Parish Church of St John the Baptist
PARISH CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE BAPTIST, CHURCH STREET
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- I
- List Entry Number:
- 1079319
- Date first listed:
- 29-Jan-1951
- List Entry Name:
- Parish Church of St John the Baptist
- Statutory Address:
- PARISH CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE BAPTIST, CHURCH STREET
Location
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Images of England Project
- Date:
- 2006-09-10
- Reference:
- IOE01/15696/16
- Rights:
- © Mr David Evans. Source: Historic England Archive
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- I
- List Entry Number:
- 1079319
- Date first listed:
- 29-Jan-1951
- List Entry Name:
- Parish Church of St John the Baptist
- Statutory Address 1:
- PARISH CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE BAPTIST, CHURCH STREET
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- PARISH CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE BAPTIST, CHURCH STREET
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Greater London Authority
- District:
- Croydon (London Borough)
- Parish:
- Non Civil Parish
- National Grid Reference:
- TQ 31936 65440
Details
1005/2/45
CROYDON,
CHURCH STREET (South side),
Parish Church of St John the Baptist
29-JAN-51
GV I
Parish Church. Large C15 church, built at the expense of the archbishops of Canterbury (whose Old Palace adjoins) severely damaged by fire in 1867 but retaining South porch with parvise, West Tower and nave walls, the remainder rebuilt on the previous foundations by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1870 in Perpendicular style but extended 18 feet eastwards and with new vestry. The tower was restored 1892-3 with extended pinnacles of 1915. Much internal decoration of 1880s and 1890s and tower screen by J Oldrid Scott. Flint with ashlar dressings and slate roof. Six bay nave (originally five) with north and south aisles with chapels, south porch with parvise, west tower, north porch, three bay chancel and south east vestry. Four stage west tower with buttresses, octagonal turret, crenellated parapet and pinnacles heightened in 1915. Nave is also crenellated with clerestorey with three-light arched windows and similar but taller arched windows with transoms to aisles separated by flint and stone buttresses. Similar windows to chancel. South porch is of two storeys with crenellated parapet, simple lancet windows and arched doorcase. Smaller gabled north porch of c1870.
INTERIOR: South porch has Mediaeval rib vaulting with stone corbel heads and spiral staircase to upper floor. Tower has lierne vault and elaborate wooden screen, a First World War memorial by J Oldrid Scott. Brass floor plaque. Nave has arcade piers with four shafts and four hollows with moulded arches. Ceiled roof with tiebeams on braces with traceried spandrels. North side of clerestory retains c1870 green and white glass. C19 pews. Centre of floor retains red and black tiles and metal grilles. C19 stone and wooden octagonal pulpit by Thompson of Peterborough. North aisle has late C15 tomb recess, double piscina and aumbry with piscina basin inserted. Neo-Classical wall tablet to John Singleton Copley R A d. 1815. South aisle has C19 Perpendicular style alabaster font with very tall Flamboyant wooden Gothic cover. Tomb chest to Hugh Warham ( brother of the Archbishop) c1536-8, a canted recess with three ogee headed niches, quatrefoil decoration to chest and carved hatchments above. Tomb of Archbishop Sheldon (builder of the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford) c1677 by Jasper Latham, complete except for arch, depicting a semi-reclining figure with emblems of mortality below and large cartouche above. St Nicholas Chapel has tomb to Archbishop Whitgift. Large alabaster wall tomb with recumbant effigy in prayer lying on aconvex gadrooned sarcophagus decorated with strapwork. Arched background with allegorical figures in the spandrels, putti flanking central inscription plate, Composite columns topped by obelisks and three enriched shields. Whitgift was a major local benefactor who founded almshouses of 1596. Chancel arch contains brasses to Gabriel Silvester d.1512 and to William Heron d.1562 and wife. Organ loft has Hill organ with pipes and oak case decorated by J Oldrid Scott. Chancel has carved, painted and gilded barrel-vaulted ceiling with standing angel corbels bearing musical instruments. Elaborate screen of 1895 with iron gates and floor of grey marble and Minton tiles. Very elaborate choir stalls with carved bench ends. Sanctuary has green Minton tiles, carved wooden screen, alabaster reredos with much gilding, east window by Clayton and Bell, triple sedilia with ogee arches and stoup, painting of angels over arched door to vestry and wall of c1885 to north east depicting the "Feeding of the Five Thousand". Vestry has chamfered ceiling, stone four-centred arched fireplace and two wall safes.
["Buildings of England. London : South" pp 208-9.]
Listing NGR: TQ3193265441
This List entry has been amended to add sources for War Memorials Online and the War Memorials Register. These sources were not used in the compilation of this List entry but are added here as a guide for further reading, 26 October 2017.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 201180
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Sources
Books and journals
Cherry, B, Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England: London 2: South, (1983), 208-9
Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 26 October 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/827
War Memorials Online, accessed 26 October 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/121674
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 26-Jun-2026 at 17:06:38.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
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