Church of St John the Baptist
CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE BAPTIST, THE 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:
- 1300525
- Date first listed:
- 28-Oct-1959
- List Entry Name:
- Church of St John the Baptist
- Statutory Address:
- CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE BAPTIST, THE STREET
Location
Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.
Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions .
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.
What is the National Heritage List for England?
The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.
The list includes:
 |
Buildings |
 |
Scheduled monuments |
 |
Parks and gardens |
 |
Battlefields |
 |
Shipwrecks |
Images of England Project
- Date:
- 2001-05-28
- Reference:
- IOE01/04341/04
- Rights:
- © Dr Robert Slade. Source: Historic England Archive
Local Heritage Hub
Unlock and explore hidden histories, aerial photography, and listed buildings and places for every county, district, city and major town across England.
Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- I
- List Entry Number:
- 1300525
- Date first listed:
- 28-Oct-1959
- List Entry Name:
- Church of St John the Baptist
- Statutory Address 1:
- CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE BAPTIST, THE 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:
- CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE BAPTIST, THE STREET
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- Wiltshire (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Little Somerford
- National Grid Reference:
- ST 96725 84368
Details
LITTLE SOMERFORD THE STREET ST 98 SE (north side) 3/272 Church of St John the Baptist 28.10.59 GV I Anglican parish church, c1300 with C15 west tower, restored c1860. Rubble stone with stone slate roof and coped gables. Nave and chancel in one with south porch and thin west tower. Body of the church has restored 2-light Y-traceried windows with hoodmoulds, moulded sill course to nave and angle buttresses. South side has 2-light each side of porch, chancel has 1905 single light (replacing a 2-light), C19 door and a 2-light. Porch is late C15, ashlar-fronted with coped gable and sundial, moulded plinth and broad four-centred arched entry with hoodmould and carved shield over. Plank door within in C14 broad hollow-moulded pointed arch with hoodmould, damaged, niche over and stringcourse each side. Chancel has C19 three-light east window with reticulated tracery, north side Y-traceried 2-light and C19 lean-to vestry. Nave has two Y-traceried windows, hoodmoulds, sillcourse and blocked pointed north door. C15 tower is roughcast with angle buttresses, small 2- light bell-openings, cornice with angle gargoyles and ashlar embattled parapet. Narrow west door and 3-light Perpendicular window over. Interior: original roofs have been strengthened with heavy C17 framing on tie-beams, nave has collar rafter roof with straight braces, chancel similar but with curved braces, probably formerly ceiled. Tower arch has 2-chamfer segmental-pointed head and is infilled with royal arms dated 1602, formerly in tympanum over chancel screen, but removed 1983. 1928 tower screen by Sir R. Lorimer. Moulded sill course and hoodmoulds to windows each side and some C17 painted texts: Creed and Ps. 72 vv 1-3 to north, Lord's Prayer to south. Fine timber chancel screen, basically C14 with heavily moulded top and quatrefoil frieze, centre opening and five ogee-headed lights each side. Lower panels removed in C17 and some added pinnacles each side of centre. Exceptional C15 boarded tympanum with paintings concealed until 1983, two censing angels each side of Ten Commandments, angels on a deep red ground. Lower part is missing. It is suggested that the Commandments are a C16 replacement for a rood. Chancel walls show signs of 2-light to north, blocked for vestry and to south around 1905 lancet. Shouldered-headed piscina, C19 sanctuary paving, north side organ. Fittings: in nave C17 pews, cut down, and matching c1900 pews in nave and stalls in chancel. C19 octagonal font with C17 wood cover. Fine two-decker heavily carved pulpit and reading desk dated 1626, missing sounding board. On north window sill the circular head of a c1300 churchyard cross with Crucifixion on one side, Virgin and Child the other. Stained glass of fine quality, pre-Raphaelite style, of 1866 in one south window, the other with glass of 1932 by W. Glasby, north side has 1920 glass in head of former north door and C19 patterned glass elsewhere. Chancel has reredos of c1900 to match C17 pulpit, 1930 neo-Georgian communion rails, east window glass of c1860, north of c1890 and south of 1863, and various C19 wall monuments. (N. Pevsner, Wiltshire, 1975 300-1; K.R. Clew, Church Guide 1985)
Listing NGR: ST9672684374
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 316399
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Sources
Books and journals
Clew, K R, Church of St John the Baptist Little Somerford Wiltshire Church Guide, (1985)
Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England: Wiltshire, (1975)
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 11-Jun-2026 at 06:47:16.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
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.