St John’s in the heart of Dalhousie Square

The façade and steeple of St John’s church, the “oldest parish of Bengal” and the oldest extant place of worship for Christians, which are overgrown with parasites and are not quite in the pink of health, will soon get a much-needed scrub and coat of plaster and paint, thanks to the World Monuments Fund, which has taken Dalhousie Square under its wings.

The actual funding is by American Express Bank which is providing $75,000 for the restoration project, of which $64,000 (about Rs 25 lakh) is earmarked for refurbishing the structure, which took three years to construct and was consecrated on June 24, 1787, when the nativity of St John the Baptist was celebrated.

Work will begin from August 5, when Bishop Samuel Raju unveils a plaque to signal the start of the project. While the project is being managed by Intach, it was drawn by consulting architect-conservator Manish Chakaraborti and Anandpran Gupta and is being executed by Caltech India.

G.M. Kapur of Intach said cracks have developed on the exterior walls of the church and trees have grown on the spire. The interior and the woodwork do not need intervention.

Raja Nabakrishna Deb of Sobhabazar had conveyed the land to Warren Hastings for sicca rupees 10,000 in 1782. The Old Powder Magazine Yard had been sold by the Company at a private auction on January 11, 1774. According to Cotton, “the land was offered by Hastings to Building Committee, and a week before he resigned his office of governor general in 1785, he formally made it over to a perpetual succession of trustees, in trust for the purpose of building a church”.

Kapur said the project will be completed within nine months, and in the second phase, landscaping of the whole churchyard, where the mausoleum of Job Charnock is located, will be undertaken. Although nothing concrete has emerged yet, the Calcutta Municipal Corporation will fund this phase. Bishop Raju said that after completion of the project, a light-and-sound show will be started there.

The church possesses one of the oldest canvases of the city — Zoffany’s Last Supper. The Bishop said although it is not in need of restoration money will be spent on preserving it.