Church Of St John The Baptist

The Church of St John the Baptist is a former chapel of ease, now a parish church, dating to 1855-7 and designed by G.F. Bodley for Rev Thomas Keble. It is constructed of ashlar limestone with a concrete tile roof, although the original stone slate was retained on the porch. The church comprises a nave with a north aisle, a south porch, and a chancel, along with a two-storey north vestry. The design creates a very massive appearance, with reinforced walls, small window openings, and large buttresses. The gabled, parapet porch features a pointed arch with a hoodmould adorned with carved floral stops. A chamfered plinth incorporates a round moulding. Unequally spaced south nave windows have three-light geometrical tracery. A large offset buttress with a gabled top marks the junction with the chancel. A simple pointed bellcote is located at the east end of the nave. The west end of the nave has three tall, gabled offset buttresses framing two narrow, geometrical traceried windows. A long, low, lean-to roof extends to the north aisle, featuring small lancet windows. The two-storey vestry has east and west gables, each with tall traceried windows, the east window being circular with three trefoils. A buttress and a projecting chimney stack, featuring paired octagonal shafts that have been cut down, are on the north side. Three plain buttresses rise from a high plinth to the east end, culminating in a fine five-light geometrical traceried east window. The church's interior is limewashed with ashlar dressings. A four-bay north arcade features alternating octagonal and cylindrical piers with individually carved capitals of a stiff-leaf design by Thomas Earp. The roof is a high-cusped collar truss structure with arched bracing, supported by stone corbels showing a variety of designs. Floral roundels decorate the inner order of the pointed chancel arch, which rests on paired detached Purbeck marble shafts with delicately carved capitals and corbel bases. A stone choir screen incorporates lapis lazuli and malachite inlay within recessed quatrefoil panels. The stepped chancel floor has Minton encaustic tiles, and a large, original reredos features marble and coloured tile inlay, with a central roundel containing an inlaid cross. Rere arches to the chancel windows incorporate attached marble jamb shafts. A fine octagonal marble pulpit features further stone inlay in a matching style. The octagonal font is made of Devonshire marble and has good ironwork for its cover. Most of the stained glass is by N.W. Lavers, with the large east window from around 1878 created by Hardman. This church represents Bodley’s first complete church design.