Church Of St John The Baptist

The Church of St John the Baptist is a church dating from the 13th and 14th centuries, constructed from squared coursed lias and limestone with lead roofs. The building consists of a nave and chancel, a south aisle, and a west tower. A south aisle is attached to the chancel, and a vestry is located to the north. A three-light window with a four-centred head is found on the north side, and the three-light east window features Perpendicular tracery. The chancel has a shallow-pitched roof with ashlar parapets. The south aisle has three windows of three lights; those to the left possess four-centred heads with cusped tracery, while the one to the right is likely from the 19th century. A Decorated south door sits between the windows on the left side. The west window is a three-light design with a four-centred head. A lean-to roof with ashlar parapets is present. The south elevation of the nave features a three-window range of three-light, square-headed windows. The north elevation also displays a three-window range of three-light, square-headed windows, while two two-window ranges of three-light windows with four-centred heads are on the north side of the nave. A gabled north porch, situated between the windows, has a castellated parapet. The nave roof has a shallow pitch with ashlar parapets. The Perpendicular west tower is constructed of ashlar and has five stages; the upper stage is subdivided. A three-light west window with geometrical tracery is located in the second stage. There are two-light bell chamber openings on each face of the fifth stage, and the tower is topped with a castellated parapet, featuring short pinnacles at the corners. Inside, the chancel features a double chamfered arch to the south aisle chapel, exhibiting fleuron decoration on the capitals. A simple arch connects the south aisle to the chapel, and a Decorated double chamfered chancel arch is also present. The nave has a three-bay arcade to the south aisle, consisting of double chamfered arches that are continuous with the piers, forming a slender chamfered projection to the nave and aisle. The nave and chancel have 19th-century roofs of shallow pitch, featuring chamfered tie beams and painted panels. The east window contains stained glass. Monuments include a brass plate to the left of the altar commemorating Danial Holford, Rector, who died in 1622. Three brass plates on the north wall of the chancel date from 1702 to 1790 and commemorate members of the Saunders family; the earliest has a moulded stone surround with scrolls and an urn. A slate slab on the south aisle wall commemorates the family tree of the Lee family from 1693 to 1804. Four other 19th-century white marble tablets are on the south aisle wall. A plain stone tablet in the belfry commemorates John and Ann Levitt who died in 1780 and 1738.