Description

SOUTH CROXTON

SK 61 SE MAIN STREET (North Side)

4/94 Church of St. John the Baptist

1.6.66

GV II*

Parish Church, mostly C14, and late Decorated in style. Ironstone rubble with
ashlar dressings throughout. West tower with spire, nave and south aisle, chancel.
Tower of large and squared rubble, 3 stages and buttressed, on an ashlar plinth.
West window, ogee arched with fleuron, and 2 mutilated outer shafts and a central
shaft between the two trefoiled lights. In the second stage, to the west three
trefoiled lights with linking hoodmould, the outer ones blind. Large double-
tiered light to bell chamber with triple shafts and hoodmould, the lower pair
of lights ogee arched, the upper trefoiled, with a decorated lozenge over them.
Embattled parapet with cornice frieze partially renewed, and gargoyles. Small
recessed spire with 2 tiers of lucarnes. South door in porch, the lower part
of which is probably C14, but rebuilt in C19. The south doorway has a hollow
moulded archway with no capitals. Aisle windows are of 3-trefoiled lights set
within simpler intersecting tracery. West window similar but blocked. One large
and oddly placed gargoyle in the west wall, and another to east. Buttresses
and 2 string courses. Fabric of chancel may be earlier; one round arched priests
door with voussoirs and simple intersecting traceried windows. Sill course
forms hoodmould of doorway. East window of 3-lights with intersecting tracery.
1 single lancet, and 2 trefoiled lights in square headed opening to north.
Coped east gable with cross. North wall of nave is of coursed squared rubble,
very tall, and buttressed. Windows set very high, fine reticulated Decorated
tracery. Blocked north doorway with hoodmould and corbel heads. Inside, nave
of 4 bays: the south arcade is late Decorated, double chamfered arches with
hoodmoulds on slender octagonal columns. West towerarch seems to be earlier:
It is very wide, with 4 chamfers, the inner one rising from a shaft, the others
from a chamfered respond with linear carved capital. 1 buttress to its south
and fragment of stone rib to north: part of former roof, the steeper pitch
of which is visible against the tower wall externally. Nave roof possibly C15:
moulded trusses with braces supported on C19 carved wooden angels, and with
bosses. Ogee arched piscina with flamelike fleurons and finial, and 2 aumbreys
in south aisle. The chancel arch is very wide, double chamfered on slender
shafted responds. Fragment of wall painting to south west. In the chancel,
simply turned C17 altar rails, 2 fragments of old stained glass in east window
and a figure of St. John the Baptist, by Kempe, 1896. Norman font, a small
round tub with interlaced arcading beneath interlocking circles, on an octagonal
base.

Listing NGR: SK6917710328

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17534505

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Staffordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects by Harwood, Richard (2012) Paperback
• 
  Georgian Style and Design for Contemporary Living
• 
  Period property manual, victorian house manual 2 books collection set by ian rock
• 
  Herefordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Liverpool: Pevsner City Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)