Church Of St John The Baptist

The Church of St John the Baptist is a parish church largely of medieval origin, with significant restoration work carried out in the 1830s and 1870s. It comprises a nave, chancel, west tower, and south porch. The main fabric is of flint rubble, with plaster to the nave and remnants of plasterwork to the north and south of the chancel. Stone dressings are present, along with a red brick porch. The nave and chancel have slate roofs, while the porch is covered with plain tiles.

The 15th-century west tower is square, with three-stage diagonal buttresses decorated with flushwork and a crenellated parapet; later repair work is evident in red brick. A 2-light west window sits above an empty statue niche. The bell chamber has 2-light openings, also altered with red brick. The nave contains late 12th/early 13th-century work, evidenced by two small, semi-circular headed windows to the north and south at the west end. Pointed arch doorways are present on the north and south sides, with dogtooth moulding enriching the arch of the north doorway. The nave also features two 2-light windows with Y tracery to the south and a single 3-light Perpendicular window to the north, all restored.

The early 16th-century red brick porch has an embattled parapet and polygonal buttresses, with ornamental brick courses displaying flower motifs. The chancel, possibly dating from the 13th century, contains a single lancet window to the north, two 2-light windows with Y tracery to the south, and a Priest’s doorway between them. A 19th-century 3-light east window with intersecting tracery completes the east end.

Inside, the nave has a 19th-century arched-braced roof, now plastered. The chancel also has a 19th-century roof. A niche houses a banner stave locker north of the tower arch. There is no chancel arch, but two stone corbels in the form of paired heads mark the entrance to the chancel and likely supported part of a former rood loft. A simple pointed-arch piscina is situated in the south sanctuary, alongside adjacent sedilia. A good 15th-century octagonal font features carvings of shields and flowers within foiled surrounds, with eight attached shafts and a base resembling a Maltese Cross, incorporating carved step ends. The arms of Charles II are displayed on the south nave wall. A late 18th-century organ case stands at the west end of the nave. Several 17th and early 18th-century ledger slabs and brass inscriptions memorializing the Cuddon family are found in the chancel.