The Entrance to the Church, known as a narthex, was originally approached from Royal Terrance and the High Street along a gravelled drive between grass verges and great holly hedges.  Much of this land was lost with the construction of the Palace Hotel (originally the Hotel Metropole) in 1904.  The narthex is much later that the original building of 1842 - it was added as part of the major extension scheme which was completed in 1912.

In 1871 the population of Southend was 4589: by 1901 it was 27,299.  The Church building was expanded to meet the growing need.

The Podium upon which the nave altar rests was added as part of St John's 150th anniversary celebrations, in 1992.  At the time the Church was carpeted from altar to entrance and was re-carpeted as recently as April 2003.  At the end of that year the Greek Orthodox Church, after a long tenancy, vacated the Chapel.  Rich with colour and icons throughout that time, the Chapel has been restored in a simple, almost medieval style and remains in regular use.

Looking around the Church, the note the superb stained glass windows.  In the South Transept are windows commemorating St John the Baptist, Christ the Light of the World and Christ the Bread of Life and John St the Baptist and the Baptism of Jesus.  These date from 1950.  The West window depicts "Annunciation", St John the Baptist and St Stephen and was installed in memory of a WWII pilot killed in action.  The East Window, behind the High Altar is titled "Te Deum Laudamus " and was given by James Heygate in 1907.