The Crypt
The Crypt of the Church can be reached from the hall via stairs from the main portico steps or via the spiral staircase towards the rear of the hall. This part of the building was not damaged by the wartime bombing, so the brickwork is the original 18th century. Unlike other notable churches of the period (for example Christ Church, Spitalfields, whose crypt was excavated by archaeologists in the 1980s yielding much information about the 18th-century inhabitants of the parish), the crypt of St. John's was never used for burials. In fact, for most of the 18th and 19th centuries, the space was let for storage of wines and beer.
The church's burial ground is situated in Horseferry Road adjacent to the former Westminster Hospital buildings. The site is now designated St. John's Gardens and the remaining grave-slabs much eroded by time and the elements, are arranged around the perimeter of the garden.
The Crypt now houses Smith Square Bar & Restaurant, containing an exhibition of photographs of historical St John’s, as well as the Concert Hall Box Office. The restaurant is open to the public Monday-Friday 11:30am - 2.30pm and on all concert evenings from 5.30pm Monday-Friday and from 6pm at weekends.
Renowned for its fine acoustics, the church serves as a popular venue particularly for classical music.
Read more about this topic: St John's, Smith Square