Church of St John the Baptist is a Grade II* listed building in the Buckinghamshire local planning authority area, England. First listed on 13 July 1966. A Medieval Church.

Church of St John the Baptist

WRENN ID
moated-loggia-lake
Grade
II*
Local Planning Authority
Buckinghamshire
Constituency
Buckingham and Bletchley MP: Callum Anderson (Lab)
Country
England
Date first listed
13 July 1966
Type
Church
Period
Medieval
Address
Church of St John the Baptist, Main Street, Preston Bissett
OS grid reference
SP 657 299
Coordinates
51.96373, -1.04398
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Church of St John the Baptist is a parish church that dates back to the 14th century, incorporating some masonry from the 12th century, and underwent significant restoration in the 19th century. It is constructed from coursed rubble stone and features lead roofs and coped gables.

The west tower is two stages high, with diagonal buttresses, a plain parapet, paired cusped lancets in the bell chamber, and a decorated single light window to the west. The nave has a clerestory with three 19th-century cusped circular windows set in square surrounds. The north aisle contains decorated windows, including a two-light window to the north and west, and a three-light window with flowing tracery to the east. The north wall has a blocked door featuring a moulded two-centred arch, a hoodmould, and carved head stops, while the east wall has fragments of decorative 12th-century masonry. The south aisle mirrors the north with similar windows and features a door with moulded arch and jambs, worn carved heads on the label, and a 19th-century porch.

The chancel has two bays of decorated two-light windows, with the western ones being lower, and a large three-light east window with flowing tracery. There is a narrow moulded doorway to the north.

Inside, the nave consists of three bays with a double chamfered arcade supported by octagonal piers with moulded caps. The tower arch and chancel arch are similarly designed and rest on carved corbels. There are cusped piscinas to the left of the chancel arch and another in the chapel of the south aisle. The chancel features a piscina and double sedilia with cusped ogee arches, crockets, finials, and carved heads. The chancel roof retains its original moulded tie beams. Additionally, there is an octagonal 15th-century font and a 17th-century altar table, with other fittings from the 19th century.

Local climate

Church of St John the Baptist sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 730 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 79% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 78% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 35 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 60% of listed buildings. Of these, 17 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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