Church Of St John The Baptist

Church of St John the Baptist

A parish church of 13th, 14th and 15th-century origin, built in limestone ashlar with ashlar dressings and lead roofs. The building was restored and vestries added to the north aisle by C. Kirk in 1883. The tower and spire were repaired in 1843, 1874 and 1894.

The church plan comprises a south tower with spire, nave with clerestory, north aisle and vestry, chancel, south chapel, south aisle, and south porch.

The south tower has three stages with shallow clasping buttresses and a square stair turret to the north east, with a stair light on each stage. There are two moulded string courses and coved eaves. The first stage has to the south a cusped ogee triple lancet with hood mould and stops. The second stage has to the south a 13th-century chamfered lancet with hood mould and stops, and to its right a 20th-century sundial. To the west is a stair light. The bell stage has to the south an ogee double lancet bell opening, and to the east and west plain double lancet louvred bell openings, all with moulded reveals, hood moulds and mask stops. Below the east opening is a clock. The octagonal broach spire has two tiers of gabled lucarnes in the cardinal directions, those in the lower tier having plate and reticulated tracery, with intermediate tiers of smaller lucarnes on the alternate faces. Above is a finial and weathercock.

The nave of four bays has a mask and fleuron frieze, coped parapet and an east gable with cross. Chamfered plinths and moulded sill bands are present throughout. The west end has a triple lancet with flamboyant tracery and hood mould, and above it a 15th-century double lancet with panel tracery and hood mould. The 15th-century clerestory has two cusped ogee double lancets with panel tracery. The north side has to the east a similar double lancet, and to the west three cusped ogee double lancets with flat heads. These windows have hood moulds.

The north aisle and vestry, also of four bays, has a moulded coped parapet, two angle buttresses and two intermediate buttresses with setoffs, and a gabled lateral stack. The north side has two 14th-century ogee triple lancets with panel tracery and four-centred arched heads, flanked to the left by a chamfered 19th-century doorway and to the right by a 14th-century moulded and rebated doorway. All openings have hood moulds and stops. The west end has a mid-14th-century double lancet with flowing tracery. The east end has a 19th-century double lancet with Y tracery, both with hood moulds and mask stops.

The chancel of two bays was remodelled in the 15th century and has coved eaves band and coped parapet with gable and cross. The north side has to the east a squat 13th-century double lancet with Y tracery, hood mould and mask stops. The east end has a sill band and two gabled diagonal buttresses, a central blocked doorway with traces of roof line, and above, a five-light 15th-century lancet with panel tracery, fillet moulded reveal and hood mould with mask stops. The south side has to the east a 15th-century cusped ogee double lancet with panel tracery and hood mould.

The south chapel of two bays was remodelled in the 15th century and has chamfered plinth, moulded sill band, moulded eaves band, crenellated parapet and gable. The south side has two buttresses topped with pinnacles; the west buttress has above it a gargoyle. To the west is a cusped ogee double lancet and to the east an untraceried triple lancet with four-centred arched reveal. Both windows have hood moulds. The east end has an untraceried 15th-century triple lancet with four-centred arched reveal and hood mould.

The south aisle of three bays is 13th-century remodelled in the 15th century, with crenellated parapet and fleuron frieze. The south side has a porch flanked to the west by a 13th-century single lancet and to the east by a late 13th-century double lancet with chamfered reveal and hood mould. The west end has two angle buttresses and a 13th-century double lancet with moulded reveal and hood mould.

The south porch, 13th-century but remodelled in the 15th century, has a moulded plinth, chamfered sill band, fleuron frieze, crenellated parapet and gable with ogee finial and pinnacles. It has a moulded four-centred arched doorway with hood mould and mask stops, with keeled shafts. Above the door are three niches with crocketed canopies. The porch interior has stone benches and a restored arch-braced common rafter roof with foliate corbels. A moulded and rebated 13th-century inner doorway with hood mould leads to the church interior.

Interior

The nave has a north arcade of three bays dating to the 13th century, with octagonal piers and responds with moulded bases and capitals, double chamfered and rebated arches, and hood moulds with mask stops. A similar south arcade has a square eastern pier and a 19th-century altered archway to the tower chamber. The east end has to the south an octagonal stair enclosure with traceried panels and a niche, containing a stone newel stair. The 15th-century roof has moulded arch braces, bosses and wall shafts on mask corbels.

The north aisle and vestry has a moulded fleuron frieze. The east end has a 13th-century double chamfered archway with hood mould, mask stops and octagonal imposts. There is a late 19th-century glazed traceried wooden screen. The plain lean-to roof has animal mask corbels.

The south aisle has a similar frieze, roof and corbels.

The chancel has a 13th-century style multiple chamfered arch with hood mould and octagonal shafts on foliate corbels, and a sill band. The north side has to the west a double chamfered 13th-century archway with octagonal imposts, and to the east a restored 13th-century doorway with hood mould, flanked to the right by a tomb recess with filleted roll mould. The east end has a blocked central doorway and to the left a square aumbry. A stained glass east window dates to 1916. The south side has to the east a damaged Easter sepulchre with a moulded square recess and above it two gabled crocketed recesses with finials. To its right are a piscina and roll-moulded graduated sedilia with shafts, all dating to around 1300. To the west is a double chamfered 13th-century archway with imposts. The roof is a restored common rafter roof with arch braces and mask corbels.

The south chapel has at its west end a restored triple chamfered arch with responds with crenellated capitals. The north west corner has a square stair enclosure with a blocked stair with a pointed opening to the south and above, to the east, a stair light. The roof is a restored 15th-century design with arch braces and mask corbels.

Fittings

The church contains a 15th-century octagonal font with quatrefoil panels, embattled rim, and stem with clustered shafts. Late 19th-century traceried panelled stalls and desks with poppyheads are present, along with 19th and 20th-century benches with shaped ends. A late 19th-century brass lectern is installed. An octagonal linenfold panelled oak pulpit dates to 1892. There are two 17th-century bobbin-turned chairs. A large mid-16th-century oil painting by Carofalo is displayed. A 17th-century iron-bound poor box on brackets is present.

Memorials include a brass of 1686, a hatchment of 1603, a tablet on brackets of 1837, and an obelisk tablet with urn and weeper of 1844. An arch-topped marble and alabaster war memorial tablet of 1918 is by Cawthorp. An alabaster tablet also dates to 1918.