Church Of St John Of Jerusalem

The Church of St John of Jerusalem is a parish church with origins dating back to the 12th century, substantially rebuilt in 1851 on old foundations. It is constructed of coursed sandstone rubble with ashlar dressings, and has a machine-tile roof with gable-end parapets. The church comprises a three-bay nave, a west doorway and the remains of a west bellcote, and an apsidal chancel with a lean-to north vestry. The architectural style is Norman.

The nave features ashlar pilaster buttresses dividing the side elevations into bays. The round-headed west doorway has two hollow mouldings on the imposts and chamfered jambs. A circular window with a moulded surround sits above the doorway. The side elevations are characterised by a chambered eaves cornice and small round-arched windows with chamfered jambs. The moulded base of the bellcote survives. The chancel also has a chamfered eaves cornice and three windows similar to those in the nave. The vestry has a comparable window on its west side, although the arched head has been altered.

Inside, the chancel arch is round-headed and sits on moulded imposts. The roof structure incorporates arch-braced collar trusses with king struts and swept braces above the collar. There are chevron mouldings on the braces, collars, and purlins, and the wall-plates are also moulded. The arch-braces are supported on colonnettes with trumpet-scalloped capitals. The chancel contains four strips of painted decoration depicting figures of the Apostles between the rafters. Two medieval bowls are on the chancel floor; one is octagonal, the other has chevron mouldings and a drainage channel on one side. A 19th-century octagonal stone font with traceried panels is also present. The church also contains an ornately carved 19th-century timber pulpit with arched panels, featuring foliated and strapwork detailing in a Jacobean style. Church plate includes an unusual beaker cup with a domed cover and raised ornament, made by William Gamble in 1688. Several memorials are located within the church, including an oval memorial with a festooned urn in the chancel, dedicated to Mary West, who died in 1800, and a memorial in the nave to Thomas Watkins, who died in 1830. A ledger slab in the chancel commemorates Herbert ? , who died in 1707, and another in the vestry commemorates Elizabeth (Benett), wife of ? Flackett, who died in 1676-7.