Church of Saint John the Baptist

Details

SE 82 SE ALKBOROUGH CHURCH VIEW (north side) 1/1 Church of Saint John the Baptist 6.11.67

GV I

Church. mid C11 tower and nave, with C12 nave arcades, C14 aisles and C14- 15 parapet to tower. Nave re-roofed 1825. North aisle restored and vestry, porch and chancel re-built 1887 by John Oldrid Scott. Coursed limestone rubble and dressed blocks with ashlar dressings. Plain tile roof to chancel and nave, slate roof to vestry. Timber porch. West tower, 3-bay aisled nave with south porch and north vestry, 3-bay chancel with organ chamber adjoining north side. 4-stage tower with quoins and plain string courses between stages. Tall first stage has round-headed west door with plain hoodmould and keyhole slit above. Second stage has twin round-headed belfry openings on north and west sides with cylindrical mid-wall shafts and cushion capitals, (opening on south side blocked, with later medieval chamfered shaft). Third stage has inserted twin pointed belfry openings with triangular and round heads, chamfered reveals and shafts. Stepped-in top stage has prominent gargoyles at angles, moulded cornice and embattled parapet with crocketed angle pinnacles. South aisle: chamfered plinth, moulded cill band, buttresses; pointed 3-light Perpendicular traceried windows, those to east and west walls with prominent gargoyles above. North aisle: 2 square-headed 3-light windows, pointed 3-light east and west windows, all with C19 Reticulated tracery. Chancel: quoins, chamfered plinth, cill band, buttresses; trefoil-headed 3-light windows, pointed 3-light east and west windows, all with C19 Reticulated tracery. Chancel: quoins, chamfered plinth, cill band, buttresses; trefoil-headed lancets with hoodmould, arched priest's door, stepped east lancets. South porch: chamfered ashlar plinth, shafted outer doorway flanked by panels and traceried sidelights under open king-post roof with curved struts and carved bargeboards; traceried light to sides. Porch floor contains C19 inlaid stone copy of the nearby Julian's Bower turf maze. C12 inner door, of 3 orders of shafts (outer shafts are C19 replacements) with stiff-leaf capitals, pointed arch with keeled, roll and dog-tooth mouldings, and hoodmould with billet moulding. Interior. Round-headed tower arch with re-used Roman moulded stone for bases and imposts. North and south arcades of pointed double-chamfered arches supported on quatrefoil piers with water-holding bases, circular plinths, plain moulded capitals to north arcade and fine stiff-leaf capitals to south. C19 pointed moulded chancel arch with shafted responds and foliate capitals. Ornate chancel in Early English style with side lancets in shafted arcades and east lancets with dividing shafts under a moulded pointed arch; polychrome encaustic tile floor. Nave and aisles have C19 plastered ceilings with moulded cornices, chancel has open-framed roof. Cylindrical Norman font on C19 moulded column and medieval octagonal base. Rectangular medieval holy water stoup inside south door with mutilated relief carving, approximately 50 cm high. N. Pevsner and J. Harris, The buildings of England: Lincolnshire, 1978, 167-8; H.M, and J. Taylor, Anglo-Saxon Architecture, vol 1, 1965, 23-24. Drawing by C. Nattes, 1794, Banks Collection, Lincoln City Library.

Listing NGR: SE8819421891

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

440970

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Pevsner, N, Harris, J, Antram, N, The Buildings of England: Lincolnshire, (1989), 167-8
Taylor, H M, J, , Anglo Saxon Architecture, (1965), 23-24

End of official list entry

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