Church Of St John The Baptist

The Church of St John the Baptist is a parish church that was originally a chapel for the Knights of St John of Jerusalem, also known as the Knights Hospitallers. It dates back to around 1340 and was largely rebuilt between 1849 and 1855, with a south vestry and west porch added in the late 19th century. The church is constructed from flint rubble with limestone dressings and features red plain tiled roofs.

Despite being mostly rebuilt, the church is notable for its architectural plan, as it contains one of the five remaining circular naves in England. The chancel has a semi-circular apse with remnants of a blocked east window. There are two 19th-century windows in the north and south walls, each with two lights and quatrefoils above, as well as 19th-century stained glass. The south vestry has a two-centred arched door from the 19th century. Between the windows in the north wall, there are traces of a blocked doorway.

The round nave features an arcade of six bays with slightly wave-moulded two-centred arches. The columns consist of three filleted shafts separated by V-shaped projections, topped with 19th-century capitals and bases, all of which have been extensively restored. Each pier supports a two-centred arch that spans the aisle, resting on carved foliage corbels on the outer wall. The outer wall includes four 19th-century windows that match those of the chancel, though they are longer.

The west doorway, possibly from the 14th century but restored in the 19th century, has two chamfered orders and is adorned with panels featuring quatrefoil flowers. The label above is carved with upright and reversed triangles, each decorated with trefoil flowers. The arcade walls support a 19th-century bell turret with a tiled pyramidal roof, gabled dormers on the main roof, and small sound louvres on the weatherboarded bell turret. An iron weathercock sits at the apex.

The enclosed west porch, added in the 19th century, has four-light windows on the north and south sides, a flint plinth, and a boarded front with vertically boarded double doors. The font, likely from the 11th century, is made of limestone and features a rough, originally square bowl with corners cut away to form an octagon. It has two scroll volutes on two faces and two rounded arches on another face, with an off-centre saltire on the fourth face.