Church Of St John The Baptist

The Church of St John the Baptist is a church of 1835, designed by Thomas Winter, with substantial restoration and alterations in 1894. It is constructed of red sandstone ashlar with a plain-tile roof. The building comprises a chancel, an organ chamber/vestry, a nave, a south aisle, a north porch, and a west tower. The chancel has a three-light east window with Perpendicular-style tracery, a four-centred head, and hood moulds; a similar two-light window to the northwest; and a priest’s door to the southeast with a four-centred head and chamfered stone surround. The adjoining vestry/organ chamber has a similar east door and a two-light window to the south with a chamfered stone mullion, arched lights, cut spandrels, a double-chamfered stone surround, and a battlemented parapet. The three-bay south aisle has similar windows. The nave has two-light windows to the north and southwest, also with Perpendicular-style tracery and four-centred heads. The south door has a double-chamfered stone surround and a four-centred head. The north porch features a similar doorway, double-leaf doors, hood moulds, and one-light windows to the east and west with arched lights, cut spandrels, and a chamfered stone surround, topped with a battlemented parapet. The three-stage west tower has a two-light window to the base with Perpendicular tracery and a four-centred head; a two-light window above with Y tracery and hood moulds; and two-light bell-chamber openings with similar tracery. It is set off with diagonal buttresses and a battlemented parapet. The nave has a pair of small lancet windows to the west end, either side of the tower. Diagonal offset buttresses feature on the nave, aisles, chancel, vestry, and porch, along with offset buttresses between bays. Hollow-chamfered stone eaves are present on the nave, chancel, and aisles. The Perpendicular tracery is from the 1894 restoration and replaced earlier Y and intersecting tracery.

The interior features a massive tie-beam roof with curved feet and timber corbels, with a four-centred arch between queen struts to collar. The nave has a three-bay north arcade with octagonal piers, stylized leaf capitals, and double-chamfered arches. A significant series of monuments to the Noel family, originally from the medieval predecessor church, are located behind the altar. These include a chest tomb, of alabaster, with the recumbent effigies of Sir Andrew Noel, who died in 1562, flanked by his two wives, featuring a row of mourners, an inscription to the top of the chest, and shields. A small alabaster chest tomb displays a lady and her two husbands from around 1580, along with kneeling children at the west end. An alabaster wall monument depicts Andrew Noel, who died in 1603, and his wife on a half-rolled-up mattress and chest tomb with coats of arms, separated by a small shell-headed niche. The effigies are flanked by Ionic pillars on bulgy bases, supporting a round-headed arch and a frieze, with a cartouche of arms above, flanked by obelisk finials. A slate wall monument commemorates Rev. Stephen Greenaway, who died in 1795, with a Latin inscription. Stop-chamfered spine beams with run-out stops are also present.