Church of St. John Evangelist is a Grade II* listed building in the Breckland local planning authority area, England. First listed on 16 July 1958. A Medieval Church.
Church of St. John Evangelist
- WRENN ID
- pale-pillar-laurel
- Grade
- II*
- Local Planning Authority
- Breckland
- Constituency
- Mid Norfolk MP: George Freeman (Con)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 16 July 1958
- Type
- Church
- Period
- Medieval
- Address
- Church of St. John Evangelist, Church Street, Ovington
- OS grid reference
- TF 925 025
- Coordinates
- 52.58706, 0.84083
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Church of St. John Evangelist is a parish church that dates back to the 12th century, with a remodel around 1300 and restoration in 1867. It is constructed from rubblestone with ashlar quoins and features a white pantile roof. The church has a west tower and a continuous nave and chancel. The square tower includes a two-light west window and belfry windows set above flushwork panels adorned with shields. There is a single lancet window in the north ringing chamber and a staircase turret on the south side. The hipped slate roof complements the structure.
The south door is from the 12th century, featuring single order shafts with incised scalloped capitals and a roll-moulded arch with a billet. To the right of the door is a triangular stoup. The nave's south windows are varied, including a square-headed two-light window with a hood mould, a Norman round-headed window, a pointed lancet, and a two-light window with Y tracery. The chancel has Y tracery as well, with a two-light window to the south, a three-light window to the east, and a two-light window to the north. The north nave features two two-light lozenge windows flanking a three-light Perpendicular window set under a four-centred arch with a 19th-century hood mould. There is also one blocked lancet and a blocked north door. The eaves are boxed.
Inside, there is a low 14th-century tower arch with wave mouldings. The church has continuous moulded wall plates with billets, raised at the sanctuary, and wall posts to the principals on braces. Secondary rafters and single moulded butt purlins support the structure, while the ceiling is plastered and arched. The chancel contains a low piscina, and there is a 14th-century octagonal font on a shafted plinth, featuring carved angels and encircled quatrefoils.
Local climate
Church of St. John Evangelist sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 730 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 79% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 95% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 31 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 62% of listed buildings. Of these, 16 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- No related consent applications matched
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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