Church Of St John The Baptist

The Church of St John the Baptist is a parish church with medieval origins. The west tower was rebuilt in 1691 as a memorial to James Courtenay, while the nave and chancel were rebuilt in 1838. A vestry was added in the mid-19th century, and a new sanctuary and porch were added in 1879. The church is constructed of coursed local stone rubble, with snecked rubble to the porch and sanctuary, freestone dressings, and slate roofs with coped verges and lead ridges. It features cruciform finials.

The plan comprises a nave, chancel, south porch, north vestry, and a simple, low tower. The style is generally Commissioners' Early English, with a High Victorian Gothic porch and chancel. The two-stage west tower has small diagonal buttresses to the lower stage and an embattled capping, topped by a weathercock. It contains small rectangular bell-chamber openings with louvres, and a C14 style west window inserted in 1879, situated above an incised stone plaque commemorating the rebuilding. The four-bay nave and chancel are buttressed, with lancet windows, except for two at the east end where the tracery has been removed. The sanctuary is of a lower height and features a triple-lancet east window. A porch in a matching style is located to the south, with pointed-arch inner and outer door openings. A small north vestry is also present.

The interior has plain plastered walls and slate floors. The nave features a depressed 4-centred arch-shaped plaster ceiling supported by a braced truss on carved corbels, marking the division with the chancel. The sanctuary has a panelled ceiling with thin ribs. A font of octagonal Perpendicular style, possibly recut from an earlier design, is present. The church includes a Victorian High Gothic pulpit (1879), a High Gothic sanctuary with contemporary altar rails, encaustic tile pavement, an altar table, a reredos with decalogue plaques, and a three-light stained glass east window. Pews, choir stalls, and the organ were replaced in 1904. A large wooden lecturn carved as an eagle, likely Victorian but possibly earlier, stands within the nave. A significant monument to James Courtenay from 1658 is also present, featuring coloured and gilded detailing with flanking Corinthian columns supporting a pediment capped by achievements. Three early 20th-century wall monuments are also located inside. A painted Royal Arms of 1838 is displayed, along with three stained glass windows dated 1854, 1861, and 1879. Encaustic tile pavement is visible under the tower.