Listed Building: Church of St. John the Baptist (1190138)

Church. C13, C14. Restored 1877-8 at a cost of £1,300 by E.F. Law when north aisle was rebuilt and nave roof was renewed. South aisle and porch rebuilt, and chancel given new chancel arch, roof and east window 1900-1902 by firm of Law and Harris. Further restoration 1908. Coursed squared limestone and ironstone, lead aisle roofs, slate roof to nave, plain tile roof to chancel. Chancel, aisled nave, south porch and west tower. 2-bay chancel has 3-light east window with C19 Perpendicular tracery and hood mould. No windows to sides. Nave has 2-light clerestory windows with 4-centred heads and hood moulds. North aisle has 2-light east and west windows with quatrefoils to heads, 4-light window to north with straight head and ogee-arched lights flanked by similar 3-light windows; all have hood moulds. Blocked chamfered north door with hood mould. South aisle has 2-light windows to east and west ends and either side of porch with C19 Decorated-style tracery and 4-light window to south-east with straight head, all with hood moulds. South door of c.1900 with shafts in porch of same date with double-hiollow-chamfered doorway, both with hood moulds, and 2-light windows to sides with straight heads. 3-stage tower has west door with 2 orders of shafts, roll-moulded and hollow-chamfered head and hood mould. Small lancet window above, and 2-light bell-chamber openings with plate tracery and trefoil-headed lights, all with hood moulds. Corbel table, trefoil frieze above, tall octagonal corner pinnacles and spire with broachs and one tier of lucarnes with Y tracery to cardinal directions, an octagonal collar with a stone-coped parapet, then a spire slightly recessed with one tier of tall thin 1-light lucarnes set spire and its octagonal base are both of ironstone in diagonals. Body of church has plain stone-coped parapets. Interior: chancel has tiled sanctuary. Nave has 4 bay arcades with octagonal piers, polygonal responds, moulded bases and capitals and double-chamfered arches. Octagonal font with shafts to stem. Monuments: wall monument to Joseph Swayn, Apothecary d.1720 of limestone with gadrooned apron, upright oval tablet topped by cherubs heads. Wall monument to Thomas Mercer d.1733 of limestone with draped tablet, cherubs heads, trumpets and lamp finial signed Samuel Cox. Wall monument signed by same sculptor to Thomas Mercer d.1739 of veined marble with slate inscription panel and obelisk background and rococo bracket. Wall monument to Thomas Mercer d.1747, signed by Henry Cox of veined marble with apron, circular swagged tablet, obelisk ground and grenade finials. Wall monument to John Glass, Deputy-ranger of Salcey Forest, d.1775 of limestone with upright oval tablet on ground painted to resemble pink marble, garlands and cherubs' head to apron; signed Jas Andrews Olney. Wall monument to Elizabeth Mercer d.1782 signed W. Cox, of veined marble with apron and lamp finials. Wall monument to Thomas Mercer d.1809 with upright oval tablet on slate ground with applied marble swag and crest. Other C19 wall monuments. (Buildings of England: Northamptonshire: 1973, p372; S.M. Lewis: A Family of Stone-Carvers, The Coxes of Northampton; Northants Past and Present: Vol 1, No.6, 1953, pp19-38)

Record last edited

Sep 7 2023 11:07AM