Church Of St John The Baptist

Church of St John the Baptist

This Grade I listed church, located on the site of a 4th-century Romano-British cemetery, is an outstanding example of medieval ecclesiastical architecture with continuous development from around 1200 onwards.

The building comprises a nave and chancel with north and south aisles, a south-west tower, south porch, north doorway, and a vestry extension added in 1853 across the west end of the nave and north aisle, with a further small extension of 2006. It is constructed of flint with plain tile roofs and stone dressings, with some Norman stone blocks visible in the east wall.

The exterior presents a complex archaeological history. The east end displays three gables facing the street, pierced by Perpendicular-style windows to the chancel and aisles, with a decayed medieval Perpendicular statue niche. The north wall contains a medieval chamfered doorway (now fitted with a 21st-century porch canopy), a blocked round-headed window to the west, brick buttresses of various periods, and a single three-light Perpendicular-style window. The south wall is largely blank except for one exceptionally large and spectacular late 13th-century window, featuring an octafoil in the head and two pairs of cusped lights below, each with a quatrefoil in the head. The former rood loft stair turret is roofed in stone with an unusual external doorway from the east, and a blocked opening lies alongside it to the west. The south porch, probably dating from the late 19th century, is built of knapped flint with a red brick south wall featuring stone banding and a gabled parapet. The squat, unbuttressed two-stage tower is embattled and contains a three-light Perpendicular-style west window, a blocked cusped one-light window on the south face, and pairs of cusped belfry lights in square-headed frames. Perpendicular-style west windows light the nave and north aisle above a flat-roofed vestry now covered in terne-coated stainless steel.

The interior contains no chancel arch but features a richly-moulded two-centred tower arch. The arcades date from around 1200 and comprise three bays with round piers, volute capitals, and slightly pointed arches. Medieval tie-beam and crown-post roofs survive to the nave, featuring common rafters with ashlar pieces and straight braces to the collars; one tie beam marks the sanctuary. The north aisle roof is similar but wider, with five tie beams, whilst the south aisle roof is similar with moulded tie beams.

The medieval Perpendicular chancel screen displays tall vertical lights, a shallow coved cornice, and blind tracery applied to the wainscoting, with traces of original paint surviving. The south aisle screen features plain vertical boards to the wainscot. The north aisle screen has feather-edged vertical boards pierced with small quatrefoils and crosses, reputedly to allow children to see the host elevated. The chancel contains the remains of a medieval piscina and sedilia, with hagioscopes opening into the north and south chapels.

The late 13th-century south side window possesses a moulded inner arch with slender shafts. A 19th-century reredos in the south chapel, moved from the chancel, displays carved stone figures beneath ogee arches.

The parclose screens dividing the chancel from the aisles are probably 14th-century Decorated style and represent a rare survival, being associated with integral benches. The screens feature substantial ogival cusped arches under a head beam, carried on timber shafts with ring mouldings. The bench bases retain evidence of stall partitions and preserve their shaped ends.

A polygonal timber pulpit, largely medieval with blind traceried panels and traces of ancient paint, stands on a later base. The splays of blocked 13th-century lancets on the north wall are decorated with high-quality 13th-century wall paintings, including St Christopher and a devil's head. The blocked north door, opened in 2005, revealed traces of medieval paintwork on its reveal and jamb. A Perpendicular font features an octagonal stone bowl with quatrefoils in roundels on an octagonal stem. A large chandelier is dated 1791. The stained glass includes medieval fragments in the east window. The floors comprise stone paving to the chancel with black tiles at intersections, a rustic mosaic floor to the sanctuary, and a 21st-century Portland Blue stone paved floor to the nave. Nineteenth-century pews were removed in the early 21st century as part of a re-ordering scheme.

The church is outstanding for its wealth of medieval features spanning different periods, presenting an overall impression of an evolved medieval building. The survival of roof carpentry to three separate roofs and complete medieval timber fittings is exceptional. The 14th-century parclose screens with integral benches are a rare survival, while the 13th-century wall paintings and late 13th-century window are of the first quality.