Church Of St John The Baptist

Church of St John the Baptist

Parish church built in 1862–1863, except for the 15th-century tower which was retained. Designed by S. S. Teulon for Reverend D. Capper, with carving by Earp. The church comprises a three-bay nave with west tower, north aisle, two-bay chancel with south transeptal organ chamber, north-east vestry, and south porch.

The tower is constructed of irregular roughly-squared stone with an ashlar spire. It stands on the left of the building, topped by a broach-spire with foliate apex and iron cross, designed by Teulon. An octagonal stair turret runs the full height with an angled corner buttress, square-set over the nave. The turret itself has a spirelet with foliate apex. The tower displays a plain plinth and plain string course at the first stage, with a single-light square-headed window above and at the top a two-light square-headed window.

The main church body is built of lightly hammer-dressed red stone with cream ashlar dressings and a stone slate roof with stone ridges. The nave features a plain plinth, angled buttress to the left corner (square-set to the side), and windows comprising two two-light and one three-light openings with curvilinear tracery and no hoodmoulds. Plain projecting eaves are punctuated by cross gablet kneelers and an eastern apex with the base of a stone cross.

The south porch is gabled with a cross-gablet apex and stone cross. It has square-set corner buttresses and a moulded door surround with an ogee-shaped hoodmould terminating in a flush panel, with carved heads serving as stops.

The organ chamber is gabled with cross-gabled kneelers and an apex with stone cross, featuring square-set corner buttresses and a south-facing gabled elevation. Between the porch and organ chamber are two moulded strings with five-light blind arcading displaying trefoil ogee heads and stylised flower backing. Above these are crenellations forming a sill to a trefoil-shaped window with hoodmould of curvilinear tracery set within a two-centred relieving arch. The stops to the hoodmould are carved as a lion and a lamb, while the window base displays carvings of musicians—one with a harp and one with an organ. Above the window are two blind lancets.

The chancel projects half a bay with square-set gabled buttresses, plain plinth, moulded string course, and three blind trefoils. On the north side, a semi-circular porch with pepperpot roof covers the vestry door, which features a trefoil head.

Interior

The interior walls are cream ashlar with red bands. The nave features arch-braced collar trusses springing from strongly-carved stone corbels depicting angel musicians on one side and symbols of the four evangelists over portrait medallions on the other. The aisle arcade has central columns with four detached marble shafts and ornate foliate capitals above; figure stops decorate the hoodmoulds, while alternate voussoirs are painted with stylised flowers. Texts appear over all openings and along the eaves.

The chancel is panelled and boarded with a pointed barrel vault and an ornate truss defining the sanctuary. The aisle and chancel arch are supported on marble columns. A two-seat stone sedilia and piscina are present. Minton-tiled flooring extends throughout the church.

Furnishings include an ornate font on a pillared base in a brass-railed enclosure in the nave, a multi-coloured marble pulpit with brass candle-holders, and an ornate marble lectern with brass eagle and candle-holders. A marble reredos in high relief stands at the east end. All three of these marble pieces—the pulpit, lectern, and reredos—were displayed at the Great Exhibition of 1851. The Lord's Prayer and Creed appear on painted iron plates either side of the chancel arch, with the Decalogue at the east end. Brass oil lamps hang from wrought-iron brackets at the corners of the chancel.

The stained glass in the nave and north aisle comprises sepia-tinted biblical scenes with coloured surrounds, designed by Teulon.