Hampstead was granted to the Benedictine monks of Westminster Abbey by charter in 986. It is likely that they placed a church there soon afterwards, but the first records of one come from 1312 and 1333. On the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the Abbey was replaced by the Bishop of Westminster, with its first and only holder Thomas Thirlby also serving as St John'srector. Thirlby appointed Thomas Chapelyne to be St John's vicar in 1545, but the see was abolished in 1551 by Edward VI, with the manor and benefice of Hampstead being granted to Sir Thomas Wrothe. The church of this era was part in stone and part in timber, and also had a minor wooden tower. As Hampstead grew in popularity and size as an out-of-town health resort, the small existing church grew less and less adequate and derelict, being finally declared unusable by 1744. A new church was built on designs by Henry Flitcroft and John Sanderson, and dedicated on 8 October 1747 by the Bishop of Llandaff. However, by 1827 this was again too small, though initial plans by Lewis Vulliamy were rejected as too expensive and it took until 1843 for extension plans by Robert Hesketh to be agreed upon. This extended the church 30 ft westwards by means of transepts, adding 524 more seats. In 1853 the church had its first Willis organ built, with Henry Willis himself employed as the organist, and in 1871 plans were mooted for 'beautifying and improving' the church. These plans originally involved the demolition of the tower, but this was shelved on protests from William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones, Holman Hunt, Ford Madox Brown, Anthony Trollope, George du Maurier, Coventry Patmore, F. T. Palgrave, George Gilbert Scott Jr. and others, in favour of simple extensions westwards in 1877–78 designed by F.P. Cockerell. In 1911–12 the Vestries were improved by Temple Moore, who also added a Morning Chapel, whilst in 1958 the dark Victorian interior scheme was removed and the original lighter, whitewashed scheme reinstated. The building is Grade I listed.
Music
The church has a fine musical tradition stretching back as far as Henry Willis. Under the direction of Martindale Sidwell it developed a national and international reputation as being a centre of excellence for parish music, which it maintains today with a fully professional choir as well as a junior choir and regular high-profile concerts.
By virtue of the Parochial Church Councils Measure 1956, parochial church councils are entitled to levy a voluntary rate and, in 1986, Hampstead Parish Church's PCC decided to supplement their millennium redecoration appeal by this means. The levying of a voluntary rate on businesses and residents alike has now become a regular annual event.
Churchyard
Notable individuals buried in its churchyard include:
