Church Of St John

Church of St. John

This church, now redundant and undergoing restoration, originates from the 12th century, with a nave constructed over several medieval periods, a 15th-century tower, and a chancel and porch rebuilt in 1709. A 19th-century restoration was also carried out. The building is constructed in ashlar limestone with stainless steel roofs and slated aisle roofs.

The plan comprises a west tower, a three-bay aisled nave with south porch, and a two-bay chancel. The tower is in three stages of Perpendicular style, with a chamfered plinth and wave-moulded band. Diagonal west buttresses flank a blocked west door with a quadrant-moulded arch and hood-mould; a similar surround frames a cusped three-light west window. String courses separate the stages, with two-light belfry openings featuring hood-moulds. The parapet is embattled with waterspouts and head-carved gargoyles to the north.

The wave-moulded band from the tower continues at the rebuilt west end of the nave. A gabled porch to the first bay has a pointed arch with impost and hood-mould, with gable copings. Within the porch, a resited 12th-century arch to the south door has shafts with carved capitals and a two-order arch with hood-mould. A small effigial carving appears in the east wall, and a cross-slab with shears is in the west wall. The south aisle is lit by two 19th-century double-chamfered windows with cusped ogee lights beneath square heads, each with a buttress to its right. A 15th-century clerestorey features three three-light windows with cusped lights beneath Tudor arches; the tracery of bays two and three was undergoing replacement at the time of survey. A string course beneath the parapet has roll-moulded copings. The north aisle has a plain, chamfered, two-light window and ashlar gable copings, with a blind clerestorey.

The chancel is lower than the nave. A keel-moulded string course rises over a 19th-century, shouldered-arched priest's door. Two two-light windows have ogee lights beneath square heads. A 19th-century east window of three lights with panel tracery sits beneath a segmental arch. A keel-moulded string course beneath the parapet matches the nave, with a shallow east gable. The north aisle overlaps the chancel and contains a small two-light window and an octagonal stack.

Interior: The tower arch has eastern broach-stops to chamfered jambs and a cavetto-moulded inner order. Arcades dating to circa 1200 feature cylindrical piers with octagonal abaci to the north and circular abaci to the south; the south-east respond has keeled shafts. The arches are bowtel-moulded with two orders; a further western bay's arches are now truncated by the 15th-century tower. At the west end of the north aisle, a blocked, chamfered arch abuts the tower. The chancel arch matches the aisles. A 14th-century double-chamfered arch from the chancel into the north aisle chapel has head-carved corbels. The nave roof is probably 15th-century with bosses to cambered tie beams; the chancel roof is 19th-century.

The font is octagonal and Perpendicular, with traceried panels and a castellated top. The floor contains grave slabs: a 15th-century cross slab with English inscription, another slab in the chancel dated 1633, and several others with 17th- and 18th-century dates. A remarkable coped grave cover, now in two pieces, has foliage carved in high relief.

The church originally served the parishes of Throapham, Letwell, and Gildingwells but is now incorporated in the civil parish of Dinnington St. John's.