Church Of St John The Baptist

The Church of St John the Baptist is a Grade II* listed building located in Greatham West Row. The church features late 12th century nave arcades, with the nave constructed around 1792 using earlier materials. The chancel and the easternmost bay of the nave were built in 1855-56 in the Decorated style by J.P. Pritchett, based on designs by J. Middleton. The clearstoreys were added in 1869 by R.J. Withers, while the vestry and organ chamber were completed in 1881. The tower, designed by C. Hodgson Fowler, was built in 1909, all situated on an Anglo-Saxon foundation.

The church is constructed of dressed, snecked limestone, with dressed limestone used for the tower. The nave roof is covered with Welsh slate, while other roofs are made of Lakeland slate. The building features an aisled and clearstoried nave, a lower chancel, a north-east organ chamber, a south-east vestry, a north-west porch, and a west tower. The three-stage tower has slender clasping buttresses and an embattled parapet, with a sculptured figure in a niche on the north face of the second stage.

The five-bay nave and two-bay chancel contain Early English style windows, with plate tracery in the aisles and chancel, and circular quatrefoil windows in the clearstorey. The four bays of nave arcades are from the 12th century and feature circular piers, while the westernmost bays are mid-19th century with octagonal piers. All arcades have pointed double-chamfered arches, except for the second and fourth bays of the north aisle, which have double chevron moulding facing the nave.

Inside, there is a pre-Reformation altar mensa made of Frosterley marble, supported by two early 11th century baluster shafts. The church also features a pre-Reformation circular font bowl made of Frosterley marble, set on a shaft with a moulded base. Fragments of sculptured masonry from the 8th to 12th centuries are built into the north wall of the north aisle. The church houses two bells, both cast in 1837.