Church of St John the Baptist

A church built in 1861-2 by C E Giles, enlarged in 1869-71 by Arthur Blomfield, in the Gothic Revival style.

MATERIALS: limestone ashlar with a Welsh slate roof.

PLAN: the earlier part comprised nave, chancel with semi-octagonal sacrarium, and the base of the tower. This all survives as the present north aisle; the present large nave and chancel being added later in the C19, when the local population had greatly expanded. The upper part of the tower and the spire were also added at that time, together with the baptistery.

EXTERIOR: the west wall of the nave has a deeply moulded gabled doorway with a large window of two compartments having three lights in each, above them a circular compartment enclosing three smaller circular lights, each of which is trefoiled. A moulded outer arch encloses the whole. The south wall has stepped buttresses separating three light windows, each with a rose of four, five or six lights. A tall gabled porch projects from the second bay. The north aisle has a triple window in the west wall, and paired lancets in the north wall, the bays divided by stepped buttresses. The spire is on an octagonal base, the main faces having a single pointed bell-opening, the corner faces a finial with spirelet.

INTERIOR: the three bay nave arcade extended beyond the earlier wall. It has plain polished shafts with stiff-leaf capitals, and a clerestory of quatrefoils above. The nave has a hammer-beam, with a plainer panelled roof to the chancel. The rood screen designed by Sir Ninian Comper was added in 1923.