Church Of St John The Baptist

SP7850 11/60

HARTWELL ASHTON ROAD (North side) Church of St. John the Baptist

03/05/68

GV II* Church. Built 1851 by Charles Vickers of London at a cost of £2,000 in Norman and Early English styles, retaining Transitional north arcade of medieval church. Coursed squared limestone and plain-tile roof. Chancel, vestry, nave and north aisle.

Two-bay chancel has three-light stepped lancet east window and paired lancets either side with dog-tooth ornament and hood moulds. A lancet window to southwest with hood mould and priest's door to south with Caernarvon-arched head with dog-tooth ornament. Chamfered plinth, moulded string course, stepped over priest's door, corbel table and buttresses to angles and below east window. Vestry and stair to pulpit over boiler-house to north side of chancel has small chamfered lancet windows, Caernarvon-arched door at basement level, cornice with stiff-leaf decoration, lean-to slate roof, and circular stone flue.

Nave has roll-moulded round-arched windows and pilaster buttresses to south. South door in gabled projection has two orders of shafts, the innermost shafts with toothed spiral moulding, scalloped capitals, and round-arched head with chevron and beak-head ornament. Round-arched windows to west end and stone bell-cote to west gable with a pair of round-headed arches and cross to gable.

North aisle has similar windows. Buttresses to west angles and chamfered stone eaves to nave and aisle.

Interior: chancel has three-bay stepped arcade to pulpit stair with circular shafts, stiff-leaf capitals and trefoiled double-chamfered arches. Many-moulded round-arched chancel arch with one order of shafts and corbels innermost with elaborate stiff-leaf capitals. Stone pulpit incorporated in structure on north side of chancel arch and corbelled out from wall. Nave has four-bay arcade of former church, late C12 or early C13, with round piers, capitals carved with stylized foliage, that furthest west incorporates serpents with intertwined tails, those to two easternmost piers have heads; round arches with dog-tooth. Chancel has scissor truss roof, nave has arch-braced collar trusses. Tub font with intersecting round-headed arcading.

Listing NGR: SP7852650430