ST JOHN THE EVANGELIST, WELLING

Parish registers & administrative records

The greater part of the present day parish of St John the Evangelist, Welling, originally formed parts of the ancient parishes of Bexley and East Wickham, the border of these two parishes passing through the middle of Welling High Street.

Welling became part of the parish of Christ Church, Bexleyheath, when that parish was created out of Bexley Parish in 1866. It was not until 1926 that the parish of St John's Welling was created. However, the history of Anglican worship in the area goes back considerably further, and this is reflected in the records.

In 1869 Mr A W Bean, the owner of the Danson Estate paid for the building of a church made of corrugated iron on Welling Corner, which was known locally as the Iron Church. Between 1869 and 1923 Christ Church, Bexleyheath, provided a number of curates. In 1923 the Rev Frank Moore was appointed as the Mission Priest of the newly-formed mission district of Welling to form the parish and to build the parish church. The latter was completed in 1926 on a site in Danson Lane.