Details
WORCESTER
SO85NE CLAINES LANE, Claines
620-1/2/663 (South side)
14/03/69 Church of St John the
Baptist
(Formerly Listed as:
NORTH CLAINES
CLAINES LANE
(South side)
Church of St John the
Baptist)
GV II*
Parish church. C12 origins, rebuilt early C15, C16 additions,
restored and enlarged by Aston Webb 1886/7 with further
mid-C20 alterations. Dressed sandstone, plain tiled roofs with
parapets at gable ends and cross finial at east end. West
tower, 4-bay aisled nave with additional north outer aisle and
north and south porches, 2-bay chancel with north and south
chapels and north vestry. Perpendicular style.
WEST TOWER: 3 stages, 3 strings, plain chamfered plinth which
continues around building and diagonal buttresses at west end;
square-headed west window with 3 cusped ogee-headed lights,
most of the windows in the church are of this type; the north
and south walls have blocked doorways; second stage has a
single ogee-headed light to each face; belfry stage has
square-headed, 2-light, louvred openings and above is an
embattled parapet with crocketted corner pinnacles.
NAVE: lean-to aisles, late C19 outer north aisle has parapet
with moulded coping, buttresses with offsets and crocketted
pinnacles, the parapet has embrasures each side of pinnacles;
north elevation reuses much of earlier masonry from former
north wall; three 3-light windows; inner aisle has gabled
dormer with parapet, square-based finial and 2-light window
above third bay from west end; 3-light window in west
elevation of both aisles, the outer one having a two-centred
head.
NORTH PORCH: late C19, projects from easternmost bay, has a
gable end parapet, corner pilaster buttresses, central
round-arched panels which are repeated in the side elevations;
there is a 2-light window in the west side elevation.
SOUTH AISLE: buttresses with offsetts, three 3-light windows,
gabled dormer similar to north inner aisle and 3-light window
at west end.
SOUTH PORCH: late C19, situated second bay from west, has
gable end parapet with kneelers and square-based finial,
diagonal corner buttresses with offsetts, gablets and cusped
lancet panels; plain, chamfered, two-centred archway and
above, a circular, traceried opening pierced in apex; side
elevations have square-headed openings with cusped lancet
tracery.
CHANCEL: north and south chapels added during early C16; north
chapel is dedicated to St Catherine and the south chapel is a
chantry chapel; buttresses with offsetts, the original
diagonal buttress at the south-east end of the chancel was set
square when the chapel was added; 3-light east window with
two-centred head.
NORTH CHAPEL: east gable end parapet late C19 but retaining
some quatrefoil panelling from the original early C16 parapet:
the pinnacles from the latter are reused on the west tower;
3-light east window with four-centred head, and at north-east
end there is a three-light window reused from the original
north chancel wall; to the west of it projects the late C19
vestry which adjoins the north porch; this has a gable end
parapet with crocketted finials, a central gable end buttress
with a coat of arms carved above it; to the left of it is a
round-arched doorway with single roll moulding and to the
right of it a 3-light window; in the east side elevation,
reused C16 2- and 3-light windows flank a central buttress.
The south chapel has a heavily moulded cornice following the
incline of the lean-to roof at the east end, a
quatrefoil-panelled parapet and crocketted, gabled and
panelled pinnacles above each buttress; at the east end is a
3-light window and in the south elevation a 2-light and a
3-light window both reset from the original south chancel
wall; between them is a blocked doorway. The hopper heads all
bear the date of the 1886 restoration.
INTERIOR: 4-bay nave arcades with 2-centred arches of a
single, chamfered order on octagonal columns and responds with
moulded capitals and bases; in the apex of the east gable is a
cinquefoil light; outer north aisle has a 4-bay arcade on
compound piers with moulded capitals and bases and pointed
arches; 2-bay chancel arcades, the south one similar in detail
to the nave arcades, the north arcade is of 2 chamfered
orders, the outer hollow chamfered and the inner order wave
moulded, the columns and responds continue the orders and have
moulded capitals and bases; 2-centred chancel arch of a single
chamfered order, semi-octagonal responds with moulded capitals
and bases; tower arch and arch into chantry chapel are both
similar to the chancel arch; arch into St Catherine's chapel
is detailed in the same manner as the north chancel arcade and
has 2 early C19 squints in the south abutment, and the stairs
to the former rood loft in the north abutment; an aperture
above the north abutment is the only surviving evidence of the
actual loft. A large pointed archway leads from St Catherine's
chapel into the north vestry.
ROOFS: nave has a trussed rafter roof, aisles retain medieval
purlins, swept wind-braces and principal rafters which are
supported on foliated corbels. Roofs of chancel and chapels,
late C19, chancel has richly decorated cornice and also
quatrefoil panelling above wall-plate; all roofs have foliated
bosses. Late C19 reredos, altar rails, parcloses, pulpit, font
and pews. Section of C12 arcade column retained in recess in
north wall of tower. C15 tiles set in east wall of north
porch.
MEMORIALS: recumbent effigy of John Porter, died 1577, in
south-east of chancel with a blind arcade on its north side of
3 round-headed arches on fluted pilasters with blank shields
in trefoiled panels beneath. Stone coffin lid, probably C13
and carved with a Passion cross, set in floor at west end of
nave; also many ledger slabs on nave floor dating from late
C17. Several good late C17 and early C18 memorials in the
north aisles which include a memorial to Mary Porter, died
1668, with a segmental pediment, coat of arms and angel head
corbel; also 2 large cartouches to George Porter, died 1709
and Henry Wynne, died 1693, and an early C18 memorial to the
Jackson family with segmental pediment and coat of arms. In
the south-west corner of the chancel is a memorial to Sir
Harry Wakeman, died 1831, a bust on a draped sarcophagus by
Hollins of Birmingham; also memorials to Sir Offley Penbury
died 1858, and to Mary Wakeman died 1832, and a small early
C18 cartouche. Both chapels and the south aisle have numerous
good quality memorials mainly of early C18 and early and
mid-C19 date. Glass is all late C19 except for the north-east
window of St Catherine's chapel which contains mid-C20 glass.
A large Perpendicular parish church, well detailed, notably
the exterior of the chantry chapel and main interior features
and having a particularly good collection of memorials.
(Buildings of England: Pevsner N: Worcestershire:
Harmondsworth: 1968-1985: 224; Victoria County History:
History of the County of Worcestershire).
Formerly listed in the parish of North Claines on the 71st
list for the District of Wychavon, County of Hereford &
Worcester.
