Church Of St John The Baptist

Church of St John the Baptist

Parish church with origins in the 12th century, extended in the 13th century and altered in the 15th century. The chancel was rebuilt in 1853 by Butterfield and the church was restored in 1866-7 by Day of Worcester. The building is constructed mainly of dressed coursed sandstone rubble with ashlar dressings, with plain tiled roofs and parapets at gable ends; the chancel features decorative ridge tiles.

The plan comprises a west tower, four-bay nave with north aisle and south porch, and three-bay chancel, combining Decorated and Perpendicular styles.

The west tower dates to the 15th century but retains earlier walling. It has two stages with strings and a chamfered plinth. Diagonal buttresses with offsets stand at the west end, and clasping buttresses above the nave roof sit at the eastern angles. The 15th-century west window has three lights. Small rectangular lights appear above an intermediate string on the north and south elevations. The bell-chamber openings are 2-light ogee-arched louvred openings with square heads, except for the east elevation which has a partially blocked pointed opening. An embattled parapet carries panelled and crocketted corner pinnacles with angel corbels below (some missing). Steps lead down to a basement on the south side.

The north aisle was added in the 13th century; the south wall was rebuilt in 1866-7. The north elevation has diagonal buttresses with offsets at the ends and a raking buttress at bay divisions. The two easternmost windows have three lights and are mainly 19th century; the westernmost bay has a 2-light window, as does the west end. A rebuilt pointed north doorway is present, and the easternmost window is 3-light and dates to the 15th century. The south elevation has buttresses with offsets at the ends and between the easternmost bays. Two 3-light windows occupy the eastern section, with a 2-light window at the western end. An angled projection with moulded parapet and loophole appears at the eastern end.

The south porch dates to 1866-7 and is gabled with end parapet and buttresses. It features a pointed archway of one chamfered order and three glazed trefoil openings on each side. The south doorway is pointed and has two chamfered orders.

The chancel was rebuilt in 1853. Its east window has three lights with small buttresses beneath each jamb. Between these buttresses, attached to the wall, are three late 17th-century tomb slabs belonging to the Hanbury family. The north elevation has two small round-headed windows and a 2-light western window with square head. The south elevation contains a 3-light eastern window, a central lancet with hood mould, and a similar western window to that in the north elevation.

Interior

The four-bay pointed nave arcade has circular columns: the two easternmost have bell capitals, the third has a stiff-leaf decorated capital. The arches are pointed with geometrical motifs and have two chamfered orders. The pointed chancel and tower arches likewise have two chamfered orders.

The 19th-century roofs feature arch-braced collar trusses, cusped V-struts and two tiers of swept wind braces, the lower tier of which is cusped. The chancel retains 18th-century panelling and a hatchment on the north wall.

The 19th-century octagonal font and pulpit are present, the latter incorporating a 17th-century frieze. A parish chest in the north aisle is fashioned from a solid tree trunk and has two lids.

The chancel contains a large memorial featuring a grieving woman leaning on a pedestal, commemorating Robert Boulton Waldron, who died in 1823. A memorial to Sir Martin Culpepper (died 1604) marks his raised tomb with effigies of himself, his wife and three daughters, said to be buried beneath the floor. The south side has a mid-18th-century memorial to Edward Gonnard and a mid-19th-century relief to Russell Haywood.

The nave contains a mid-18th-century memorial with fluted pilasters, open pediment and coat of arms to the Boulton family, alongside several others dating to the late 18th, early and mid-19th centuries. The north aisle houses a large memorial, probably from the 17th century with swan-necked pediment and Corinthian columns, together with several 19th-century memorials.

The chancel and west end contain 19th-century glass.

Despite extensive restoration work undertaken in the 19th century, the church retains much of its medieval character and possesses internal features of particular interest, notably the nave arcade and memorials.