Church Of St John The Baptist

The Church of St John the Baptist is a parish church dating back to the 12th century, with significant alterations in the early to mid-13th century. It was extended with a south chapel and porch; the tower was restored in 1770; a north aisle was added in 1825; and it was restored in 1846 by Edward Davis of Bath, with windows restored in 1897. The church comprises a west tower, nave, north aisle, south chapel and porch, and chancel. It is constructed from rubble and coursed rubble with freestone dressings and a stone slate roof.

The west tower is broad and of three stages, with the upper stage being from the 18th century. It features small lancet windows and quoins to the lower stages, and Y-tracery to the bell chamber. An embattled parapet and moulded cornice top the tower, along with a 3-light Perpendicular style window and doorway dating to the 19th century. The north aisle has four Perpendicular style windows from 1897, each with square hoodmoulds. A projecting, gabled south porch features an outer doorway with a moulded arch, stiff-leaf corbels, a chamfered outer surround, and a hood mould with carved head stops.

The south chapel has one plain lancet window in a deep embrasure, one 2-light late 13th-century style window with cusped lancets and a quatrefoil, and a 3-light east window including lancets to the outer lights and a trefoil to the centre. The chancel features a 2-light window with plain lancets and an unfoiled circle above, a smaller 2-light window with cusped lancets and a sexfoil above, a priest's door with an arched head and heavy outer moulding, and a 19th-century Geometric style east window.

Inside, the church has a 2-bay arcade with continuous chamfered arches to the south chapel and a triple-chamfered tower arch. A 3-bay arcade to the north aisle is supported by octagonal piers. There is a 19th-century pulpit in a Perpendicular style and a 12th-century font with a tub-shaped bowl enriched with a zig-zag moulding. The church also contains several monuments, including a funeral hatchment in the north aisle. A baroque-style monument commemorates Robert Painter, who died in 1735, with fluted pilasters, gadrooned bases, cherubs, and a heavily moulded cornice. In the tower, a plaque commemorates John and Margaret Shutt, who died in 1668, with a memento mori tablet above. The south chapel houses a large grey marble tablet for Walter Robinson, who died in 1737, with an inscribed plaque, pedimented top, side consoles, and a tablet for the Painter family from 1809, featuring coloured marbles, a weeping woman and an urn.