Church Of St John The Baptist

The Church of St John the Baptist is a church with origins dating back to the 13th century and alterations in the 15th century. It includes a porch and chancel rebuilt in the 18th century. The church consists of a chancel, nave, south aisle, south porch, and west tower. It is constructed of coursed squared limestone and ironstone, with ironstone dressings, limestone ashlar to the chancel and porch, and features lead, slate, and plain-tile roofs.

The chancel has two bays; the first bay is windowless and wider than the east end, which has rounded corners and flattened curves to the window heads. These windows have key blocks, with the south and north chancel windows featuring leaded crown glass panes. The east window bears the inscribed keyblock "DEO." The chancel includes an ironstone plinth, a hollow-chamfered cornice, a plain stone-coped parapet, and a hipped slate roof. The original chancel roofline is visible on the east gable wall of the nave. The nave features a Perpendicular clerestory with three windows to the south and two to the north, each with two lights, 4-centred heads, trefoil-headed lights, and hood moulds, topped with plain stone-coped parapets. A blocked arch, alongside a wide offset buttress, reveals the location of a former transeptal chapel. A blocked, moulded trefoil-headed piscina is located on the east side of this arch, along with a blocked entry above, indicating a former rood screen. A chamfered north doorway has a studded plank door. The south aisle has three 2-light Perpendicular windows with 4-centred heads, hood moulds, and a plain stone-coped parapet. A hollow-chamfered south doorway also has a studded plank door. The porch has a wider, shallow inner bay and an entrance bay with rounded corners and a stepped, hollow-chamfered doorway. A stone inscription above the doorway reads "POPULO." The porch is topped with a stone-coped parapet and a pyramidal slate roof with a small ball finial. The three-stage tower has 2-light C13 bell-chamber windows with blank quatrefoils to the heads and hood moulds, and 2-light Perpendicular bell-chamber openings above with 4-centred heads and hood moulds. Low, offset angle buttresses, a battlemented parapet, and a pyramidal slate roof with a weather vane complete the tower.

Inside, the chancel arch is double-chamfered with polygonal responds. The nave arcade has three bays, circular piers, keeled responds, moulded bases and capitals, and double-chamfered arches. The aisle features a cinquefoil-headed piscina. The tower arch is double-chamfered, dying into the walls, and features a small lancet window, now internal, with a deep splay. Plaster ceilings cover the nave and chancel, while the aisle roof has chamfered cambered tie-beams. A C18 baluster font and a polygonal pulpit from around 1800, with inlay panels, are also present. The chancel and porch were rebuilt during the incumbency of Edward Bayley, who also rebuilt the Rectory at the same time. The structure exhibits stop-chamfered spine beams with run-out stops.