Church Of St John The Baptist

The Church of St John the Baptist is a late 15th-century church with 19th-century restorations, located in Brinklow. It is constructed of sandstone ashlar with some coursed rubble, and has tile roofs with lead roofs to the aisles. The church comprises a chancel and aisled nave with a west tower.

The chancel has one bay and features an east window with intersecting tracery, two lancet windows to the south, and a single lancet to the north. The nave has five bays. The south aisle has three restored three-light Perpendicular windows within chamfered surrounds, one to the east, one to the west, and a small two-light window to the west. A partially brick 19th-century vestry adjoins the south side. The north aisle has two 15th-century three-light windows with scallop ornament within chamfered surrounds to the north and one to the west, alongside a single cusped lancet window to the east. A 15th-century timber porch has a four-centred arch; the spandrel is carved, and the 4-centred plank door within, which has carved mouchette spandrels to its hood, is set within heavily moulded surrounds with cusped panelling. The south aisle has a coped parapet, while the north aisle is battlemented with cusped panelled finials to its corners.

The four-stage west tower has a 19th-century plank door to the west within a four-centred arch with a moulded surround, flanked by two rows of 15th-century cusped panelling. A restored three-light Perpendicular window is situated in the second stage, within a chamfered arch and hood mould, with restored two-light Decorated windows to the north and south of the third stage, also within chamfered arches. The bell-chamber has two-light openings with scallop tracery to the north, south, and west. The tower is battlemented with pinnacles to its corners. A stair turret rises to all four stages of the tower on the south side. The church has a plinth and angle buttresses; the clasping polygonal buttresses of the tower have nodding ogee niches to the third stage. Gable ends are coped.

Inside, the chancel has a restored 19th-century hammerbeam and arched brace roof, supported on carved corbels. The nave arcade of five bays has double chamfered arches supported on shafted piers with smaller shafts supporting 19th-century nave and 15th-century aisle roofs; the bases of these piers are broached. A complete stone stair leads to a former roodscreen to the east of the south arcade, which features chamfered openings. A four-centred vestry door is located to the south aisle. The west tower arch is triple chamfered and rests upon round piers with polygonal capitals. There is some 15th-century stained glass in the east window of the south aisle, and to the north and east of the north aisle, with the remainder being 19th-century. 19th-century pulpits, choirstalls, and pews are also present. Three 19th-century wall monuments are located in the south aisle, alongside one dated 1737 with a moulded sandstone surround and segmental pediment.