Parish Church Of St John The Baptist

The Parish Church of St John the Baptist is a Grade II* listed church located in Great Amwell village. It features a rectangular nave and a smaller apsidal chancel, with a west tower dating from the 15th century. The church includes a north vestry added in 1836 and underwent restoration in 1866 under Rev. Richard Parrott. The exterior is constructed from uncoursed knapped flint with stone dressings, while the chancel is partially rendered. The roofs are covered with red tiles, featuring a cut-back gable and lower tiling over the east apse. The vestry is made of red brick with a gabled tiled roof, and there is a taller small heating chamber that is flint-faced at the angle with the nave.

The tower has a stumpy octagonal tiled spire set behind battlements and is buttressed in three stages. Inside, there is an original Norman low round-headed chancel arch with two stepped orders on simple imposts, flanked by later squints. An original window is located on the north wall of the chancel, while other windows are in the lancet and Perpendicular styles. A triple E-window was inserted in 1856. The church retains its original 15th-century traceried west door and tower arch, and the chancel features an exposed crown-post roof from the same period.

There is a recess for a road-stair next to a Jacobean pulpit, which is said to be a three-decker from Croydon Palace, presented by Robert Mylne and cut down during the 1866 restoration. An early 19th-century wall monument by Hopper is also present. The nave has a five-bay arch-braced timber roof from the 19th century, and there is a west window designed by Kempe. The church contains brasses from the 14th and 15th centuries. This small church, which retains its Norman apse—a feature found in only two other churches in the county—has outstanding historical interest. It serves as an essential landmark in the hillside village and is an important element in the landscaped setting of The New River to the north.