Church of St John the Evangelist

The Church of St John the Evangelist is a 14th-century church built in the Decorated style with Geometric tracery. The church is constructed of multi-coloured coursed squared rubble with Bath stone dressings and Welsh slate roofs. It comprises a nave, chancel, north and south aisles, crossing tower, north-east choir vestry, and north porch.

The nave is largely covered by the aisles up to the clerestory, which is lit by five circular, cinquefoiled windows on each side. The west end of the nave is a later addition and projects slightly, featuring a pointed arched door on the south side. The roof is very steeply pitched with coped gables, and the west end has stepped corner buttresses. A large four-light window with a wheel above is present at the west end, incorporating paired trefoil leaded lights topped with trefoils.

The south aisle extends for six bays in front of the nave and tower, separated by buttresses, with each bay containing a two-light window with a trefoil head, mirroring the design of the west window. The north aisle windows are similar, except for the fourth bay from the left, which is a projecting gabled porch, and the first bay, which is obscured by the added choir vestry. The vestry roof is parallel with the nave, and has three single-light windows with cusped heads, united by a continuous dripmould. A similar window is present in the west gable, while the east gable is covered by an office added around 1955. The three-stage crossing tower has its ground stage hidden by the aisles, with an octagonal stair turret clasping the south-east corner. Circular foliated windows are found on the second stage, and the belfry stage has a two-light opening with a central colonnette on each face. The tower is topped by an ashlar broach spire, featuring a bracketed canopy above each broach, a gargoyle at each corner and a gabled two-light opening with a quatrefoil head on each face. The chancel is short, with a lancet window on each wall and a diagonal corner buttress. A large five-light east window features paired lights with cinquefoil heads flanking a single light with a trefoil, with a septfoil above. It has a steeply pitched, coped gable.

Inside, a five-bay arcade of pointed arches is supported by circular columns. The tower and chancel arches incorporate an inner order that disappears into the jambs. The roof is supported by closely set double scissor braces. Lean-to aisle roofs rest on stone arches with circular openings in the spandrels. The chancel has Minton floor tiles and likely features Prichard-designed stalls. A reredos from 1890 was created by Kempson and Fowler, and carved by Clarke of Llandaff. An altar rail dates to 1925, and the organ was installed in 1922 by Blackett and Horde. The east window dates from 1897, while the west window was added in 1936. The nave benches are Victorian; a reader’s pew from 1936, and a pulpit from 1936 are also present. A nave altar was added in 1989. The Victorian font consists of an octagonal limestone bowl supported on clustered red marble piers, with a wooden cover dated 1965. The choir vestry has a three-bay arch braced tied roof and contains a watercolour of the church, painted between 1870 and 1902.