In those days, that end (Cleveland Town and Fraser Town) of the Bangalore Cantonment housed mainly pensioned officers and employees of the East Indian Company, Europeans and their native wives and Eurasian children.

These Eurasian children were not allowed to enroll in the European styled schools of the Cantonment.

A single room measuring 750 ft2 was built, on Haines Road, serving as school during the day, library for the pensioners during the afternoon, and as a church on Sundays.

[1][2] The reading room for pensioners at Haines Road is also mentioned by William Sproston Caine in his book 'Picturesque India: a Handbook for European Travellers', published in 1890 (p. 522).

Posnett, writing to the Bishop of Madras, reported church services were held on Wednesday evenings and on Sundays, with the room filled to excess with 100-115 people in attendance.

W. Holder says "The exact site of this Chapel-School room is obscure, though a building, reputed to be such stands on Haines Road..".

Posnett, managed to raise the required funds by appealing to the different congregations in India and abroad.

An empty plot of land, lying beside the Roman Catholic chapel (future St. Francis Xavier's Cathedral) was purchased by Rev.

The enclosure was built around the purchased land, earmarking it for the future Mootocherry Anglican Church, along with a school and library.

The expansion along with furniture and construction of the compound wall cost INR 11,625, with the works being supervised by the Madras Sappers and Miners regiment.

The church tower was raised at the end of 1858, as the result of a contribution of INR 1,000 by Rev.

In 1895-96, the edifice was extended to include the choir, a large portico and two front vestries.

The pipe organ (by Norman and Beard) at St. John's is among the oldest and rarest, and very difficult to repair.

On Remembrance Day (11 November), the officers of the Madras Regiment offer their tributes at this memorial.

The church also manages the Stephen's Old Age Home, in Clarke Street, Richmond Town.

Vinay Samuel, pastor of St. John's Church between 1975–83, and his wife Colleen Samuel, developed ministry for slum dwellers in Lingarajpuram, and helped establish a daughter congregation, Divya Shanti, at Lingarajpuram in 1983.

Well known cartoonist Paul Fernandes remembers his childhood in Fraser Town, where the skyline was dominated by St. Francis Xavier's Cathedral and St. John's Church.