Church of Saint John the Baptist

Church of Saint John the Baptist

A Grade II listed Anglican parish church built in Early Decorated Gothic style with walls of sandstone rubble and Bath stone ashlar dressings. The roof is slate, banded in two colours, with shouldered coped gables and cross finials.

The church comprises a four-bay nave with lean-to aisles that partially overlap the chancel, a south porch, west bellcote, and north vestry. The architectural character is defined by lancet windows—single or in pairs—with hoodmoulds, deeply splayed reveals, and tooled sandstone voussoirs. The plinth has moulded ashlar tops, flush ashlar quoins are used throughout, and buttresses are stepped with ashlar quoins.

The west end features a gabled ashlar bellcote with a pointed opening for a single bell. It is flanked by two long lancets on each side of a crude three-stage mid-buttress stepped on three sides, with lower two-step buttresses to either side. The apex contains a curved triangle window with hoodmould. Each aisle's west end has a single-light window and clasping buttresses at the outer angles.

The four-bay nave is lit by four curved-sided triangular clerestory windows above the lean-to aisles. The aisles contain mostly steeply pointed two-light windows with deep hoodmoulds and quatrefoils in their heads, separated by two-step buttresses. The south aisle holds a single-light window, the porch, and three two-light windows, with the last bay overlapping the chancel to light the organ chamber. The south porch is steep-gabled with low side buttresses, a chamfered pointed door with hoodmould and voussoirs, and a small vesica in the gable. The porch's west side has a small cusped lozenge window; the east side has a cusped roundel. The door features very ornate iron scroll hinges and cover strips, with a plastered pointed arch and padded door inside.

The north aisle contains four two-light windows and four buttresses, with the end bay containing the vestry; part of the north side is obscured by an added lean-to. Some carved head stops ornament the clerestory hoods. The chancel's side walls are mostly obscured by the aisles, which feature matching two-light east windows. The chancel has long traceried two-light Decorated Gothic windows to the south and north with quatrefoils in their heads, stepped buttresses at the angles, and a large three-light traceried east window with an octofoil in the head. A small curved triangle window sits in the gable apex.

Interior walls are plastered. The four-bay arcade features plain chamfered pointed arches on alternating octagonal and round ashlar columns, with a thicker ashlar pier between the first and second arches on the south side, relating to a south aisle crosswall leading to a southwest baptistery. The nave roof is steep and open, with thin scissor-trusses on small hammer beams carried on wall-posts down to small carved corbels. The west end has Gothic timber dado panelling. The aisles have lean-to roofs with diagonal braces from carved corbels on the arcade walls. A pointed arch at the west end of the south aisle leads to the baptistery; the organ occupies the east end. The north aisle's east end has a pointed arched door to the vestry. A pointed chancel arch and two steps lead to the chancel, which has a similar roof. Chamfered tall pointed arches open to the south (to the organ) and north (to the vestry door). Two steps precede the vestry door; one step leads to the sanctuary, which is paved with encaustic tiles.

The fittings include an ornate marble font, pulpit, and reredos apparently dating to around 1870–80 in lavish coloured marbles. The font features a veined marble octagonal bowl with carved quatrefoils in roundels on the principal faces and four marble spheres at the corners. Below is a marble fat column with four small marble columns around it. The pulpit is large and square in veined marble with chamfered corners, each bearing two marble ringed shafts. The two principal sides are carved with quatrefoiled roundels containing marble spheres within and at the corners. It has a leaf upper cornice, moulded base with nailhead and leaf carving, and a marble columned support with a quatrefoil centre pier and four columns around, with steps up from the east.

A marble altar of 1936 follows a similar, by then old-fashioned, style, featuring five-bay cusped pointed arcading with marble shafts and inset motifs in matt-glazed tile (opus sectile) showing four shield-bearing angels and a centre Risen Christ. The top is alabaster with carved leading edge. The reredos and east wall cladding appear to date to around 1870–80 in very rich veined marble. The marble wall cladding on each side contains quatrefoil roundels with mosaic inserts and battlemented cresting. The reredos consists of three bays with short marble shafts beneath a cusped pointed low arcade. Mosaic angels occupy the cusped heads above a mosaic frieze reading "Glory to God.." with fine square mosaic patterns between the column shafts featuring IHS, Lamb of God, and Alpha-Omega motifs. The arcade spandrels hold two mosaic crowns in roundels.

A First World War memorial chancel screen in oak, in Perpendicular Gothic style, comprises three bays with finely traceried heads to the openings, a carved frieze with bosses and cresting, and a cross above. Early to mid-20th century oak baptistery screening with a seat in an arch on the north side, matching panelling and seats along the west and south walls are likely by W.D. Caroe. Metal 19th-century altar rails feature twisted standards with Gothic leaf scrolls. A brass eagle lectern, late 19th century, sits on a cast-iron conical base (similar but less elaborate than the one in Dyffryn church). A 19th-century pine Gothic inner porch has half-glazed double doors with patterned coloured glass and Evangelist symbols. Fine pitch-pine stalls display column-shafted pointed arcading beneath a row of quatrefoils to the frontal, with column shafts to the bench ends. 19th-century pine pews feature crosses in roundel motifs in the bench ends. The organ dates to 1927.

Stained glass includes five windows by Celtic Studios of Swansea from the 1960s: in the baptistery, west and south windows depicting the Baptism of Christ and Suffer the Children; a south aisle second window showing Christ in the carpenter's shop; a north aisle first window depicting the Good and faithful servant; and a north aisle second window showing Christ on the road to Calvary. The south aisle third window is a good High Victorian Gothic window titled Angel at tomb, commemorating F.G. Moore (died 1863), by Clayton & Bell. A north aisle third window of 1996 depicts two female saints. The chancel north and south contain two two-light windows in late Gothic style commemorating Edward and Charlotte Acland Moore (died 1881), depicting Christ at the well and the Good Samaritan. The east window is in High Victorian Gothic style with figures on red grounds showing Christ teaching, Resurrection, and Suffer the children, with three scenes below and Christ blessing in the top octofoil, possibly by Clayton & Bell around 1870.