior betrays a cheerful, festive, bright interior of whitewashed & pastel blue with gold trimming, ten columns and upper tiered balconies run both sides along the nave. The dark wood of the ornate 18th century gothic organ in the quire provides a striking contrast to the clean white lines of the interior walls.

The church and graveyard provide the setting for a central part of Bram Stoker's classic horror novel; 'Dracula'. Fans of the horror novel will be excited to experience the frequent and atmospheric, spooky fogs that fall across the church and graveyard on late autumn & winter nights, owing to the high elevation of Hampstead village relative to the rest of the city.

Notable tombs in the Church graveyard include; English romantic landscape artist; John Constable; British politician and former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Hugh Gaitskell; The Lewyen Davies family who provided author J.M. Barrie the inspiration for the Peter Pan novel. Their son 'Peter' Lewyen Davies is buried in the family plot, having tragically passed by suicide aged 63 (sadly and ironically, a far cry from the immortal child character depicted in the novel).

Worth a visit for the literary enthusiasts, gothic horror fans and for some unique photography...

A lovely community, friendly, warm, welcoming, and eclectic (perhaps even a bit eccentric). It has a wonderful churchyard, a delight to roam in, especially in the evening or when the sunlight dapples through the trees. Tombs include those of "Peter Pan" (or at least the boy and his brothers who inspired the story), and a series of political, artistic, theatrical, and scientific luminaries, all buried amongst the yew trees, chestnut trees, brambles and flowers. Think painter Constable, chronometer inventor Harrison, feminist Eva Gore-Booth and many others. The church is a simple 1740's building on a spot where there has been a church for 1000 years. It has a spectacular interior, and a bust of poet John Keats. One of the defining features is a fantastic church choir and music program, truly world class, singing a range of music, including the beautiful English polyphony, as well as a great and well-led junior choir. The music at Passiontide is especially moving, and they organize a great "Come and Sing" Requiem for...

This is a terrific spot. The church interior is stunning, but it is the surrounding churchyard that is worth exploring. Firstly, it is a true wild and overgrown churchyard with earth paths meandering between tombstones that lean at all sorts of bizarre angles. The artist John Constable and John Harrison of Longitude fame are both buried in the old churchyard. Across the road is the "new extension" where the Llewellyn Davies brothers are buried (the boys whom J. M Barrie used in Peter Pan). It is a haunting and lovely spot and well worth whiling a way a few hours just losing...