Church Of St John The Evangelist

LONGHIRST LONGHIRST VILLAGE NZ 2288 (East side) 11/36 Church of St. John the Evangelist 20.10.69 GV II

Parish Church, 1876, by Sir Arthur Blomfield. Rock-faced stone with ashlar dressings; red tile roof. Nave with south aisle and north-west tower/porch, chancel with south organ chamber and north vestry. Free C13 style with Geometric tracery. High chamfered plinth, stepped buttresses,clasping buttresses to tower and eastern arms, moulded sill string, hollow-chamfered eaves cornice, foliage stops to hoodmoulds.

Tower has double doors in triple-chamfered arch, lancet over. Chamfered, set-back belfry stage. Heavy eaves corbel table and broach spire rock-faced up to a moulded string, upper part with 4 lucarnes; stair turret on west. 3-bay north wall of nave has two 2-light windows and lancet. West end: tall 2-light window flanked by lancets, and set back to right west aisle lancet. String course over head of central window. South wall has low eaves, two 2-light windows in half dormers. Chancel arms have 2-light windows with pierced circles above, Y-tracery windows on single lancets. Stepped triplet in east end. Both gable ends coped with crosses.

Interior plastered,with ashlar features. 4-bay south arcade with clustered columns alternately of marble. Tall double-chamfered chancel arch on colonnettes over stone corbels. Aumbry on north and sedilia on south chancel wall. East lancets have black marble jamb shafts and hoodmould with leafy carved stops. Arch-braced timber roofs, the chancel panelled; aisle dormer roofs with hip rafters and collars. Chancel screen carved by the Rev. Proctor (vicar 1885-1916) and his parishioners; screens to vestry and organ chamber. Carved stone reredos in panelled east wall. Original tiled floors, elaborately patterned in sanctuary. Well-carved bench seating in nave and choir, the latter with poppy-head bench ends.

Listing NGR: NZ2254088873