Church Of St John The Baptist

Parish church of St John the Baptist dates largely to 1862, with a 13th-century origin, rebuilt by C. E. Giles. It is constructed of greenstone ashlar with limestone ashlar bands and dressings, covered with banded Welsh and Westmoreland slates, decorative tiled ridges, and stone coped gables with crosses fleury. The church comprises a western tower, a nave with aisles, a south porch, a chancel, and a vestry.

The 19th-century, two-stage tower has a pyramidal slate roof behind a parapet resting on corbelled pointed arches. It features corner buttresses and a chamfered string course. The belfry stage has two pointed openings with common hoods, and the west window is a two-light design with a quatrefoil above. The north aisle has a lancet window to the west and three 19th-century, two-light plate traceried windows. The vestry has two two-light lancets with carved imposts, a doorway with a shouldered head, and an ashlar chimney with a chamfered top. The chancel’s north side features a single lancet and, at the east end, three stepped lancets under a pointed hood. The south side contains a pair and a single lancet, alongside a doorway with a reused late 13th-century pointed head, now incorporating 19th-century side shafts. The east wall of the south aisle has a pair of lancets with quatrefoils, with a similar pair of windows and three stepped lancets on the south wall. A single lancet is located to the west. The gabled south porch has a pointed outer doorway with side shafts. The inner doorway is late 13th century, exhibiting continuous filleted roll mouldings and a moulded hood.

Inside, the three-bay late 13th-century nave arcades have octagonal shafts and moulded capitals, double chamfered arches. The 13th-century tower arch is double chamfered and now includes 19th-century corbels. Pointed doorways at the east end provide access to the rood loft stair and loft. The double chamfered chancel arch is 13th century, with octagonal responds. The north wall of the chancel has two 19th-century, moulded and pointed arches with fluted corbels. A handsome early 14th-century piscina is situated on the south wall, featuring a cupsed ogee head with crockets and pinnacles. Adjacent to it, under a bracket with foliage, is a two-tier aumbry affixed to the north wall. The east wall hosts a 19th-century stone reredos with polished jewels, inlay, and foliate carving, with collared and shafted rear arches above the east window. All fittings are 19th century, including a panelled stone pulpit with inlaid panels of foliage, shafted base, and stiff leaf decorated top. An octagonal font, potentially dating from the 17th century, has a roll moulded surround to its panels. A late 13th-century effigy of a knight, recumbent in chain mail and a surcoat, lies in the south aisle. It depicts the knight with his feet resting on a lion, with angle supporters flanking the pillowed head. The monument is believed to have originated from the site of the Cistercian Priory at Greenfield, Aby. A fragment of a carving, possibly from the 11th century, is found in the porch.