Church Of St John The Baptist

The Church of St. John the Baptist is a parish church dating back to the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries, with a significant restoration in 1862. Constructed primarily of flint with ashlar dressings and slate roofs, it comprises a west tower, nave, aisles, and a chancel.

The 15th-century west tower rises in three stages, built of chequered flint and stone. It features diagonal buttresses with flushwork, including geometric designs on bases with a flushwork frieze. A blocked west doorway sits beneath a 3-light cusped window with a depressed arch. Louvred belfry windows with reticulation sit above 4-centred lights, and the tower is crowned by an elaborate crenellated parapet with flushwork and corner finials. The nave and aisles have plain parapets defined by string courses. The south aisle has four 3-light windows of intersecting design dating to the mid-14th century, embellished with mouchettes under hoods on head stops. A 4-centred south door has moulded jambs and flat buttresses. The clerestory features four 2-light square-headed windows with ogeed lights and supermullions.

The chancel was reconstructed in the 1862 by G.E. Street. The south side showcases an arched priest’s door with an original hood mould, a reticulated segmental window above, and an arched 2-light window in Early English style. Two flat buttresses flank the exterior. The east window is a 5-light design of composite character. A lean-to vestry adjoins the north side of the chancel. The north nave mirrors the south, with four 3-light windows. An elaborate north porch, constructed around 1500, commemorates William Pece. Its features include diagonal buttresses on a plinth inscribed with Gothic characters, an arched opening in a square hood with fleuron jambs, flanked by canopied niches with Gothic inscriptions and a central shield. The porch roof is notable for its decorated wall plate, principal on arched braces, two moulded purlins, and a ridge piece.

Inside, a 4-bay arcade is composed of octagonal columns (with circular columns in the second bay) exhibiting moulded bases and capitals, supporting double hollow chamfered arches. The clerestory windows are positioned above the apex of the arcades. The tall tower arch has circular responds and continuous hollow chamfered jambs. The chancel arch responds feature triple roll moulding and a moulded arch. The nave roof, dating to around 1500, includes tie beams on arched braces to a wall plate, supported by corbels; one tier moulded butt purlins, a plain ridge piece, and star bosses. Similar aisle roofs are present. A 13th-century octagonal font rests on a 19th-century plinth and stem; its bowl is decorated with square roll moulded blank panels. A 15th-century screen in the north-east chapel features four bays and a central ogeed opening, situated above a 19th or later dado. The dado panels are painted with saints, above base of - route tournants and below Perpendicular tracery. A 19th-century arch connects the chapel to the chancel. Three bench sedilia are positioned under the chancel south window, alongside a double cusped and sub-cusped piscina. The base of the chancel screen, also from the 15th century, includes four bays on each side of the opening: quatrefoils and shields to the base, and Perpendicular tracery above. A 19th-century chancel roof incorporates collars on large arched braces to a wall plate. Carved timber Royal Arms are displayed above the south door.