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
