Church of St John the Baptist

Parish Church, Grade I

This is a parish church with 12th-century origins. The early 13th-century west tower stands alongside a 13th-century chancel and south chapel that was lengthened around 1300. Around 1340 the nave and south aisle were rebuilt. The mid-15th century saw the addition of a north aisle, with further alterations in the late 15th century. In the early 16th century the chancel was widened to the north and a north vestry added. The chancel was restored in 1847 by Talbot Bury. The entire church underwent restoration by A. Blomfield in 1882, with further alterations by C.J. Blomfield in 1905.

Materials and Construction

The church is built of knapped flint with ashlar Totternhoe stone dressings and Puddingstone in the tower. The chancel roof is covered with old red tiles, whilst machine-made tiles are used elsewhere.

Plan

The building follows a roughly rectangular plan, though the nave and chancel are not aligned. Both the nave and chancel have four bays with aisles and chapels.

Exterior

The south aisle retains a restored 12th-century west window positioned below a 14th-century quatrefoil. The 19th-century south porch is constructed in timber and brick. To the south are three two-light windows dating from around 1340. The clerestorey is lit by four two-light square-headed 15th-century windows. The nave roof has a shallow pitch.

The larger north aisle features a three-light 16th-century west window, a restored entrance to the north, and three two-light 15th-century windows. The building has corner diagonal buttresses and straight buttresses. A lead plaque dated 1717 in the entrance bay commemorates former churchwardens. Continuing from the north aisle is a 15th-century north chapel of two bays, with a blocked doorway and windows of two and three lights.

The chancel has a late 19th-century east window with a coped gable-end parapet. To the south is a lancet, and to the north a half-blocked lancet with Y-tracery. It has a steeply pitched roof with its ridge slightly above that of the nave.

The south chapel has straight buttresses and is lit by two 13th-century lancets to the south, a two-light window of around 1300 in the eastward extension, and a restored three-light window from around 1300 to the east. At the south-west angle adjoining the south aisle is a semi-octagonal turret for the rood stair, built in 1905. A vestry was added to the north-east, featuring a square-headed two-light window and blocked doorway to the east. A 1970 extension links the church to the church hall further north.

The west tower has three tall stages with a slightly taller semi-octagonal turret to the north-east, and diagonal buttresses to the west. The parapets are crenellated and the shingled needle spire was restored in 1951. There is a 19th-century entrance and a 15th-century three-light window to the west, with 13th-century lancets to the north and south in the lower stage. The upper stages are a 15th-century rebuilding and have single lights in the second stage and paired openings in the belfry, all with square heads. A 19th-century clock is set into the west face of the second stage, and there is a small blocked opening to the east of the belfry.

Interior

The chancel arch is 14th century, with hollow moulded orders and octagonal responds. The 15th-century tower arch is similar, with circular shafts to the responds. The south arcade dates from around 1340 and has octagonal piers supporting two chamfered orders in pointed arches, with foliate paterae on the capitals. The north arcade dates from around 1440 and is similar but with taller columns and flatter arches, featuring different ornamental detail. The doors to the rood stair date to the 14th century.

The 13th-century pointed arch arcade to the south chapel has chamfered orders with octagonal piers and moulded capitals. It was originally two bays, lengthened to the east by one bay around 1300. A small door from the chancel leads to the east end of the south chapel, and a pointed arch dated around 1300 connects the south aisle and the chapel. Above the blocked 13th-century piscina in the chancel south wall is a deeply splayed lancet window opening into the lengthened south chapel. There is a restored sedilia and piscina at the east end of the chancel south wall.

The south chapel has a piscina dating from around 1300 at the east end of the south wall. Beam ends are visible in the south wall, one with mouldings. There is a 15th-century double arcade to the north chapel from the chancel, with flatter arches than that to the south; the western arch abuts the east wall of the north aisle above a low 15th-century arch linking the north aisle and chapel. A four-centred arched door with a square head opens from the north chapel to the vestry.

The north and south aisles and chapels have simple 15th-century roofs with moulded tie beams and purlins, with arched braces in the smaller south aisle. The nave roof is probably slightly later, with moulded and painted beams, traceried spandrels to arched braces rising from stone angel corbels to tie beams with carved ornament. The ceiled chancel roof is 19th century with carved and painted bosses and ornament.

