Church Of St John The Baptist

The Church of St John the Baptist is a parish church located in Widecombe-in-Leusdon. It was originally built as a chapel-of-ease for the village and was completed in 1863, designed by architect J W Rowell of Newton Abbot, who worked for the Palk estate. The church is constructed from squared granite rubble with limestone details, likely sourced from Bath, and features a slated roof.

The layout includes a nave, chancel, south porch, and a south tower that connects the nave and chancel. The architectural style is described as "geometrical decorated." The side walls of the nave are adorned with 2-light windows that have pointed arches, with the lights featuring trefoiled heads and a quatrefoil at the top. The chancel is fitted with trefoiled lancet windows, while the east and west windows each have trefoil-headed lights—three on the east and four on the west—along with three quatrefoils in their heads.

The two-stage tower is supported by flanking buttresses at its base. On the south face of the tower, there is a clock set under a triangular stone canopy. The belfry includes paired, trefoil-headed lancets on each side, and it is topped with a thin bracketed cornice and a parapet.

Inside, the church is quite simple. The chancel arch is pointed and double-chamfered, made from alternating limestone and granite blocks. There is a carved limestone pulpit featuring grey marble balusters, and an octagonal limestone font with a pink marble shaft. A carved wooden reredos dates back to around 1907. The church contains four stained glass windows, two of which were made around 1879 and 1915, while another is inscribed with the name A A Orr from Harrow, dated 1912. The initials A A O appear on the window from circa 1915. The church was built and endowed by Mrs C R Larpent to replace the long-ruined chapel of St Leonard at Spitchwick.