200-year-old St. John Church in Secunderabad gets a makeover

A funeral hymn echoes off the white walls and wooden ceiling of St. John the Baptist Church in Secunderabad on a Thursday afternoon as a grieving family enters with a cortege. The grand pipe organ, with its columns rising almost to the ceiling, releases ethereal notes that mirror the family’s sombre mood. Outside, young volunteers string plastic holly, myrtle and Christmas decorations along the pillars, doors and windows. From its origins as a Christian church in the heart of a Muslim kingdom, on the edge of a cantonment town once home to British soldiers, the institution has come a long way. Today, as motorists circle the junction that bears its name, the church is barely visible above the sparse treeline.

On July 23, 1807, the Senior Chaplain at Fort St. George recommended the appointment of a Chaplain in his letter to the Governor in Council. “Having ascertained from the Resident at Hyderabad that there would be no objection to the appointment of a military Chaplain to the British cantonment in its vicinity, we have nominated the Rev. Mr. Brackenbury for that duty,” wrote the senior chaplain about the spiritual needs of the soldiers stationed in the cantonment town of Secunderabad. 

The Court of Directors of the East India Company was wary of offending Nizam Sikander Jah, as the salaries of soldiers were paid from the Nizam’s treasury. Company officials feared that the stationing of a Christian minister in a cantonment within a Muslim kingdom might provoke displeasure. These concerns, however, proved to be unfounded. Five years later, in 1812, the government went ahead and constructed a small church.

Measuring 66 feet by 47 feet and standing 19 feet high, the structure could accommodate about 300 men. A contemporary chronicle describes it as “a plain building with strong walls on good foundations” with neither external nor internal ornamentation. The church cost ₹16,300 to build, of which ₹600 was locally collected from officers. In 1813, Rev. Joseph Brackenbury arrived in Secunderabad. The church was extended eastward by 36 feet in 1826 at a cost of ₹13,774, giving St. John the Baptist Church its cruciform shape, which is now clearly visible in drone shots today.

Nearly 200 years after this expansion, the church has gotten a fresh lease of life with the replacement of the tiles of the gabled roof. “The church building was leaking at multiple places. We thought we would replace some tiles but once we noticed the extent of leakages, we thought about changing all the tiles to safeguard the building,” says a person associated with the restoration effort of the church.

“It was a challenge as some of the tiles were damaged, the wooden rafters too had suffered wear and tear. We began the work in July and gradually dismantled the old ceiling and carried out a treatment with Cashew Nut Shell Liquid mixed with six other oils treated at 1300 C,” informs P.S. Rajan, managing director of Aptsorbh Private Limited, that focuses on heritage building restorations. The Kanyakumari-based firm took up the job and finished just as the Hyderabad monsoon was tapering off in October.

“It was good that our work got interrupted by the monsoon. We could understand the locations where the damage was extensive and used reinforcements,” says Mr. Rajan, whose firm used limestone mortar to repair the building, including the parapet so that the restored portions blend in with the original building.

A few decades later, Rev. G. H. Evans, a chaplain with a long career in Secunderabad, made a petition for consecration of the church. The building was dedicated to God in honour of St. John the Baptist only on December 12, 1841. The church evolved over time, with donations of flooring, and on the western side, a small stained glass window has St John Baptist holding a staff. The belfry was added later, to give the ‘plain useful building a more ecclesiastical appearance’. The music organ was donated in 1908 with voluntary subscriptions. The panelling of the altar was redone after the 1914-18 war. 

With the restoration nearly complete, the 200-year-old church is now ready for many more Christmas celebrations.