Furnishings

The 13th/14th-century font in the west tower is of Purbeck marble, with a moulded square base and bowl, a circular stem, and four corner shafts. A large oak chest in the west tower, possibly 14th century, has iron bands and hinges. The screen from the south aisle and chapel, which retains some 15th-century timber and painted decoration, was restored by A. Blomfield. The rood screen in the chancel arch is by C.J. Blomfield. The pulpit, choir stalls, and screens to the chapel are by A. Blomfield. The Bishop's chair in the chancel is by W. Lethaby, dated 1892. There is a 17th-century communion table with turned and fluted legs in the south chapel. Original oak shutters with strap hinges survive to the east and north in the vestry.

Monuments

In the south chapel on the south wall are two chest tombs with effigies in contemporary dress, forming one composition commemorating the wife and daughter-in-law of Sir W. Crowmer, around 1400. They have front panels with arms in quatrefoils and four-centred cusped heads to the canopies. The spandrels contain richly carved relief ornament and arms. Further east is a wall monument to Katherine Cade, who died in 1615, depicting a painted praying figure in an alabaster and marble aedicule, with arms in a broken pediment.

On the south aisle is a wall monument to Vice Admiral J. Chambers White, who died in 1845, within an elaborate Gothic aedicule. Further west is a large variously-coloured marble wall monument to Robert and Sarah Hucks, who died in 1771, in the form of profile busts on a sarcophagus in an aedicular frame. In the north chapel on the north wall is a large double-effigy marble chest tomb of J. Coghill and his wife, who died in 1714, with figures informally disposed in contemporary dress, arms on the east side, and an inscription to the front.

Brasses and Glass

There are several small 16th-century brass figures in the chancel and the south chapel, and larger figures at the west end of the north aisle, along with various floor slabs.

Several windows are by Kempe from 1891 to 1900. Other windows, including the chancel north window with mosaics and the mosaic chancel floor, are by Heaton, Butler and Bayne from 1890.

Subsidiary Features

In the churchyard, situated approximately eight metres north of the church, is a monument to Midshipman Robert Smith, who died on 21 October 1805 in the Battle of Trafalgar. It is a rectangular stone slab bearing the inscription: "IN MEMORY OF ROBERT SMITH/ ELDER BROTHER OF PHILIP/ MIDSHIPMAN ON HMS VICTORY/ KILLED AT TRAFALGAR/ OCTOBER 21/ 1805".

Robert Smith was born on 20 February 1786 and christened in Aldenham church on 30 March that year. He served in the British Navy from 1802, aged 16, first on the "Mary" yacht, and from May 1803, aged 17, on HMS Victory. He was killed in the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805, aged only 19.

An article in the Aldenham parish magazine in December 1905, written to commemorate the centenary of Trafalgar, published the story of Robert Smith, including a full reproduction of a letter written by him on 20 October 1805, the eve of the Battle of Trafalgar:

"Victory, October 20th, off Cadiz, Sunday evening.

My most dear and honor'd Parents,

As I expect to be in Action to-morrow morning with the Enemy of our Country, the idea of which I assure you gives me great pleasure, in case I shall fall in the noble cause have wrote these few last lines to assure you that I shall die with a clear conscience, pure heart and in peace with all men. Have only a few requests to make, first that you will have the goodness to thank and make my kind respects to all Friends (more particularly my very good friend Sir Thomas Thompson) for their kind attention to me. Secondly that you will not give way to any uneasiness on my account and further that you my dearest of Mothers will not give way to those low spirits which you are subject to, consider that your affectionate son could not die in a more glorious cause and that it is all the fortune of war. Have no doubt that had I survived the glorious day should have met with the reward due to my merit from worthy friends and a Good Country. Have requested every profit arising from my stock to be given you with my Desk as a small tribute of affection. Shall conclude this last with my kindest Duty to you my parents, love to Sister, Brothers, and praying the almighty to receive my soul. Remain your ever dutiful and affectionate Son.

R. Smith

PS - I must once more request you not to forget my second wish."

The article of 1905 goes on to state that it is recorded that both of Robert's legs were shot off in the battle the next day, and that "he might have lived, but tore off the bandages and bled to death".

It is thought unlikely that Robert Smith is interred here, as the practice was for hasty burial at sea (Nelson himself being one of the notable exceptions).