Church of St John the Baptist

Details

TISBURY CHURCH STREET ST 92 NW (south side)

4/205 Church of St. John the Baptist 6.1.66 GV I

Anglican parish church. Late C12, C13, C14, C15, C16, tower rebuilt 1762, mid C19 restoration. Dressed limestone, tiled roofs. Cruciform plan with aisles, south vestry, north and west porches. Two-storey C13 north porch with double chamfered archway on pair of attached shafts, one with multi-scalloped capitals, C19 wrought- iron double gates, first floor has single lancet, quatrefoil to west, leaded light to east and blocking course to gabled roof, brick stack. North aisle has two late C14 two-light square-headed windows to right of porch and one to left. North transept with reticulated tracery 3-light north window, to east 3-light geometric traceried window, corbel table to eaves on east side. Chancel has three large 4-light windows with geometric tracery and buttresses between to north, small roll-moulded pointed doorway to centre, blocking course with pitched coping to roof, east end has angle buttresses and large 5-light geometric window with cusped lancet over, south side has two 4-light windows as north. C19 vestry to left has C14-style window and blocking course, extended to left with C14-style windows and pointed doorway, flat roof. South transept with 3-light geometric traceried window, square stone sundial over. South aisle has three 2-light square-headed C14 windows and one small above double-chamfered pointed door, buttresses and C19 stack to right for vestry, octagonal stair turret to left. North and south clerestories have four 2-light C15 square-headed windows. West end has lancet to south aisle. Late Medieval porch with stone slate roof and stone benches within, scissor-rafter roof, 5-light geometric window over, buttress with offsets to right. C13 lower stage of crossing tower has attached angle shafts and Y-tracery louvred windows with hoodmoulds, upper stage of 1762 replaces spire; circular clock faces on all sides but south with louvred oculus, cornice to battlemented parapet with obelisk pinnacles. Interior: North porch has pointed barrel-vaulted roof, inner doorway with attached shafts and scalloped capitals. C15 wagon roof to nave has three hammer beam trusses with angels. Four-bay aisle arcades, late C14 with attached shafts and hollow moulded piers to moulded pointed arches, north aisle ceiling with inscription dated 1535, south aisle dated 1616, both with names of donors and church wardens, moulded beams and bosses. Shouldered doorway to upper room of porch to left of north door, Royal Arms of George III over. Late C12 crossing with roll-moulded and chamfered arches on attached shaft responds with plain trumpet-scallop capitals, quadripartite rib-vault. North transept became the Lady Chapel in 1299, remodelled C14 with image niche in centre of east window flanked by tall niches with crockets and ogee arches, piscina in right one, hollow-chamfered niche in north wall, wagon roof with three cambered tie-beams. South transept, now organ chamber with wagon roof and chamfered pointed doorway to tower. West wall of crossing has blocked round-arched window with inserted cusped lancet. C19-restored chancel, now Chapel of St Andrew, with 3-bay boarded roof and polychrome tiled floor, 4-light geometric window now in wall between chancel and vestry, separate triple- chamfered chancel arch to east of crossing, now filled with 1970s glazed doors and screen. C14 ogee piscina on south wall. Fittings: Some linenfold panelling on chancel walls, communion rail with open tracery from Perpendicular screen, cavetto-moulded stone mensa reset on C20 supports. Reredos of 1884 by E. Christian with terracotta relief by G. Tinworth, reset in north transept niche, 1970s. Good C17 pews and choir stalls throughout church with shell-lunettes to bench-ends. C17 hexagonal pulpit with arabesque carving. Square stone font on five shafts, possibly C13 and restored, with C17 font cover - at west end. Early C20 stained glass in south aisle, later C20 glass in east window. Monuments: Good collection of marble floor tablets in chancel to Arundells of Wardour with relief carved arms, including Ann Arundell died 1649, wife of Cecil Calvert the builder of Hook Manor (q.v. Semley), brass on floor to Lawrance Hyde of West Hatch died 1590. Funerary helm to 1st Baron of Wardour, died 1639. South aisle wall tablets include classical stone tablet with fluted pilasters and arched panels to Bridget Jay died 1727, stone and marble tablet to Anthony Combes died 1644, signed tablet by Mitcherd of Sarum to Harriet Jukes died 1846. (N. Pevsner, The Buildings of England, Wiltshire, 1975; R.H. Jackson, A History of the Parish Church of Tisbury, 1979)

Listing NGR: ST9440529122

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

320994

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Jackson, R H, A History of the Parish Church of Tisbury, (1979)
Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England: Wiltshire, (1975)

End of official list entry

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