Church Of St John The Baptist

The Church of St John the Baptist is a parish church, largely dating from around 1400, with a substantial restoration in 1888 by J D Sedding. It is constructed of coursed and squared rubble with freestone dressings, and has gabled lead roofs with cruciform finials. The church comprises a nave and chancel with aisles, a crossing tower with transepts, a broad west porch incorporating two rooms, and a further porch to the south. The tower is elaborately designed with set-back buttresses rising to pinnacles, and a parapet around the top stage pierced with quatrefoils. A stair turret is also present, along with two-light bell-chamber windows with a repeating blank window on each side; on the east and west sides are figures of St John and Henry VIII. The tower parapet is repeated over the aisles and west porch. Most windows are of restored Perpendicular style, except for the east windows of the aisles which were altered in the 17th century to accommodate monuments. The east chancel window is reportedly from 1857. The south porch has a stone panelled roof, while the nave features a plaster ceiling dated 1636, ribbed with pendants. The tower has a fan vault, the aisle roofs have Perpendicular panelled lean-to sections, and the transepts and chancel have 19th-century wagon roofs. The four-bay arcades leading to the nave are differentiated by the leaf decoration on the south capitals. Similar arches lead to the chancel aisles and transepts, some with leaf capitals and others with angles. The church is richly furnished and contains an octagonal Perpendicular font, a chandelier from 1730, remains of wall paintings, a brass in the north transept to Roger Harper and wife (1493), a 17th-century bier in the south transept, a painted 17th-century chest in the south transept, and numerous large wall monuments, particularly to the Prowse family, who have connections with Compton House. A notable example is the monument to Anne Prowse of 1668 in the south chancel aisle, depicting her kneeling, and the monument to William Prowse of 1670 in the north chancel aisle, depicting him as a three-quarter figure in an oval niche. Further monuments commemorate Thomas Welsh (1678), J Andrews (1720), Johns Tuthil (1716), and Thomas Prowse (1767). A further 17th-century chest is located in the north aisle, alongside a small 17th-century reading desk. A painting in the south transept depicts Christ showing his wounds and is believed to be from the 15th century, though much restored and over-painted. An altar frontal from 1720 is in the north aisle. There are also numerous smaller monuments from the 18th and 19th centuries, along with 19th-century pews and choir stalls. Stained glass is present in the east window.