Church Of St John The Baptist

The Church of St John the Baptist, built between 1886 and 1887 by architects Paley and Austin, is a notable example of late Gothic Revival architecture. Constructed from snecked sandstone rubble with a slate roof, it features a west tower with a recessed spire, a nave with a clearstorey and aisles, a chancel, a south porch, a north transeptal vestry, and a south organ chamber.

The west tower is supported by angle buttresses and has a parapet adorned with a flushwork band, which includes red sandstone infill, a design element that continues around the nave and chancel at the clearstorey level. The bell openings consist of two lights with pointed heads and tracery, while the west window is an impressive eight-light design with a pointed head and tracery. The south porch is marked by diagonal buttresses and features an upper storey with a two-light window and a chequerboard pattern in flushwork. Its door is moulded with a pointed head.

The aisle windows are three-light designs with flat heads, ogee heads to the lights, and various types of tracery. The east window is a five-light window showcasing free Perpendicular tracery. Inside, the church has exposed sandstone masonry, with five-bay nave arcades supported by octagonal piers featuring concave sides and moulded pointed arches. The chancel includes one arch to the north and two to the south, with a high chancel arch that has a moulding dying into the responds. Arched buttresses span the aisles, and the tower arch is also tall and moulded. The inner window arches to the aisles and clearstorey are moulded as well.

The open timber roof boasts raised tie beams, collars, and queen posts, with baluster infill on the outer sides of the queen posts. In the chancel, there are double sedilia with ogee heads and carved decoration, along with a piscina on the north side. The east and west windows feature late 19th-century glass, while the north aisle glass is from the 20th century. Overall, the Church of St John the Baptist stands out for its originality in detail within the late Gothic Revival style.