Church Of St John The Baptist

SJ 84 N KEELE C.P. CHURCH BANK

3/17 Church of St John the Baptist 17/11/66 GV II*

Parish church. Medieval site, entirely re-built by J. Lewis of Newcastle- under-Lyme between 1868 and 1870. Pink sandstone, rough-faced coursed rubble, graded slate roofs all with raised verges on kneelers and crosses to the gables. Decorated style; nave, chancel, south-west tower with spire, south aisle and chapel, north aisle with vestry, south and west porches. South-west tower: in 3 stages with angle buttresses, crowned by rather coarse corner pinnacles, Decorated-style windows to each stage; tall, recessed spire with gabled lucarnes. Nave in 4 bays, twin trefoil- headed windows to clerestory and plain corbel table; gabled porch at west end. Chancel: in 3 bays, each window displaying a variety of Gothic tracery (for example, mouchettes in the east window on the south side); corbel table. Aisles: of lean-to construction, each in 4 bays; 2-light trefoil headed windows with quatrefoils above, corbel tables; western bay on south side with gabled porch. The south aisle has a separate, lower chapel at its east end and at the east end of the north aisle is the vestry. Interior: arch-braced roof to nave with V-struts to the collars, panelled roof to chancel with principals resting on angels. 4-bay arcades to north and south aisles with octagonal capitals; tall, pointed chancel arch. Good iron screen (c.1870) across the chancel arch. All the other fittings and furnishings are of this (or later) date except for. some re-assembled fragments of C14 stained glass in the west window of the tower and the C18 coat-of-arms over the chancel arch. Monuments: in a late C19 arched recess on the north side of the nave, William Sneyd (died 1613) and wife, 2 recumbent alabaster effigies on a tomb chest with armorial shields to the sides, the bottom parts of the former's legs are missing; on north wall of the nave an elaborate monument to Radulph Sneyd (died 1703) with carved brackets and mourning putti. Also 2 small alabaster wall tablets to Thomas Sneide (died 1615) and Edward and Sisley Brett (died 1593) on the south wall of the south aisle chapel and south aisle respectively, the latter surrounded by heraldic shields; on the north aisle wall a similar but undated slab to Lawrence Cranage. Originally held by the Knights Templars, Keele was a chapel.-of-ease of Wolstanton in the Middle Ages. The Victorian re-building was paid for by Ralph Sneyd of Keele Hall. Graded II* on account of the completeness of the Victorian interior, especially the stained glass by Clayton & Bell; a church whose interior is better than its exterior, both aspects reflecting High Victorian piety. B.0.E., p,158.'

Listing NGR: SJ8098345218