Church Of St John

Church of St John

The Church of St John at Great Wenham is a parish church of mixed medieval date. The chancel and nave date from the 14th century, while the west tower was built in the 15th century. A south porch was added in the later medieval period, and both north and south porches serve the nave. The building is listed Grade II* for its architectural and historical importance.

The external walls of the church are rendered with plaster, exposing only the stone windows. The west tower is constructed of flint with stone dressings. Roofs throughout are covered in red plain tiles. The eastern angles of the chancel are buttressed.

The chancel contains an east window of three stepped lancets with sunk chamfered, trefoiled arches. The north wall has a double lancet eastern window and a small low side western window with a square head arch. The south wall features a double lancet eastern window and a sunk chamfered trefoiled western window. Between these two south windows stands a gabled porch with a chamfered two-centre arched doorway containing a nailed door with three strap hinges. The return walls of this porch have sunk chamfered trefoil windows. A stone plaque dated 1676 commemorates Spencer Fell above the porch doorway.

The nave north wall is buttressed to the east and west, with two stepped attached buttresses adjacent to the western buttress. Two chamfered two-centre arched windows with Y tracery are positioned in this wall. Between these windows stands a gabled north porch with a two-centre arch doorway and a vertically boarded door. The south wall contains two similar windows to those of the north wall.

The timber-framed south porch has a plastered dwarf wall. Arched braces rising from storey posts form a two-centre outer arch, with similar single braces to the right and left bays. A First World War memorial plaque is positioned above the archway. The south doorway has a two-centre arch with a moulded label and stops, fitted with 19th or 20th-century double doors with strap hinges. A cinquefoiled two-centre arched stoup is located nearby.

The west tower is buttressed at its north and south western angles. A stair turret, positioned east of the south face to the first stage, shares the flint and stone panelled construction of the main buttresses and turret at plinth and outer faces. The crenellations have been renewed. A band runs below the bell chamber. The flintwork shows a noticeable change in level at the third step of the buttresses. Each face of the bell chamber contains a louvred window of two cinquefoiled ogee lights with tracery above and segmental pointed heads. Clock faces occupy the upper half of the second stage on the north and south faces. The lower half of the second stage has trefoiled-headed small windows on the north, south and west faces. A small niche with trefoiled head and square label below sits on the west face. The west window comprises three cinquefoiled lights with vertical tracery and a four-centre head.

The interior contains significant medieval and later features. The chancel roof spans two bays, whilst the nave roof extends across three bays with seven cants. Both have boarded construction with moulded soffits to tie beams, moulded wall plates, ribs and diagonal intersections. Four armed crown posts with moulded capitals and bases support the structure.

The sanctuary floor is laid with medieval tiles, predominantly red and yellow, with some red and black examples. Similar tiles appear in the chancel south porch. The chancel contains a wooden panelled reredos and painted boards of the Exodus, Lord's Prayer and Creed. Nineteenth-century stained glass fills some windows. The altar rails and tracery have turned wood balusters.

The nave retains two 19th-century wall plaques commemorating the Bailey Family, a 19th-century plaque to the Robson Family, and two 19th-century brasses to Reverend D Whalley and the King Family. Both south and north walls hold polygonal pulpits with linenfold panelling. A simple wooden lectern is attached to the front pew. Nineteenth-century pews with panelled backs and dado line the nave, with shafts to aisle panels and poppyheads to the front pews; the fourth nave pew features a carved raised panel. There is no chancel arch.

The north wall of the nave displays a shield of arms of the East Family with sword and helm bearing a horse crest. Below this panel is a blocked two-centre arch, probably the former rood loft doorway. A blocked segmental-headed doorway lies east of the north doorway, with a royal coat-of-arms positioned above the north door. An organ gallery stands in front of the west tower arch, fitted with linenfold panelling to its front. An archway into the west tower beneath the organ gallery has steps to the south. The organ case and painted pipes fill the tower arch. A plain octagonal font with stem is positioned in the nave. The tower stair turret doorway is blocked by the organ loft; it contains a nailed two-board door with strap hinges.