St John's Church stands in the Jhelum Cantonment — the military quarter laid out by the British after the annexation of the Punjab in the 1840s — and is one of the best-preserved garrison churches in Pakistan. Built in the mid-19th century to serve the British troops stationed here, the building has the solid, no-nonsense character of colonial-era military architecture: thick stone walls, pointed arched windows, a modest tower. Inside, the original wooden pews survive, and the stained glass still filters coloured light across the flagstone floor. Many garrison churches in the subcontinent have been stripped or fallen into disrepair; this one has not.
The graveyard surrounding the church is what makes the visit worth lingering over. The headstones record the names and regiments of British soldiers who died here — of cholera, of heat, of old age, and occasionally in action. The inscriptions read like a compressed military history of the Punjab. Getting into the church requires finding the caretaker, who is usually on site; it is worth the effort. The cantonment area around the church is also pleasant to walk through, with mature trees and the unhurried character of a neighbourhood that has changed less than the commercial city around it.