Church Of St John The Baptist

The Church of St John the Baptist is an Anglican parish church located in Chilcompton. It dates back to the 15th century, with significant rebuilding occurring in the 19th century. The church is constructed from coursed and squared rubble, with ashlar and freestone dressings, topped with lead sheeting and slate roofs. The layout includes a nave, chancel, north and south aisles, north and south chapels, a north porch, and a west tower, showcasing both Perpendicular and neo-Perpendicular architectural styles.

The tower, built around 1460, features an embattled design with two stages, diagonal buttresses, and three-light traceried bell-chamber windows adorned with quatrefoil grilles. It also includes a polygonal stair turret and a four-light west window, with carved heads as label stops and 19th-century tracery. The nave and aisles were added in 1839 by Jesse Gane, comprising four bays with embattled buttresses and slender three-light windows, along with a gabled porch and iron dog-gates.

In 1897, F. Bligh Bond constructed the chancel and flanking chapels, which feature two-light windows and a four-light east window, along with large gargoyles at the east end that are likely reused from earlier materials. The interior is lofty and plastered, with floors made of flagstone, tile, and encaustic flagstone tiles beneath elaborate roofs. The church has four-bay arcades in the north and south aisles, with piers featuring a four hollow section. The Perpendicular tower arch leads into the nave.

Notable interior features include a 12th-century tub font, remnants of an Elizabethan tomb for Richard Seward in the south aisle, and various 17th, 18th, and 19th-century monuments, predominantly crafted by Reeves of Bath. The church also houses a fine brass lectern, with pews, choir stalls, an organ, and a pulpit dating from around 1900. The stained glass is simple and dates to the late 19th century. The church has six early bells.