Church of St John the Baptist
CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE BAPTIST, RECTORY LANE
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- I
- List Entry Number:
- 1107600
- Date first listed:
- 25-Feb-1965
- List Entry Name:
- Church of St John the Baptist
- Statutory Address:
- CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE BAPTIST, RECTORY LANE
Location
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Images of England Project
- Date:
- 2003-08-14
- Reference:
- IOE01/11046/14
- Rights:
- © Dr Ann Allen. Source: Historic England Archive
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- I
- List Entry Number:
- 1107600
- Date first listed:
- 25-Feb-1965
- List Entry Name:
- Church of St John the Baptist
- Statutory Address 1:
- CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE BAPTIST, RECTORY LANE
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:
- CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE BAPTIST, RECTORY LANE
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Devon
- District:
- North Devon (District Authority)
- Parish:
- Instow
- National Grid Reference:
- SS 47975 30987
Details
INSTOW RECTORY LANE, Instow Town SS 43 SE 1/90 Church of St John the Baptist 25.2.65 GV I Parish Church. Late C13/early C14 fabric to chancel. Perpendicular nave, west tower, south transept and north aisle, the latter added in 1547. Restored 1872-3 by William White. Stone rubble with ashlar dressings. Slate roofs with coped gable ends. West tower, nave, chancel, south transept and porch, north aisle. West tower of 3 stages. Short diagonal buttresses and embattled parapet with tall rectangular stair turret on south-east side. Single light bell-openings with louvres, cusped-headed to top stage, ogee-headed to 2nd stage on north and south sides, the latter with straight-headed single light window to base. Perpendicular 4-light window to west side with human head corbels to pointed arched hoodmould above Perpendicular doorway with hollow-with-cyma recta moulded surround. Nave south side has 2 straight-headed windows that to left of 2 cusped-headed lights, that to right of 3 rounded-arched lights, both with hoodmoulds, flanking south porch. C19 pointed arched doorway with door of 2 boarded leaves, the upper part glazed with stained glass leaded lights. Plain chamfered pointed arched inner doorway. Unceiled porch waggon roof without mouldings. South transept window of 3 trefoil-headed stepped lights with pointed arched hoodmould. 2-light window on east side with quatrefoil tracery to head of 2 ogee-headed lights. Chancel south side has 2 cusped-headed light window with Y bars to left and tall single light lancet renewed in C19 to right of cusped headed priests doorway. 2 C19 straight- headed windows to east end of chancel and north aisle. 4 straight-headed early C16 Perpendicular windows to north side of north aisle with gentle ogee heads to the lights. Slightly projecting rood loft stair turret with segmental arched doorway. 2 buttresses towards west end. 3-light C19 window at west end of north aisle. Interior: continuous north arcade of 4 bays with Pevsner 'A' type piers with foliated capitals to chancel pier and respond. Capitals to nave piers record erection of north aisle by "Rycharde Waterman (and) Emma His Wyf" in 1547. Ceiled waggon roof to north aisle with carved bosses at each intersection of the moulded ribs and longitudinal members, and carved timber wall plates. Similar roof to south transept with single moulded rib and crenellated timber wall plates with carved decoration. C19 chancel roof and some reused timbers to arch-braced nave roof. Unmoulded semi-circular headed tower arch. C19 sedilia and piscina. Chancel floor retains patterns of Barnstaple tiles. C19 chancel and C20 nave furniture including timber screen of 1906-11 across nave and north aisle. Lead- lined bowl to Norman font of block-capital shape on round stem. Section of probably reused C17 communion rail to west end tower gallery with turned balusters and moulded handrail. Monuments: 2 C17 wall monuments in south transept east and west walls to Downe family, father and son respectively. East side, square tablet with Ionic colonettes and skull in base. West side, swan-necked pediment with central shield above medallion with bust of male figure in bold relief, leaning on skull and clasping book. Verse plaque below. Wall monument, north wall of north aisle by J Kendall of Exeter to Humphrey Sibthorp, botanist, d.1797. At east end of north aisle, tablet with moulded stone surround to Rebecca Prince d.1685 with oval tablet above to Frederick Holmes d.1822. Stained glass to north aisle and chancel east windows, to chancel lancet to H Hinchcliff d.1906, to south transept east side by Myer and Co. to James Edward Allen (1886) and on south side to Richard White and Wife (d. 1884 and 1906). South side of nave to Thomas Lock (d.1860) and Captain Leonard Slater (d.1914).
Listing NGR: SS4797630989
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 98794
- Legacy System:
- LBS
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 08-Jun-2026 at 02:10:11.
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All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.