Church of St John the Baptist

Church of St John the Baptist

This is a parish church in Parson Drove, originally a chapelry of Leverington parish. The building is largely late 15th or early 16th century in date, though it retains a 14th-century north aisle and a 13th-century outer archway to the small north porch, probably surviving from an earlier church or chapel on the site. The chancel was destroyed in a storm in 1613, and the south aisle underwent significant rebuilding and refenestration in the 19th century.

The west tower is the most striking external feature. Built in the late 15th or early 16th century from Barnack ashlar and rubblestone, it is embattled, rises four stages on a splayed plinth, and has angle buttressing with a newel staircase in the north-east corner. The tower is distinguished by its moulded main cornice with two gargoyles to each side. The west doorway is set in a two-centred arch of two moulded orders with a label carried on small attached shafts with moulded capitals and bases. The west window comprises three trefoil lights in a foiled head with two-centred arch, label, and return stops. Similar windows to the north and south walls are now blocked. The bell-stage has two cinquefoil openings with tracery similar to that of the west window. Notably, reused late 12th-century stone carved with the figure of a man is visible in the splay of the plinth on the south wall of the tower.

The nave is built of rubblestone, repaired with red brick, and has a slate roof. Both sides of the clerestory feature six windows, each of three lights with vertical tracery in square heads. The south aisle is also 15th century but has been heavily rebuilt and refenestrated in the 19th century, except for the east wall, which retains its rubblestone construction and a window of three cinquefoil lights. The south porch is late 15th or early 16th century, with diagonal buttressing and a parapetted gable. Both inner and outer archways have hollow and wave mouldings, with responds bearing attached shafts with half-octagonal capitals. The doorway arches are moulded with labels on small attached shafts similar to those of the west tower doorway. The chancel archway is now blocked, though the remains of a rood staircase survive to the north.

The north aisle is 14th century, built of rubblestone on a splayed plinth. It features two-centred arches with splayed sills and hollow moulded reveals to five 14th-century windows of two cinquefoil lights in ogee heads; the east window has three lights. The small north porch has a 13th-century outer archway of two chamfered orders in a two-centred head with label and mask stops, and a 14th-century inner arch.

The interior is noteworthy, particularly the west tower. The tower interior features vaulting with tiercerons and carved bosses at the intersections, with a central round opening for bell ropes. The tower arch is two-centred with two continuous moulded orders; the responds and soffit are divided into panels of two bays with foiled heads. A four-centred arch leads to the doorway of the newel staircase. The nave comprises north and south arcades of seven bays, with the bays to the west partly blocked. The arcades feature depressed, almost round arches of three moulded orders resting on columns composed of four grouped half-octagonal shafts divided by subsidiary shafts. Each capital and base is half-octagonal and moulded. The roofs of the nave and north and south aisles retain their original corbels.

The church contains a late 15th-century octagonal font with an octagonal bowl, stem, and base, each face carved with ornament. A pulpit dated 1677 stands in the nave, with 20th-century steps and base.